5 Actions to Help Your Child Recover from a Negative Natural Hair Incident

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LaToya Harris

LaToya Harris is a natural hair blogger and journalist from NJ, but she currently lives in MS. She is also the creator of 1BlessedNatural Mag, a blog magazine that recognizes natural hair and empowers Black women. Ms. Harris has been natural for 6 years.

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5 Actions to Help Your Child Recover from a Negative Natural Hair Incident

Image from @chicohairwhirl of Pinterest

It has become a common occurrence for children to be teased or sent home because of their natural hair. The psychological effects of these incidences on a child’s self esteem can be devastating. This raises the question of what we should do as parents and caregivers to help them. Here are 5 actions you can take to help your child recover from a negative natural hair incident:

1. Let them know it’s not their fault. Have a talk with your child, and let them know the incident is not their fault. It is imperative they know there is nothing wrong with them. It’s the individual or individuals’ problem for not accepting the hair that grows from your child’s scalp. Use similar personal experiences and news stories as examples to help your child see they’re not alone.

2. Demonstrate your love for them and their natural hair. Tell your child how much you love their natural hair, and encourage family and friends to do the same. Demonstrate your love by taking your time with their hair and showing them it is not a chore to do. For example, when I was a child, my grandmother used to tell me she thought my stylist was going to love to love doing my hair because it was thick.

3. Show them positive images of themselves and people like them. Show your child items like coloring books, dolls, cartoons and other activities that encourage them to love themselves, especially their natural hair. For example, you could buy your daughter a doll that looks like her and has a similar hair hair texture.

4. Don’t dwell on it. If your child is going to get past their negative natural hair experience, they cannot dwell on it. After the negative hair incident is handled, try putting more energy into the actions above.

5. Seek professional counseling. If you have done all you can, you might want to consider seeking professional counseling for your child. They will know what to do and say to help your child start the healing process.

Author: LaToya Harris

“Changing attitudes about natural hair” is what we do at Natural Haircare News. Through informative articles, podcasts and videos, we go beyond just sharing the latest advice and tips on kinky, curly, wavy haircare – We shake things up and focus on the realities of wearing our hair natural.