Life On The Outside Ain't Easy...

[mamarhi]

Over the weekend, Loki-boy realized that he liked having his hair back in a ponytail. It keeps his hair off of his neck and mostly out of his face. So this morning as I was doing the Grrrl's hair, his eyes lit up when I offered to do his hair as well. Nothing more was thought of this until we arrived at school and he ran off to play with his friends. Soon he returned, sad-faced with his hood over his hair. He told me very quietly that the other boys were making fun of his hair but that he didn't want to take the ponytail out. He was really sad about this.

It's hard to be different. I've done everything I can to help my kids be true to their own selves, yet understand that the world is not always likely to accept them that way. I've taught them to be proud of who they are and to love others for who they are as well, no matter how different people can be. I've given them a safe space at home to experiment with all the weird that their little brains and hearts can come up with. But I can't stop the other kids on the playground from making fun of them for the face they choose to show in public.

So I pulled his teacher aside and let her know what was happening with Loki-boy and his hair. She said that she would probably take his ponytail out so that it wouldn't be a problem. *sigh*

I send my children to public school so they can be exposed to diversity.