30 September 2023 , 09:06
1002
0
Setting boundaries for children can be a tricky feat especially if your views are different from your partner, whether it's night routines, screen time or consequences for talking back. It can be even harder to navigate as a single parent as each house may have different chores and rules to stick to.
One dad has shared he made a rash parenting decision that left his family so upset they said he needed to take parenting classes - resulting in his daughter non-stop crying for hours.
The man explained he had been in a battle with his daughter every morning as she refused to brush or take care of her long - 'almost down to her belly button' - hair and despite his pleas she didn't show any interest. Hence he decided to try and teach her a valuable lesson, but it backfired.
In a post on Reddit, the dad explained: "Over the last few years I've talked to her about how people with long hair need to take care of it. I've been trying to get her to start brushing it for a couple of years. She puts no effort into it puts the brush down and wanders off to play games and this is where the argument comes in.
"I can't ever seem to get her to take care of it. I've warned her over the last year that if she doesn't start brushing her hair at least twice a day, we're getting it cut shorter. I've talked to her mum about it and she agreed that I can get it cut if she doesn't take responsibility for her cleanliness."
Mum's touching gesture to young son who died leaves Morrisons shopper in tears
As a man with long hair himself, which reaches past his chest, he even tried showing her how he takes care of it. Brushing from the bottom and slowly up, the way he wanted his daughter to copy but after another morning argument, he lost it and cut her hair.
He said: "I did it. I cut her hair to about an inch below her shoulders. She was devastated and continued to cry for another hour as I drove her to my parent's place to watch her as I went to work. My mother and my sister both got very upset with me.
He cut her hair after she refused to take care of it (stock photo) (Getty Images)"My mom told me I'm going to ruin my daughter if I don't start taking parenting classes and that cutting her hair was completely unnecessary."
And it seems the majority of people in the Reddit post comments agreed with his mum and sister, saying he went about it in the wrong way and that a haircut should be 'a positive thing'.
As one reader said: "I understand why you did it, but I think you went about it in a bad way. I've been in your shoes. I'm still in your shoes, my daughter is 10 and I still help brush her hair. I would go into or call a salon and ask for tips, or look for a mom group on Facebook and explain. They will be all over helping a single dad navigate girl's hair."
Another commenter agreed: "Yeah, cutting her hair as a punishment is devastating. Frankly, it's your job to take care of her hair at 7 years old and to continue helping her learn to do it and not expect perfection."
Out of the 229 comments, there were only a few who agreed with the dad's decision, as one reader said: "I'm going against the grain here and saying I would have done a haircut also. If she can't handle it, she might not be ready for long hair."