Teens and Natural Hair

Not only is celebrating natural hair something adults are embracing, many teens are also celebrating what naturally sprouts from their scalp.  But what about the girls that are wearing or attempting to wear their natural hair that don't have the confidence or support to go along with it?  Better yet, what are these same teenage girls to do when the "mean girls" they see on a daily basis taunts them and calls their hair any and everything but pretty?

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As parents of teenage girls, it's very easy to give them a few comeback lines to shut those who don't celebrate their hair up, but is that really giving her what she needs which is self appreciation and confidence?  So, how can you support your daughter and help her feel good about her hair, so she doesn't give in to the pressure from her peers?  Here are a few tips I feel can help you help your daughter to wear her natural hair with pride:

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PROVIDE A ROLL MODEL
  The easiest thing to do would be for a teenage girl to see her mother taking the steps to also wear her hair natural.  Girls emulate their mothers - even when they believe they aren't.  I'm not saying mothers need to go out and wear their hair natural, but what I am saying is truth: if your daughter has you to go through the journey with her, it may make the trip easier.  If reverting to your own natural hair isn't an option, find a role model to help support her.

MAKE HER HAIR LOOK PRETTY

Girls like to look pretty and let's face it, it's a confidence booster for many of us.  Whatever "pretty" means to her, help her to get there.  Be it looking online at natural hair pictures or watching natural hair tutorials on YouTube etc, find styles that fit her and look good on her.  

TEACH HER HOW TO FEEL CONFIDENT

This is a hard one and way easier said than done.  You can teach your daughter at home and she may actually display confidence, but once she get's around people who make her feel self conscience about her hair, she may crumble.  I would like to say I have a 100% fool proof method for this one, but I don't.  What I can say, and it may not be the best thing to do for you, but your daughter may have to fake confidence just to save face until she builds up enough real confidence.  By fake confidence I mean holding her head up high even when the mean girls start their antics and it gets to her.  She's going to have to shrug them off and act like what they say means absolutely nothing!  Incorporating Providing a Roll Model and Make Her Look Pretty (this one is KEY!), will eventually turn the fake confidence into real confidence.

SUPPORT HER
A lot of parents don't understand or get why their daughter would choose to wear her hair natural.  It's definitely not the worse choice she could make, so why not get educated and learn about natural hair so you can support her decision.  The internet and natural hair blogs are a great source of information.  Ask her questions about what she's learned and show your support.

Do you know or have a teen who would like to or is wearing her hair natural?  What are your thoughts on the above tips?  Any tips you'd like to add?

Xs and Os

Nia B

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