Natural hair Mother and child

I love seeing children with their natural hair and baby, it's the real way to go! #justsaying

I guess the reason why many mothers chemically relax their baby's hair is because some can't stand the emotional stress of your crying, squirming angel and I get it!.....but Boo...when has your baby's tears really factored in what's best for your young tot?
 When has those tears factored in saying no to something dangerous your child wants?....I mean really?
Is it really necessary to expose the tender scalp of your angel to harsh chemicals in those attractively packaged children's kits*?
If you feel you don't want to relax your baby's hair but don't know what to do about his/her coily nappy hair, then read on!

Natural hair care for children doesn't have to be a Saturday tug of war ritual!!!


First things first, provide an enabling environment to foster love in the child for her natural hair.
You can do this by showing her pictures of children with her hair type and pointing out how beautiful her hair looks.
Any time you see a child anywhere with natural hair, tell her how beautiful it is.
Children are impressionable and "whatever mummy loves, I love it too ".
Teach her that all hair is good hair irrespective of the texture.
Carry her along in her hair care.
Ask her," would you like mummy to do this style for you?" or "What coloured ribbons would you like me to use?"
This will make her feel in control of her hair care.

If possible, buy toys with natural hair.
 Expose her to videos featuring children with natural hair. Sesame Street has a Muppet with natural hair in a bid to dispel " Good hair,bad hair myths " and then there's the made in Nigeria Bino and Fino characters!

Furthermore, children have an uncanny ability to mimic their parents.
If your baby sees you complaining about your hair and her hair, she would form a negative attitude towards it and hair sessions would be a nightmare!

While growing up, my mother had this trick.
When washing our( my sisters and I) hair and then banding to stretch, she'll count how many bands or ribbons she'd use to show us how much our hair grew.
She'd say " Hey, your hair has grown, last time I used two bands,now I'm using three. That's because you've been a good girl, staying still for washing. Clean hair is good hair .....".
Well I fell for it!
 Stayed as still as I could and carefully watched how many bands or ribbons she put in!
That she also used the right methods to wash our hair was a plus.
She also didn't forget to point out a little girl in a kid's movie with our hair type (she still does it now I'm grown...haha!)
So my sisters and I grew our natural hair happily and tolerated wash days until we were teens and our hair care became our responsibility.

In my next post, I'll show you a simple regimen to care for your baby's coils.

Till then,please put that relaxer thought on hold!!!!
There are many useful sites for childrens' haircare and two of my faves are beadsbraidsandbeyond.blogspot.com and chocolatehairvanillacare.com

Since this is a blog tailored to Nigerian natural hair care, share with us any Nigerian children's natural hair care sites you've visited and loved.

*I create natural hair kits tailored for children. For more info and to place your order, send me a mail on nappilynigeriangirl@gmail.com
( For now, I ship around Nigeria only...bear with me)

Live Beautifully. Naturally.
Hadassah.