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‘That’s not a girl, that’s my son!’

Image: via Shutterstock

Here’s a childhood memory of my own, just to show that I’m not judging anyone: It was the early 80s, and the annual fair had set up shop in the main road of the town where I lived. My typically 80s hair was way down over my collar and ears. I was out with my dad, and trying to get tickets to the Big Wheel. “Is your daughter old enough to take the ride on her own?” the funfair guy asked, to which my dad retorted, “That’s not a girl, that’s my son!”

A mom's love vs. a boy's frustration

The reason I’m recalling that is that a UK boy recently asked his mum if he could have a haircut- his first ever, at the age of nearly four, as he was fed up of being mistaken for a girl. Once he’s had the cut, his lengthy locks will be donated to a cancer charity, according to the Daily Mail.

The boy’s mum had allowed him to grow his hair as long as he wanted, but now she suggests that his 2-feet-long hair is “at the stage” where it needs to be cut, as the kid is starting to get frustrated with being confused as a girl.

She’s got more info on her blog about the haircut, as they’re attempting to raise enough cash to get the hair turned into a wig for a charity which provides wigs to children suffering from hair loss as a consequence of childhood illness.

Some religious and cultural traditions require that boys wait until a specific age until they have that first significant haircut, but for many other parents, it’s just difficult to part with those soft, baby locks. In Western culture, though, the concept that boys have short hair, and only girls have long hair persists, even after those crazy hippy years.

Do you think pre-school boys should have short hair?

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