She Cut Her Hair. Herself.

I suppose it’s inevitable. Every kid decides to cut his or her own hair eventually, right? It’s a part of growing up.

On Wednesday evening, I was in the bedroom with The Pixie and chatting with my mother on the phone. The Princess was sitting quietly in the hallway, happily cutting up her latest drawing to make a puzzle (she’s a DIYer after my own heart). When I walked into the hallway, I saw her sitting there cutting away, surrounded by tiny pieces of paper. And hair.

I admit, I may have shrieked. I may have even hollered. The Princess calmly looked at me and told me to “stop acting like a wild dog”. Really? Pretty sassy coming from a girl who just cut her own hair.

I wasn’t really angry. Deep down, I’m a bit peeved because we *just* finished growing her bangs out and now she’s got them again. But, really, its not a big deal. After I stopped “acting like a wild dog” (what does that even mean?), I calmly told her that she wasn’t allowed to cut her own hair. She agreed. Then she asked me to fetch her a doll.

No way. I’m not falling for that.

I’m hiding all the scissors until The Pixie is old enough to fight back, should The Princess ever decide to cut her hair too.

When I asked afterwards why she had done it, she said that she wanted short hair like The Pixie. I thought that was a great idea, so yesterday we walked down to our local children’s salon and got the rest chopped off. She’s quite happy with it and so am I.

I love her hair short – I always have. It doesn’t seem to have the curl that it used to, but we’ll see. Maybe more will come back with the hot days of summer. I love that she looks a bit tomboy with short hair – it certainly tempers the frilly pink outfits that The Princess insists on wearing.

I really never expected that I’d be able to get her hair cut short again, since she seems to have the idea that princesses have long hair – usually blond. Honestly, it drives me nuts that her definition of beauty has already been influenced by Disney and Barbie but this latest adventure gives me a glimmer of hope. During the past year, I’ve made an effort to point out that beautiful women come in all shapes and sizes and colours – maybe my message has been sinking in. I’ve also tried to focus on inner beauty along with outer beauty. Princess Culture doesn’t really give you a lot to work with, but I try.

Anyway, for some reason, she’s fine with short, brown hair on herself. She firmly believes that she is indeed a princess and that she is beautiful – regardless of what her hair looks like. I happen to agree.