I would be willing to bet that most mothers of a black girl child at some point, gives some thought to straightening their child's hair. I have two daughter's, one aged 12 (Almost) and a 9 year old. Both of them have a LOT of thick, dense hair. Here are some pictures of DD #1. My firstborn. She has beautiful reddish brown hair, on which she receives compliments on a daily basis.
Here is a picture of Miss Thing after she washed her hair. Yes, she did it on her own. This is a milestone that we are celebrating big time. But combing this head of hair is no joke. We have to do it in stages. So this evening, I gave her the simple hairstyle below.
This is about all we could manage in one evening. This style will last tonight and will still look good for church tomorrow morning. But it will not last much longer than that. Tomorrow afternoon, I will have to sit with her for about an hour, to plait it in small sections, that will last for the week, which includes swim team training.
I am saying all of this to say that when mothers relax their girls' hair, I try not to criticize, because I really do understand the desire to make the hair care thing a little bit easier. I hope when the time comes (and I know it is coming), when my daughters express the desire to have their hair straightened, that I will do the right thing. And what is the right thing? I honestly don't know. I think the right thing will be different for each person, and for each family.