Her costume was set out. Her makeup was laid on the counter, ready for application. Her routine had been practiced 70 times that morning.
And Mommy was in the shower.
What better time to try her hand at this:
Yep, that’s right. A mere hour before her first dance recital, my daughter had taken scissors to her hair while I cleaned myself up.
When I got out of the shower, she came bounding in my bathroom, a huge, proud smile on her face, and exclaimed “Mommy! I cut my hair!”
I have to admit, I didn’t make the best choice.
What I should have done: Perhaps acknowledge her pride and independence, not overreact but instead calmly explain that we don’t cut our own hair.
What I did: Stomped. Her. Buzz.
A total killjoy, I yelled “NOOOOO!” and scared the crap out of her. Then searched her hair like a mother howler monkey preening her young, trying to assess the damage.
And when I pulled away from her scalp to look her in the eyes, I was met with tears. She had come to me, all excited and proud, and I had made her feel horrible. What’s a mom to do?
Thankfully, she actually did a pretty decent job cutting her hair, creating a little fringe near her chin line in an updated “Rachel” for the preschool circuit. It was still long enough to put back for her recital, so all was fine. But I did have to have a conversation about how we don’t cut our own hair, because those snips are real. Speaking from experience, bad haircuts are hard to recover from.
Still, I think there’s some merit there to her sense of self and beauty. I wish that I could feel as confident in myself when there are markings on my face (in my case, zits and wrinkles instead of markers and Curious George stamps). That it might not be a bad idea to not put so much stock in to how my hair looks.
So, I’ve come up with a few preschooler beauty tips to try and follow. Because, seriously? That girl could do anything she wanted to herself and she’d still be the most beautiful thing on the planet to me.
Less is less. More is more.
If a little dab of lotion works wonders, a huge blob should provide enough moisture to turn back the hands of time, circa the Newborn Era.
Matching is for ninnies.
Want to wear two garments of uncomplimentary shades in contrasting patterns? If you’ve got enough sass, then coordinating isn’t an issue. You wear the clothes, they don’t wear you.
Jewelery is best worn in quantity.
See “Less is less” above.
Go au naturale.
Why bother wiping that peanut butter off your face? Its natural (and organic if you swing that way) properties will provide just the right balance of foundation and protective barrier you’ll need to face your date night with confidence.
That Bed Head look is totally in.
No need for brushing that mane! Knots and matted sections really emphasize that wild side of you. Not to mention that avoiding a comb shaves time off your morning ritual.
If you’ve got it, flaunt it.
You should feel comfortable in your own skin. So comfortable in fact that clothing is optional. It’s all beautiful. And clothing only gets in the way.
When in doubt, flash those pearly whites.
A preschooler’s precious grin goes a pretty long way, so why not try this fashion accessory out for yourself?
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I think I need to follow some preschool beauty tips myself!!! My daughter is a, if one bow looks good 10 will look better , kind of girl herself!! If it makes you feel any better when I read that your daughter cut her hair I was ready to scream too!! Lol! My daughter cut her own hair right before the big Christmas picture one day, lets say it was not my finest parenting moment!! Glad all worked out in the end!!
Kathy Radigan recently posted…I Can Be Silent No More
Ah, yes, the plethora of hair accessories. I know that tactic well. Thankfully her hair doesn’t look that bad. I just wish I’d handled that whole situation a bit better. Did your daughter do a big chop right in front? I did that as a kid and then was forced to get bangs.
We get you. We have had the hair cutting with the same mom reaction. We also fully embrace the more is more, less is less. You put it together really nicely. So funny!
Mere recently posted…
Yeah, I got a few points taken off my cool factor with that response. Generally I don’t make too much of a fuss when she gets dressed by herself or smears food all over her face or tattoos her entire body with magic markers. But the hair thing? Ugh. I fah-reaked. Thanks, Mere!
I know I would have reacted the very same way, my friend. I wish I were more tolerant of her stylistic experiments, but I think it comes out of a desire to protect them (women are judged oh-so-harshly for their looks and stepping out of fashion bounds as I know from experience), and then of course there’s the selfish part of their making it look like you too fly your freak flag proudly. Anyhoo, I loved this little list – so true, so funny and very sweet.
Keesha recently posted…
And it certainly didn’t involve any of my control issues. Right? RIGHT? Actually, all the fringe makes her look a bit trendy and grown up. Which I’m not a fan of! Thanks, Keesha, for your kind words.
When my daughter gave herself face framing layers, it took me three days to notice. Even then it was because my son brought me a toy saucepan full of her curls that he found in the playroom. Doh.
I’m with your girl. Matching is for ninnies.
Amy – Funny is Family recently posted…Memories Of My Father
Amy, you hit the nail on the head with the “face framing layers” comment. That’s exactly what she did. So, perhaps we have a couple of hair stylists in our future? I look at it and think “Wow, she actually didn’t do too bad of a job!”. I mean, it could have been some bold, blunt, straight-edged chop, but she actually made some good choices. Still, I’m not going to let on that it looks good!