One of the most beautiful sights to see, is little brown children with beautiful natural hair. No matter the texture or length, natural kids rock! Though most young girls are wearing their natural hair textures now, there are still many of them who don’t and even more images of women of color without natural hair being placed before them. In a society that tells little brown children to not like themselves, we want to encourage them to embrace all parts of who they truly are. That’s including their hair. So, we’ve put together five tips to help you with your little one on teaching them how to embrace and love their natural hair.
- Journey together. As you try new things on your child, do the same for yourself. Try products together, try similar hairstyles. Have fun! Make the experience fun by picking out cute hair accessories or playing around with each other’s hair. Make wash day an intimate and fun time for you and your little one. They’ll enjoy it and look forward to you doing their natural hair.
- You could even have matching headscarves. Most children try to immolate their parents in some way, so this would be a great way to encourage your child to love their hair and it will also strengthen the bond between you all.
- Watch your mouth. It’s so important that we watch the language and the tone that we use when referring to our children’s hair. Refrain from using words like “nappy” and “rough” or phrases like “your hair is a mess”. Believe it or not, this programs negative thoughts in their minds about their image and these thought patterns could be hard to break later on.
- Representation matters. It is important for your child to see images that look like them. When purchasing things for your child, be mindful and buy dolls or books that have characters that look like them. Show them the celebrities who rock their natural hair with pride so that they can make that connection and feel proud of themselves.
- Stay away from painful styles, tools and techniques. Like most children, natural kids don’t like to get their hair done if it hurts and they’ll resent their hair if they find out that it’s less painful to get your hair done when it is straightened. To help them cope, be patient when combing the hair. No matter what you’re trying to achieve, always be gentle.
- Make new curl-friends. Have your child spend time with other children who also wear their hair natural. Again, this gives them a positive view on natural hair. Reagan Sanai Natural Hair Essentials routinely hosts mommy and me events of different kinds specifically geared towards children with natural hair. Events like ours would be a great way to connect with other curly hair cuties.
If you decide to use any of the tips that we mention with your little one, be sure to write us and let us know. We enjoy all the cute photos, videos and testimonials. If you have some tips or a story that you’d like to share, send us a message. For more information on our next mommy and me event, be sure to connect with us on Instagram @ReaganSanai.