Dad Forces Teen to Chop Hair Off After Mother Allowed Her to Get Highlights

In a day and age when kids dye their hair every color imaginable, a teen getting some highlights in her hair is hardly groundbreaking. In fact, it’s one of those things that’s so common that it rarely even elicits comments, except from close friends.

So, when Christin Johnson of Fostoria, Ohio, took her daughter, Kelsey, to get highlights added to her hair for her birthday, there was probably no reason to worry. After all, it’s not like it was dyed purple or anything.

However, Kelsey’s father apparently saw it very differently.

On January 31, Christin posted this on Facebook:

That’s right, the man chopped off the child’s hair. Why? Punishment. At least, that’s according to Haskins Police Chief Colby Carroll.

“I’ve been doing this since ’92 and I’ve never had a case I would say that’s like this,” Carroll said. “Mom was upset with how her child was being cared for — lack of better terms.”

Kelsey now has a wig to hide this “punishment.”

The father and stepmother who ordered the teen to chop off her hair are both volunteer firefighters and now find themselves suspended over this. They’re also under investigation for this act.

Look, I don’t know what the custody arrangements are for this family, but what I do know is that this isn’t the way you solve a problem with your child. If one parent allows her to do something you disagree with, you don’t punish the child for it. The girl had permission to get highlights—permission from an adult.

If you have an issue with it, then hair dye is the answer, not something that would mortify a young woman like this. This is psychological abuse, especially to a teenage girl. Hell, this is a punishment that was meted out for women who collaborated with the Nazis in World War II Europe, for crying out loud. It was punishment because it was traumatizing for many women.

Yet this girl’s father did precisely the same thing.

Folks, if you and your ex have a disagreement about your child’s hair, don’t try to solve it like this. Just don’t. This is a good way to make it so your child never wants to talk to you again.

It’s also a good way to potentially lose your parental rights and receive absolutely zero pity from anyone over it.