Forum Activity for @sweet

Dreads in the Rainforest

General Questions

If life is lived in balance and believe me i'm a live in the bush fanatic, just make sure when you have been in the rain or had a few humid days just go out in the sun and lay near a river bank by some rocks and 'sun' your dreadies. How can rain that makes the earth smell so sweet and pure make anything go mouldy, its only what is mixed withthat water that can do so. I'm so sure when my kids r grown that i will be out there smwhere deep in the New Zealand bush in a tiny wooden hut by myself, my hubby has already built my hut!! I'll get some pics of it here soon. It has a tin roof so i can hear the rain and is made with half rounds of logs, thats all it takes to set yourself up for the simplistic life in the woods, because thats what its all about, simplicity, thats what Dreads r about, thats why they r so spiritual. In our woods or forest we have pungas that r 25 mitres high, some r not and some ferns just cover the ground andgive birth to these tiny red berries, there is tiny tiny blue toadstills that you would almost feel that a goblin is going to pop out from behind, i have even seen these brightest red toadstills amongst the green green moss and yellow green lichen. From the minature world of rocks dapled in red dots from some sort of a fungus to ancient giants of black beech trees with tiny sparkling leave that r almost silver after the rains, there u see the fantails swoop to greet you and land at your feet, not to mention smtimes on your feet! They r so tame as they come towisper the secrets of their survival and it is there that you hear the melacholic calls of the bells bird. Yes if you make this descision to live in the woods and really become a part of its call to its simplistic yet vibrant energy, there wil never never be a dull moment.

Children with dreads

General Questions

You know what I,ve done, my 11year old daughter Sientje wanted dreads, I even myself put up a discussion just like yours headed My 11year old daughter wants dreads, Well what I did was let her have a couple just behind her left ear, she had stopped combing her hair about a week ago and one dread started behind her ear anyway, so I back combed with a bit of t&rip one just beside it, she is thrilled and it give her the feeling of what dreads feel like, but the way she reacted when she found her first natural dready told me she is a natural as far as dreads go. We even took a pic of it and have put it somewhere on my page.

My 11 year old daughter wants her hair dreaded???

Dreads in the Family

Gilly's Mum said:

Hey, I was wondering what you and your daughter ended up deciding?

My daughter is 6 and has had her dreads for a year and a half. She is just finishing up Kindergarten here at a public school in the States. I've not had anyone from school say anything to me about it.

At the start of the year I wrote a little note to her teacher explaining that Gilly chose to have dreads and that if she ever had any questions about it, to just let me know.

She only VERY occasionally gets a "that girl needs to brush her hair" and then either Gill or her sister will chime in with "No, you don't brush dreads....." and sort of blink a lot at people as though they have said something really ridiculous.

Kids can be mean and I think the best thing we can do as parents is to remind them that things like how they do their hair is for them. I try to remind Gilly that as other people dont have to love or even like her dreads, it only matters that she does.

My 11 year old daughter wants her hair dreaded???

Dreads in the Family

Thank you Gilly,s Mum for asking about my daughter Sientje,s dreads. Being a hairdresser myself I ended up doing the back half of Sientje,s hair with some t&r and back combing, unlike Gilly she couldn't stand the feeling of the dreads when she lay down in her bed, she tried for a couple of weeks but I ended up having to comb them out a few each night! She had no problems at the school in the end, but I think that is because we tied them back with some of her straight hair covering the dreads, the kids that did realise her hair was half dreaded all said they wish they could have their hair dreaded too! Living with me on a daily basis with dreads in my hair I think there will come at time again when Sientje will want to have them too again. I did add some coloured sheepskin wool to give a bit of length to Sientje fine hair and I think that's where I went wrong, unlike with Gilly,s hair being longer and the dreads sitting so beautifully tapered at the ends, there would of not been the bulk at the ends to lie on, where as Sientje,s length finished just after the nape of her neck and was think at the ends with the sheepskin wool! Something I too have learnt hopefully for a next time, she did look something cute though. I would love to see some recent pics of how Gilly,s dreads are now.

My 11 year old daughter wants her hair dreaded???

Dreads in the Family

Ionly just realisedwhat you meant with the reactions different hairstyle evoke when i was reading Baba's reply, hadn't think of that, i know when i have had to go into her high school i have been consciouse about playing down my dreads by either typing up or putting a dread band on, i subconsciously though that i didn't want Sientje bought down or singled out because of my appearance. Maybe if i did 2 or 3 dreads first on her?
Laura Earle said:

Can you call the school beforehand and ask if dreadlocks are permissible there? And I agree with Baba -- a child who is eleven years old is definitely old enough to decide what they want to do with their hair, but they might not be fully aware of the different kinds of reactions different hairstyles evoke. I would definitely talk with her about dealing with these reactions, as well as dealing with the commitment that dreads require.

My 11 year old daughter wants her hair dreaded???

Dreads in the Family

Now that smthing to think about - Sientje (my daughter) has been getting interested in different colours and i did one natural brown with some red in it, but of course by the next couple of weeks she wanted another colour, at 11 years this was not going to happen, so now i will beable to say if she has dreads she can't bring even more attention to herself by having more colours. With my dreads when i tie them back you wouldn't even know i had dreads. Her hair is the same as mine so i recogn i could get away with doing abit of t&r on sectioned hair, have to do this or she would, like me, have one big combo!!
Christian Thomas Patton said:

My school allowed them. Most of my teachers actually found them exciting and different and were fascinated by how much they change over time. Which is surprising considering i live in a small close minded community that see's dreadlocks as "dirty" and "disgusting". They shouldn't have a problem with her hair unless it was unnatural or "distracting" colors.

updated by @sweet: 07/23/15 12:07:37AM

My 11 year old daughter wants her hair dreaded???

Dreads in the Family

Yes you r so right - didn't think about the fun other kids might or will make of her having dreads, come to think of it i haven't seen anyone else with dreads either, that of course is why i have the big question of weather she will get away with having dreads at the school. Yes i will now take the time to explain to her that she could be singled out for both the look of having dreads and what it all stands for which is spiritual beliefs and simplistic way of living.

Baba Fats said:

As a general rule, public schools can have a dress code that says you can't have "distracting" hair styles. That said, teachers and administrators may try and say dreadlocks are "distracting". But because many people wear locks for spiritual reasons, they can't say that dreadlocks, in particular, are not allowed.

If you want her to grow locks for a spiritual reason, they can't stop it. But if you are only letting them grow because she wants them, and so you won't have to brush her hair regularly, and hurt her, they can force your hand.

At 11, your daughter is old enough to have thecognitiveability to understand how to keep them clean, and how important it is to do so. I'd first explain all of that to her (if you haven't already). Then sit down and talk to her about how she may get made fun of for them. Kids can be really mean towards things they don't understand.

My 11 year old daughter wants her hair dreaded???

Dreads in the Family

O yes for sure its a way of life - having our dreads, we live in the bush on a couple of acres and really try to live the simplistic way of life and i am excentricly into the spiritual way of life, we are surrounded with incenses and crystals etc, really its no wonder she wants dreads! But yes she does want them over night, so when she first asked me i said yes she can have her dreads but didn't start to get the sectioning done straight away and have explained to her that she will have to really want dreads before i even start to do anything about it. Can't just let her hair dread because just like mine would matt in 1 great lot! So there will have to be some sectioning up to get it on its way:)

Baba Fats said:

She also might not understand fully that they take time. Kids see time differently than adults do. You tell a kid they take a year to form, and it doesn't mean the same thing as tell you or me a year.

I don't see why you couldn't call before hand. But be ready for them to say "no, they aren't". If you and she really wants them for a spiritual reason, you can drop the word "lawsuit" or "lawyer", and they would cave pretty quickly. But if it's not for a spiritual reason, it does diminish that fight for those of us who do grow them for religious purposes

My 11 year old daughter wants her hair dreaded???

Dreads in the Family

Being a hairdresser i should have no problem with showing her and helping her look after her dreadies, if thats what it comes down to then its an easy thing - i did think it would be an idea to make sure she can ties her dreads back in a ponytail but with a crocheted band of course
The-Pygmy Page said:

I think if she wants them and you don't have a problem showing her how to keep them clean it shouldn't be a problem . Some people are big saying young people don't understand enough but I just started letting my son's hair do its own thing and he is three. I would also seeif you could modify the letter to the employ they have made here .

My 11 year old daughter wants her hair dreaded???

Dreads in the Family

Thank you for adding your experience with the 'fire engine red hair' your right about defending the smaller issues, like you say 'where or how far would it go if we let people decide how we dress' Really you wouldn't think it would matter in a small country school here in NZ.

k8ekate said:

I haven't looked at your profile and seen where you live but each school is different. I know that a friends son had fire engine red hair in 4th Grade and the school made him stay in an in-school suspension room until his mom could come get him because according to the principal, "his hair is a distraction in class." Pretty ridiculous if you ask me. I'm sure she could have fought the schools administration about it but she chose not to. I would've started a battle!!! I believe it's not up to them to tell you in the public schools how a child should dress and wear their hair but we are in America and losing our liberties faster and faster these days. If we don't fight over the "small stuff" like hairstyles in school we are teaching our children to become Sheeple. That said, you may have no issues at all with her school.