A Little Natural Hair Education

 I saw these paintings about a month ago hanging in the Ikea in Brooklyn and thought they were adorable! I loved how the little black girl associated having her mom do her hair in corn rows with love <3

So i've been babysitting two little caucasian girls in my building for about the past 2 months and hair has definitely been a major topic with them. They are 6 and 9 years old and wise beyond their years. I knew they would want to touch my hair because that is just how little kids are, so i was ready from the jump to explain the differences of hair to them.

Upon learning that they aren't allowed to watch much TV, french braids/cornrows is now a big part of our day because i'll play salon with them and do whatever to their hair they'd like. The 6 year old, as spunky and honest as can be, decided she wanted to touch my hair, to which she replied "Is there cream in your hair?" Lol. At the time i was on 2nd day hair with KCCC so I told her that i did have cream in my hair and explained to her that different kinds of hair need different things, and my hair likes cream to keep it soft and moisturized, to which she replied "It's not soft." in a very matter of fact kind of way. The way she said it definitely cracked me up. My rebuttal, "It is soft, just different."

Their father has curly hair so although the 6 year old has straight hair like her mom, her sister's hair is wavy and puffy. I explained to her that all different types of people have different hair and that that's a great thing, just like her mommy and daddy have different hair, and her sister's hair is different from hers. I saw the light bulb go off in her head so i knew she understood.

After not seeing them for a few weeks, i decided to blow my hair out into an afro around the time i was going to babysit them again. When they saw me again, their friend told me my hair grew really fast and they all agreed. I told them i was gonna grow my hair really long and then i could wear a huge afro and they all looked amazed, and at the same time confused, lol. Now they love my afro and wanna play in it and touch it and feel how soft and puffy it is, the 9 year old even telling me that i should make a pillow out of my hair if i ever cut it. Im excited for my hair to grow and even more interested in their reactions and being able to educate two young caucasian kids about curly hair.... wait until i finally straighten it.. what will they think then?!