Mum furious after grandmother ‘sneakily’ cuts six-month-old son’s hair without permission

A grandmother took it upon herself to cut her grandson's hair without his parents' permission, leaving them fuming. Photo / File / Getty Images

An American woman has been left fuming after realising her baby son’s grandmother had cut his hair without her permission.

Pippa’s son Ryan* was born with thick locks of hair, and his parents agreed not to cut it for as long as possible, reports Australian parenting site Kidspot.

When he reached six months old, his parents continued to get lots of comments on how long and thick his hair was.

Most would agree that cutting a child's hair without their parents' permission is a no-no. Photo / 123rf

But one day, after little Ryan had spent some time with his grandparents, his mum realised there was something different about him.

“There’s something wrong with the back of his head,” Pippa recalled, sharing her story on Reddit.

She quickly realised that someone had taken a pair of scissors to her baby’s hair.

“I had a conversation with her [my mother] multiple times on how I wish to not cut my son’s hair any time soon, even recently,” Pippa said, adding that her mother had done a “half-a** job” of the unwanted haircut.

“The middle and right side of the back of his hair is completely gone, while there’s a bit of the left side still there,” she said in tears. “There’s also small long hairs still visible in the middle and on the right side.

“This was sneakily done, horrifically, to the point where my mother would assume I wouldn’t notice the difference in the back of my son’s head.”

Pippa’s mum explained her actions by saying her grandson’s hair looked “unkempt” and that she worried people would assume he was a girl.

But his mother said “I personally don’t give a damn if someone mistakes my son for a girl ... I’ve come across extremely respectful parents at the park who ask me the gender of my baby before making assumptions.

“But also, his hair didn’t look unkempt to begin with.”

Pippa almost felt like her young son’s “personality” had been “ripped away” from him.

And although it was “just hair”, she said her mother had broken a boundary. “What boundary could my mother push next time to potentially do something I wouldn’t approve of to my son?”

Other parents chimed in on her post to agree that she had the right to be upset.

“You are allowed to set boundaries with your parents, and you are allowed to be upset when they cross them. It might not [have] been a big deal to her, but it is to you and your husband, and that’s what matters,” one noted.

Another acknowledged the situation was “more than just about hair”.

“It’s about someone disrespecting your wishes about your own son.”

Others thought she might be “overreacting” about the haircut, with one reassuring her, “It will grow back, and nothing about your son’s personality was linked to his hair.

“Be upset about the boundary, but don’t sweat the hair.”

*Names have been changed