do you have people making comments about your child needing to get their hair relaxed? dd1 is african american & arab american & she has beautiful kinky hair. usually we keep it braided in the summer, but she likes the way her afro looks with a scarf in the front of it. recently, people have started telling her "it's about time for your hair to get permed now isn't it?" <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/irked.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="irked">: i take that as them telling her it's time to start modifying your appearance in order to assimilate...am i being too sensitive? for one thing, i can't imagine putting those chemicals on an 8 y/o's scalp. and for another, her hair is part of her cultural identity IMO. i was just wondering if this was something we were dealing with alone or if it is generally accepted to chemically process children's hair & i am being "out there" again <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol">