According to my 5-year-old friend, at least. Joking about giving head massages, one of my students reached up and touched my hair. “Your hair feels funny,” he said laughing. “Well, its a different texture than yours right?” I answered. “No, it just feels funny,” he chuckled. Although I hadn’t taken offense to what this 5 year old had to say, I couldn’t help but wonder what these littles could be saying to one another. I remember seeing once–in my older group of kids– a girl playing with her friend’s hair. The culprit, who had wavy hair of her own, was fascinated by her friend’s kinkier hair, and was admiring the luscious puff that sat atop her head. “Your hair is just so squishy,” she said in awe as she squeezed.
Is it curiosity due to lack of exposure? Normal for kids? I’ve been here before. I’m feeling deja vu from my Korea days.
One of my students loves talking about hair with me. I love the fact that she embraces her curls at such a young age. The beautiful thing is that she wears her hair in different styles– curls, ponytails, braids, she even gets it straightened. I tell her I love her curls and she smiles and says she does too. Everyday I remind her of how beautiful she is. I do this with all of my girls, actually. Especially my own. Every single day–somewhere in between brushing her teeth and washing her face– Jenesis and I look in the mirror and have a conversation. I tell her that she is beautiful. I tell her that she is loved. I tell her that no matter what anyone tells her, her curls are beautiful. I tell her that I hope she loves her curls, and learns to care for them like mommy does.
Because what some people may not understand is– her hair is beautiful.