Kindergarten girl with phony pony...Fell off at school!!!

[ClassicBeauty]

My mom is an elementary school administrator, and she called me last night about a 5 year old girl at her school who had a fake ponytail on at her school. (That in itself was shocking to my mom.) The sad thing is that the little girl's ponytail fell off in class! The white teacher sent her to my mom because she had no clue what to do. (My mom is one of only two black teachers/counselors/administrators at the school.)

Mom said that the little girl just cried in her arms. She was so sad and embarassed. She didn't want to go back to class. My mom figured out how to put it back on and put some extra pins in it to make it more secure. Then she convinced the little girl that it wasn't gonna fall off again (at least not that day).

I felt so bad for this child. She's probably going to be scarred for life! Is it common for 5 yr olds to wear phony ponies? Do you think my mom should have called her parents? She really wanted to call them and tell them to be more careful if they send her to school that way, to avoid her being embarassed. She wanted to explain how this could effect her classroom performance, but she didn't.erplexed

I still feel so sorry for that little girl.

 

[Ms Red]

Wow. I feel so bad for the little girl. I'd never seen girls that small with fake hair until about 2 years ago...it's really disturbing.

I don't know if your mom should have called her mom or not. But I think her mom should be aware that it happened so that she can make sure it never happens again.

 

[dlewis]

I see it all the time. My daughter is one of the only black children that wear her own hair in her class. I wonder what we are teaching our children by allowing them to wear fake hair and nails at such a young age. What type of damage are we doing?

I think your mother did the right thing. I don't know what I would have done in that situation.

 

[shynessqueen]

I see it all the time. My daughter is one of the only black children that wear her own hair in her class. I wonder what we are teaching our children by allowing them to wear fake hair and nails at such a young age. What type of damage are we doing?

I think your mother did the right thing. I don't know what I would have done in that situation.

I see it all the time too at my daughter school. I'm just happy that it's not my daughter.

 

[Growinpainz]

I would have called the mother and told her that she needs to come to the school to put her childs hair back in. That is embarrassing and she is too young to be wearing fake hair PERIOD.

 

[alexstin]

It is very common these days for very young girls to wear fake hair.

 

[Kimberly]

poor baby...I'd say it's more common. I've not noticed little girls at my kids' school wearing them, though.

 

[alwayzalady22]

I would have called the mother and told her that she needs to come to the school to put her childs hair back in. That is embarrassing and she is too young to be wearing fake hair PERIOD.

growinpainz is NOT playin, yall! i feel so bad for that little girl too, because it's already being ingrained in her mind that something already isn't right with who she is, and that includes her hair. it's days like this where i just wanna hand out lhcf flyers on the corner to black women so we can start getting our hair, and more importantly, our HEAD, game right! unless the child is protective styling , something is very wrong with that picture!

 

[Glib Gurl]

That poor little girl! And what's up with giving your kids fake hair to wear? I mean, braids are one thing, but ponytails??? What's next - a sew-in or lace front?

 

[Vshanell]

That's sad, I mean why would a 5 year old need a phony pony? All she needs is some little braids or something. It's not to common in my area yet but I do remember a line of children's ponytails that Wal-Mart carried at one time. They were targeted for the ages 3 and up. I thought that was strange.

 

[glamazon386]

Aww that's so sad. I have noticed little girls with fake hair though. I'm guessing it is more common now. I've seen a line of kiddy phony ponies in the BSS before. I bought a few for myself back when I was in undergrad and they fit my head. Outside of braids (that my mom usually did herself) I wasn't allowed to wear fake hair. And that was usually only during the summer when I was going to camp. Why aren't parents taking care of these babies heads?

 

[amwcah]

This sounds like a suburban environment since their are very few African American personnel at the school. Was the teacher male or female? In today's society Europeans wear hair pieces as well and the teacher should have been able to put it back in the little girl's hair. If she had discreetly done so, I'm sure the little girl's embarrassment would have been minimized. She could have even facilitated a discussion about different cultures at this point depending upon the other childrens reactions.

I would have called the child's parents and brief them on the incident. For the child's sake, they should be made aware of the negative impact it has had on her and her education.

 

[Guapaholic]

poor child... i would have called the mother to make her aware of the situation.. that way she could put more effort into remedying the situation if another adult brought it to her attention.

the mom probably had her daughter just 'up and go' to school...thinking her hair was 'done'. but this is not uncommon to me at all... i've seen 7 and 8-year-olds in my area (Northern NJ) with sew-ins and that was about 6 years ago....

 

[preciousjewel76]

Mom said that the little girl just cried in her arms. She was so sad and embarassed. She didn't want to go back to class. My mom figured out how to put it back on and put some extra pins in it to make it more secure. Then she convinced the little girl that it wasn't gonna fall off again (at least not that day).

I felt so bad for this child.

Oh no! I can't imagine how embarrassed that poor baby was. I probably would have let her go home for the day. And I agree with y'all, her parents need to be informed (I wonder if the child told her mom what happened?).

I work in downtown Atlanta, and I see lots of "hair don'ts" every day. I've seen babies with braid extensions, but I don't know if I've ever seen any with phony ponies. I think that's far too young for a child to be wearing fake hair.

 

[tnorenberg]

That's a shame. 5 year olds have no business wearing phony ponies to school. I can see playing w/ momy's phonies at home, but it is sending the 5 year old the wrong message about her hair at too young of an age. I would have definitely called her parents, poor thing.

 

[ClassicBeauty]

The white teacher was a female.

My mom said that she has met with the child's mother before, and her hair was all over her head too, so she didn't think it would make much of a difference. I personally would have used the event as a teaching opportunity for the parent, but my mom doesn't even know how to do her own hair. (She goes to the salon almost every week.)

My hometown is very hard to explain. I'm from a relatively small city in the south. White people don't wear extensions too much, unless it's an old lady with a wig or the young lady had hair loss from cancer, etc. The white people there aren't the type to put a phony pony back in a child's head. I hope that explanation makes sense. I'm not saying it's a racist city, but there are still many separations between the races (just as in most of the south). Even the black people are pretty conservative. I'm just now starting to see a few dred locks there, and most of those are on people who went to college out of town and returned liberated.

There's even a big separation amongst blacks. Mostly based on class. At the school I went to, this still would never happen, but the school my mom works at has like an 85% free lunch population (and it's not even half black). It's just different there. (I hope that didn't offend anyone because I do understand that low income doesn't necessarily mean tacky, but there seems to be a different mindset at that school. This is kinda hard to explain.)

I hope that helps your understanding.

ETA: I'm pretty sure the girl told her mom.

 

[bLackButtaFly]

Aww that's so sad. I have noticed little girls with fake hair though. I'm guessing it is more common now. I've seen a line of kiddy phony ponies in the BSS before. I bought a few for myself back when I was in undergrad and they fit my head. Outside of braids (that my mom usually did herself) I wasn't allowed to wear fake hair. And that was usually only during the summer when I was going to camp. Why aren't parents taking care of these babies heads?

Me too! That is crazy. I saw those kiddy phony pony's, but I thought it was for pageant kids or something. Black parents need to be educated on how to care for their children's hair. There's no reason whya t that age she can't just wear some littl ebraids, or some big pony tail twists, and be looking cute. She's only 5!!! What is that teaching her about loving what God gave her?

 

[mscocoface]

Some in our society are trying to take the quick and easy way out of situations and sometimes quick and easy is not the better route. Laziness is another factor also.

Many are so "microwave" about everything that it is now permeating much of our lifestyle.

I don't know what was going on in that womans life that day but a few minutes in your daughters hair everyday is something that you just should not rush through.

I have done enough little 5 year old heads to realize that is not the route to take no matter how tired, frustrated or busy you are.

 

[WomanlyCharm]

Oh man, this just breaks my heart.

You know this poor little girl is gonna remember this for the rest of her life...and the other kids probably won't let her forget it. You know how bad teasing can get.

I don't understand a mother who would allow her daughter to wear fake hair at 5...that's inconceivable to me. I don't have kids yet, but dang, am I missing something?

 

[firecracker]

I think the fake hair/weave phenomenon for school age children is really sad, simply a quick fix and a set up to hate yourself at a very young age.

I believe certain rights and freedom come with a certain age. Fake/Weaved up hair is one of them in my opinion.

 

[PuffyBrown]

I would think that the parent needed to be made aware of what type of messages she is sending by basically putting a wig on a 5yr old. This poor baby has not even had a chance to see who "she" is let alone seeing that she has to be predisposed with all of the "dramma" that females go through at such a young age. I am originally from CA and it was really bad their. Some mothers are even letting their little girls get acrylic nails and stuff. I would say that I have seen a 5yr old with acrylics but I have seen a little girl between 8-11 getting some at the same time that I was getting my nails done.

I feel that children need to learn who they are 1st. Maybe she would have been the type of woman who actually "likes" short hair. I think that she can get over this embarrassing situation if it is handled properly.

 

[DSP]

This story makes me sad. I've seen pageant kids with weaves (Remember JonBenet Ramsey?) and recently I saw a toddler with braided extensions and I felt uneasy about that. I'd think little scalps are too delicate for that sort of thing and young hair follicles could easily be damaged by anything heavy and tight pulling on them.

Can't kids just stay kids for a little while? I feel really old right now

 

[eyunka]

Ok I understand about the fake nails but those of us on this hair board wear fake ponies and wigs and protective styles...why can't this be done with little girls? Grant it I did not start my daughter at age 5 with the phony ponies (age 8) I don't see the harm in a little variety....I guess I'm alone in this.

Yes I feel bad for the child...poor thing.

I see it all the time. My daughter is one of the only black children that wear her own hair in her class. I wonder what we are teaching our children by allowing them to wear fake hair and nails at such a young age. What type of damage are we doing?

I think your mother did the right thing. I don't know what I would have done in that situation.

 

[PuffyBrown]

Ok I understand about the fake nails but those of us on this hair board wear fake ponies and wigs and protective styles...why can't this be done with little girls? Grant it I did not start my daughter at age 5 with the phony ponies (age 8) I don't see the harm in a little variety....I guess I'm alone in this.

Yes I feel bad for the child...poor thing.

I really cannot say for sure. I just think that especially for women, little girls have hormones that have not even been developed. Do you think that it would be better to let them play with the glue on nails instead of getting the full blown acrylics? For me I am just thinking along the lines that for little children we really don't know how their young adult/adult bodies are going to turn out. We can only guess. As for the pony tails. Though I am not against it, wouldn't this be the best time to use the LHCF tips and tools and try some of the hair care regimins to get the hair to grow on its own? I think this would also be a good opportunity for little girls to start to learn how to properly treat their hair, skin, and nails. I wish there was something like this when I was growing up. As with anything these are just opinions and this one is mine. I am not saying that it is immoral or anything, I am just stating a my preference.

 

[preciousjewel76]

Ok I understand about the fake nails but those of us on this hair board wear fake ponies and wigs and protective styles...why can't this be done with little girls? Grant it I did not start my daughter at age 5 with the phony ponies (age 8) I don't see the harm in a little variety....I guess I'm alone in this.

Yes I feel bad for the child...poor thing.

I'm all for variety too, but I think age 5 is a bit young for her to be experimenting with fake hair. From what the OP said, too, the mother's hair was very damaged. I take it the daughter's hair probably was too, and the mother used the phony pony as a "cover up". That means that she's not taking care of her hair properly in the first place. I think it's OK for a child (older, tween or teenager) to wear extensions or a phony pony for a special occasion, but not regularly. I'd prefer for a child to be taught proper hair care, then they can experiment with fake hair when they're older (and they understand how to take care of their OWN real hair!).

Just my opinion, of course, and I don't have kids.

 

[crlsweetie912]

Fake hair on young girls is very prevalent in my city (baltimore) but it is so sad. I definitely agree that this is something that's happening out of pure laziness. I think that they were made for special occaisions (weddings, pageant's, etc.) not for everyday use by a 5 year old. SAD.

 

[sweetwhispers]

I saw a 5-7 year old with a busted honey blonde weave last week my face was like

Toddlers with braided extensions is very common

I just don't know why children need fake hair- where are they going? Who are they going to see? To impress whom?

 

[eyunka]

I agree with you and understand this is just your opinion. Yes this a great time to teach them how to properly treat their hair, skin and nails....i gues for me I'm always doing it. My daughter will tell you that i'm on her about moisterize you legs. She will wake up in the middle on the night to tell me her scarf came off her head and for me to tie it back on.

I am teaching her all these things, I just wanted to state that not all mothers who put phony ponies are not taking care of their daughter's hair.

I really cannot say for sure. I just think that especially for women, little girls have hormones that have not even been developed. Do you think that it would be better to let them play with the glue on nails instead of getting the full blown acrylics? For me I am just thinking along the lines that for little children we really don't know how their young adult/adult bodies are going to turn out. We can only guess. As for the pony tails. Though I am not against it, wouldn't this be the best time to use the LHCF tips and tools and try some of the hair care regimins to get the hair to grow on its own? I think this would also be a good opportunity for little girls to start to learn how to properly treat their hair, skin, and nails. I wish there was something like this when I was growing up. As with anything these are just opinions and this one is mine. I am not saying that it is immoral or anything, I am just stating a my preference.

 

[eyunka]

I over looked the part about the damaged hair... again I thought the early statement by DLewis was harsh and i was stating my opinion.

I'm all for variety too, but I think age 5 is a bit young for her to be experimenting with fake hair. From what the OP said, too, the mother's hair was very damaged. I take it the daughter's hair probably was too, and the mother used the phony pony as a "cover up". That means that she's not taking care of her hair properly in the first place. I think it's OK for a child (older, tween or teenager) to wear extensions or a phony pony for a special occasion, but not regularly. I'd prefer for a child to be taught proper hair care, then they can experiment with fake hair when they're older (and they understand how to take care of their OWN real hair!).

Just my opinion, of course, and I don't have kids.

 

[PuffyBrown]

I agree with you and understand this is just your opinion. Yes this a great time to teach them how to properly treat their hair, skin and nails....i gues for me I'm always doing it. My daughter will tell you that i'm on her about moisterize you legs. She will wake up in the middle on the night to tell me her scarf came off her head and for me to tie it back on.

I am teaching her all these things, I just wanted to state that not all mothers who put phony ponies are not taking care of their daughter's hair.

Hair 2 Cute!
Those are braids. I was thinking that the little girl had an actual phony pony like we see in LHCF with the updoes or the spirals. I have seen many a child with braids and twist. This is what we put in our hair to get it to grow. Our culture has been braiding for centuries...go for it. I am more directly talking about the more "grown up" products that are not good.