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If he truly wants it cut, I have no problem with it but I do wonder if it's at least partially due to the bullying he's experienced at school. He looks to be very happy with his long hair in the pictures.
Hi Jason,
Let's face it as some kids are just plain rotten!Still at only age 5 I would question whether the classmates really ranked that badly on his hair.All of them have experienced so little of life that how could they even form such an opinion.I'm thinking with that stupid policy to tie his hair back for safety is at issue.I have to assume the girls have to do likewise?If not he is then being singled out with the boy with long hair and let's make an example of him.Frankly if true that school is very cruel and I'd get my kid the HELL outta there.Hair intact of course:)I think the mother should deeply question her son,at home,about this decision and what motivated it.I bet she'll get a real eye opener.
Mârk
Hi Mark,
That policy really made me wonder as well. I've never heard of girls having to have their hair tied back for school so why should a boy have to have his tied back? It sounds like total discrimination.
I wouldn't be surprised that he'll miss his hair once it is cut and hopefully will decide to grow it back. I have to say it's pretty cool that his hair was uncut for the first five years of his life. What awesome hair he has too!
Jason
Hi Jason,
I agree his hair is amazing and to think he's had it since birth!I read what Mick said above and have to agree that the ultimate choice is up to the boy because he is the one having to live with his hair.I'm just suspicious about that hair restraint policy as to if it applies to the girls also.If not the boy could feel singled out and made to feel like an oddball.That's why the mother should question him before the deed is done to see if there is some specific reason he requested the cut.
Mârk
There were one or two sensible comments on there (including "I have to say I find long hair on a man very attractive however a child should be allowed to choose and if long hair is making his life a misery he should be allowed to have it cut.") but I was amazed at the huge majority of negative comments ... UNTIL ...
... I realised it was the Daily Mail! Its readership consists overwhelmingly of middle-aged surburban wives stuck in a 1950s timewarp and with the combined IQ of a Siberian gnat.
The Daily Mail published an article on the same day about Russell Brand finally blowing his top at the intrusive paparazzi (link below). The readers' comments below similarly show their distaste for anyone who doesn't fall into their surburban thinking and a total failure to grasp the humour of Brand's tweet about iPhones.
The Daily Mail is a bit scary when you consider that its regular readers have the right to vote.
Damon
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Take heart, gentlemen... There are yet boys out there who refuse to cut their hair!
--Val
Your son looks great with his long hair and he carries himself so well too. How privileged he is to have parents who allow him that freedom!
Thanks, Jason. It's nice to know that there are other parents out there (of which you are a great example) who also believe in recognizing their childrens' right to authentically express themselves.
Cheers and best wishes to you and yours :)
--Val
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His hair looks great, Val. He is a natural born longhair.
His legs must be really cold from being wet from the knees down from walking through snow. It makes me shiver just looking at that photo.
Scott
Thank you, Scott. Fortunately, I think something that comes from being "northmen" is being acclimated to living in a place that has snow on the ground 8 or 9 months out of the year. On top of that, my son also insists that he is imbued with "magic skin" that keeps him warm. Here he is playing at a Lake Superior beach yesterday, during a family outing. Now, before anyone contacts social services, let me point out that we were all having a great time, that all manner of warm clothing were also present and available, and that this is more fun and comfortable than it probably appears to people who live in warmer environs. It is actually unusually warm here for this time of year, with temperatures in the mid-60s.
Cheers,
Val
... that is ice floating in the water, not sea foam.
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Megabrrrrrrrr, just looking at that makes me shiver. I see him wading in water with ice in it. Cold water like that would cause excruciating pain in my feet.
Scott
Here are a couple of "during" and "almost after" photos of my 11-year-old son jumping into the lake (in a kilt) for this year's Polar Plunge event.
As a veteran Plunger myself, I can attest to the fact that it's a lot more fun than it appears to be!
--Val
... the kilted brothers. As you can see, the little guy wasn't happy when he learned that he's not yet old enough to participate in the Polar Plunge.
--Val
... since this IS a long hair community, I might as well post a larger picture from the Plunge, to better show the length of my older boy's locks.
The problem is surely that to a young child being 'different' can be difficult to cope with. We have all determined that we want long hair and are ready to deal with the naysayers, this youngster is in a different position. Children can be cruel to one another and his detractors will probably never have had to experience 'choice' or 'freedoms' of this ilk.
I say it's completely up to the kid, and if the mother insists on not cutting it, she's being selfish and inflicting misery on her child. If he wants to look more like all the other boys in his class, for pete's sake, let him. When he's older, he'll have plenty of time to do what he wants with his hair.
I'm against forcing anything onto children, be it religion, hairstyle, or even, say, veganism. Kids need to have their options as widely open as possible. But of course you can instill into them your morals, beliefs and what you feel is right, and maybe, just maybe, they'll follow in your footsteps as a longhair, a Christian, a vegan,... you name it. But it's up to them, not you.
I concur! It is absolutely no different than parents who refuse to allow their male children to grow their hair.
BTW, that kid has some cool locks!
I would point out if bullying/teasing is the problem if he cuts
his hair the other kids will find a multitude of other reasons
to tease/bully him.
Kids can be very cruel and can find hundreds of reasons
to tease/bully kids. If he cuts his hair there will be
many other reasons.
Oh and it is possible that after he cuts it he may decide he wants it long again, like some others on this site.
I agree. I just hope that he has the mentality that he has the freedom to grow his hair out if he wants to,despite what has gone through.
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thanks for posting this,
-rowie
Yup! My mother would have encouraged me to have my hair long - and I know my dad would have gone along with it. But I was too stupid!!! And shy. I wanted to conform to the majority of other boys and not stand out in any way. I had short(ish) hair all through my school years.
Which is probably why I'm making up for it now - BIG TIME!!! :)
May be just as well. I can appreciate it more now than when I was a kid. And it's still a novelty! If I'd had long hair earlier in my life already, it wouldn't be nearly as much fun now.
Damon
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I wss ten years old when I saw the Beatles on TV on desperately wanted to grow my hair long.
i did and the rest, as they say, is history. It's been long
ever since.
I doubt my parents/teachers at that time (1964) had any
conception of how long my hair would eventually grow to.
They'd have probably had a heart attack if they did.
I started growing it in 1964 and by the 70s it was waist length.
And no, the parents and teachers were not happy about it. But i stood my ground and eventually won out.
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No, unfortunately I wasn't allowed to grow my hair long as a child though I really wanted to. I used to hate to get haircuts and gave my mother a battle when the time came. I don't blame my parents that much but rather the Watchtower religion they were part of that forbade it. I didn't grow it long until I finally escapes its clutches at the age of 33. I would have loved to have seen how my hair would have looked long as a child, teenager and in my 20s.
I experimented as much as I could with my hair and would usually have it as long as they would tolerate such as in this picture:
I got a mix of my parents' hair types. My father had fine and straight hair whereas my mother had coarse and curly hair. I got wavy and mostly fine/medium textured hair.
How did you wear your hair as a child? Were you under restrictions?
Here is my contribution. I am on the right side, with the dark brown hair. I am bi-racial (Spain and Asian mix). This is the only pic I could find closest to the age of that kid in the article. On the left is my cousin from my mom side, he has stick straight hair that I wish I had. It's funny how I had dark brunette hair as a kid (even lighter in my toddler years), but my hair just kept getting darker as I continue to age. I have a mixture of straight coarse hairs to waves around the crown of my head. I find it annoying to have "multi-textured" hair because I am still experimenting with hare care routines.
Thanks for sharing your pic. You were a "cute" looking kid! Yes, I had a similar situation with religion. My parents are still devout Catholics, and they sent me to Catholic schools, back in the day, it was really conservative with so many rules in regards to grooming. I did however rebel in my sophomore year of high school by growing my bangs chin length, while the rest of my head was shaved. I think this was the grunge look, or skater boy look back in the nineties. I was so into Nirvana that I even considered getting some blond streaks in. It didn't last long because the rules were yet again enforced both in school and in my household. I ended up sticking to the usual "military" style buzz cut.
In college I was way too busy with protests, tabling, and sucking up to professors, that I thought I should maintain the look I had growing up. Sadly, it took being a recluse graduate student to be able to finally live out my dreams. I don't regret it, and in fact I am ever so happy to be doing it now. It was nice to be able to have gone through the awkward stages at home.
Well, it is nice to get to know you more. The longer my hair grows, it is starting to get even more challenging "socially" for me. Especially with family, I just make it a point that I'm grown up already, and some of my thesis advisers have longer hair then I do. hehehe
Have a good weekend!
best,
-rowie
I did however rebel in my sophomore year of high school by growing my bangs chin length, while the rest of my head was shaved. I think this was the grunge look, or skater boy look back in the nineties. I was so into Nirvana that I even considered getting some blond streaks in. It didn't last long because the rules were yet again enforced both in school and in my household. I ended up sticking to the usual "military" style buzz cut.
This was in the nineties. The longest I had my hair as a youth. Yes, I had the biggest crush on Shannon Doherty .
I had an undercut shaved head, while my bangs were the only thing that was long. I miss the grunge and skater period! hehehe
How was your style as a teen?
best,
rowie
The beginning of when I trimmed my bangs, before I had to cut it all off. I had fun taking this pic with my friends. My friend Hanzel thought it would be cool to get a shot in the wind, pretending that the wind blew his wallet off of his hands. The silly things we used to do as a teen. I definitely don't miss being a teenager though!
all right peace out!
-rowie
Being a teenager in the 80s and not being allowed to grow my hair long as I wanted to, I ended up trying a spiked look on top with longish in the back (yes, the dreaded mullet) but even that was frowned upon.
It's ironic you tried long bangs because I wore that look a lot in my 20s and early 30s while I was still in that religion. I liked it because I could slick them straight back and it would hide the length. It was the only way I could get away with having longish hair at the time. The longest my bangs got were to my chin as shown in this photo:
I always liked Shannon Doherty too! I love the combination of dark hair and blue eyes.
I also kept the back and sides very short with the long bangs. Here I am giving myself an undercut! LOL
I must emphasize this was all done because it was all I could do at the time being stuck in such a high control group. How wonderful to experience the freedom to grow all my hair long now!
Aw man, this was the style back in my days. I had friends from outside of school that had this exact hairstyle! Except some of my surfer friends would bleach the top part of their hair platinum blond, and they would tie their hair like this and leave their undercut a dark brunette look. hehehe Yup, yup, I had my ways of rebelling, we'd go to the park, crank up some Pearl Jam or Nirvana, smoke some weed.....hehehe it was all good!
Despite all the things I've done outside of school, I've managed to maintain the deans list for a good part of my junior and senior years, along with taking AP, and honors classes.
thanks for sharing this,
-rowie
"Did you have parents that let you grow out your hair at his age?"
I never had like really long hair I guess. My dad was always in favor of the 'jarhead" cut because he was ex-military. Never grew it out again til I was 14-15 and got really in to Stevie Ray and used to wear the big black paladin hat etc... Started work soon after and they all had NO LONG HAIR ON MALES! dress codes so my hair stayed short til I turned 22.
Here is 4yr old long-ish hair: