Divorced Dad's Reason For Dropping His 3-Year-Old at Daycare Early Praised
Styling a child's hair can be difficult and lead to tears and tantrums when it doesn't go well, but this newly single dad has a great way of tackling the issue, with social media users supporting his decision online.
The divorced father-of-one posted on Reddit on February 3 asking if others thought it was acceptable for him to take his three-year-old daughter to school early so her teacher could style her hair, as he found it too difficult to do himself.
Posting as user u/aitacurlydaughter, the dad explained that when he cares for his daughter every other week, he tries to style her hair but most of the time it ends up being "a frizzy, tangled mess". Not wanting to send his daughter to daycare looking scruffy, he brought in reinforcements by asking one of her teachers if she could help.
The post explains: "A teacher at my daughter's daycare has very similar hair to my daughter's so I asked if she could help me with my daughter's hair. She said she could do my daughter's hair in the mornings if I dropped her off earlier."
This dad isn't the only one struggling to style his child's hair however, with many parents sharing their own salon creations on social media, using the hashtags #dadsdohairtoo, and there are even classes for dads to attend and learn how to do difficult hairstyles.
As well as styling the girl's hair before school, the teacher also gave the dad a "list of curly hair products to buy" to keep her hair looking healthy. Unfortunately, what the dad deemed a good idea didn't go down well with his ex-wife, who believed he was trying to avoid his fatherly responsibilities.
"I guess my daughter told my ex that her teacher does her hair, not me, and that she goes to daycare early now, because my ex called me and asked if I really drop her off a half hour early every morning, just so I could avoid doing her hair. She called me a bad parent for relying on a teacher to do my job", the original poster wrote.
Many parents know the struggle of getting their child to be still long enough to turn their knotty hair into a slick style which will stay put for hours. But fortunately, stylist and beauty consultant Ghanima Abdullah has some simple tips to help those parents in need.
Abdullah told Newsweek: "Try a ponytail, they are a good first step when you're trying to style your daughter's hair. Keep the elastic band or scrunchie on your wrist, that way when you brush the hair you gather it with the same hand that has the elastic on it. Then you slip the elastic over your hand to the base of the ponytail.
"Once you get the hang of creating ponytails you can try different versions, like a simple bun: before you wrap the elastic the second time, gather the ends to the base and slip the elastic over them. Or a twist ponytail where you make two sections from the ponytail and wrap one section tightly over the other."
Once the basics like a simple ponytail are covered, then parents can become more daring and try out other styles. Abdullah suggests doing a braided ponytail, two ponytails or a high bun to mix things up.
User u/aitacurlydaughter admits in his post that he thought he was "doing right by making sure her hair is cared for", but his ex strongly disagrees, leading him to ask other Reddit users what they thought. The post has since received more than 16,000 votes, mostly in the dad's favor, and over 5,000 comments.
Although most people agreed that the dad is perfectly fine to ask the teacher for help, they do suggest that he sticks around to learn how she styles it and copy her methods for the future.
One Reddit user commented: "If the teacher doesn't mind doing it – which, by the way is very generous of her, and you should get her a very nice gift for her trouble – then I don't see why it's an issue. But it might be more sustainable for you to ask the teacher to train you to do your daughter's hair". This comment has already gained 30,000 votes itself as people support the idea.
The dad even responded to the comment, saying: "She's been giving me tips and I'm slowly getting better at it."
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