new thread
Hi guys (and gals), I've been a long time reader[read as lurker, if you will] of the site. Here in Southeastern Pennsylvania, school has started. My younger son Xander[who is 7 years old] has hair to about his waist and bangs that are almost to the point of being able to be held in by his ponytail holder. Usually when someone mistakes him for a little girl he is very adamant in correcting them. He seems quite comfortable and happy having long hair... especially as long as his is. He often prefers to have it braided instead of a ponytail because, apparently, with a ponytail people might mistake him for a girl. Go figure.
One morning, about a week or two before school starts, he comes up to my room and happy tells me that he wants a short haircut. I instantly suspect my wife, but apparently this came out of the blue for her too. Later that morning, while brushing his hair, he complains about it getting pulled when I brush. I informed him that he won't need to worry about that soon, because the ends that are tangles will be gone when he gets his hair cut. This is the conversation next:
Xander: "I don't want my hair cut!"
Dad: "You told me you did."
Xander: "I changed my mind [heavy sigh] again
Oddly enough, his isn't the longest hair of a male student. There is another boy [Bangladeshi, I think] whose hair is probably a few inches longer. Also my eldest son, now 12, had hair just as long but opted for a 'Harry Potter' style at that age and stuck to it ever since. A growing style seem to be letting the hair grow out,over the eyes, ears and collar and possibly due to hat-hair looking very wavy. But my boy has them all beat.
That's pretty cool. I've been noticing a lot of boys with longer hair over the past year. It must be getting popular. No one would have dared to have hair like that when I was a kid!
I have to admit, I hated when my hair got longer when I was a kid.
Yay Eric, I'm glad you let your kids decide on their looks for themselves. I imagine that's healthy, although I'm no child expert. when I was 7, every boy got regular haircuts because we never knew anything else was possible, and in the case of my dad, nothing else was.
Good for you Eric, for being an open minded parent. Bravo!
Bruce
Thanks, but not open mind the way you think I am. You see, my hair is also at my waist [although thinning on top], so its more of him supporting me than the other way around. [snicker]
Eric L.
I'm intrigued by this bit! Do tell...
Okay, okay,more on that. My wife, although supportive of the males in the family having long hair,or deciding what length they want it, is a bit jealous that our hair grows longer than her hair. Her terminal length is about her shoulder blades, while we guys have gotten it to our waists.
There is also the issue of brushing. She gets more complaints than I do, possibly because she rakes the brush the kids' hair instead of [as I do] stopping at the tangle and working it out. Plus I'm more patient at working the hair. (obviously I missed my calling, but c'est la vie)Her sollution, which is quite possibly only a tease, is to cut it off, where as mine is to brush before bed and after breakfast, instead of once a day.
Maybe I just have a suspicious nature...or a paranoid one. She keeps tabs on my eldest for when his hair is getting too long [relatively speaking] and needs a trim. And maybe its just me...
Eric L.
Southeastern, PA! I attended North Penn school District as a teen. While longhair was generally allowed, not all the faculty and administration were tolerant of it. My one brother was harassed so much by the Asst Principal, he eventually quit.
So, longhair son = longhair dad, I presume? And the Harry Potter look is a fad that will fade, so the other son could very well return to having long hair.
Carol