Abusive Or Just Mean?
When I saw this story yesterday, I thought it was a bit much. Kelsey is a young teenage girl, whose parents are divorced. Kelsey wanted highlights in her hair for her birthday, so her Mom took her to the hair dressers, and she got blond highlights in her hair. Kelsey’s Dad and step-mom, did not approve of the highlights, so as punishment, they made her cut all of her hair off when she went to stay with them. There are a lot of things I find upsetting about this story. As a kid of divorced parents, making a decision to undercut the other parent, is not cool. It makes me think the Dad did this just to upset his ex-wife. The cut that the Dad made Kelsey get wasn’t exactly flattering. It looked like a boy’s haircut. And I have VERY short hair! Hair grows back, but to a young teen girl, this ordeal could damage her self-esteem, and damage her relationship with her Dad and step-mom. That said, I’m not one of those people that thinks we need to treat children like “snowflakes”. I do feel that this punishment was definitely extreme. Kelsey’s Mom was extremely upset, and let Kelsey pick out a wig for herself. Kelsey’s Mom contacted the police, reporting abuse. Both the police department and Wood County Children’s services have since launched an investigation into a possible child abuse complaint. Personally, I think Kelsey’s Dad is a jackass, but I’m not sure this is abuse. The story has gained lots of attention. Kelsey’s Mom posted pics and the story on Facebook, and it’s been shared more than 24,000 times.
Do you think this constitutes abuse? Read more and see pics of Kelsey’s hair here.