Charity Grace LeBlanc is something of a social media celebrity.
With an online following of almost 300K, Charity has built up a following by showcasing some of her more creative workout ideas – including yoga sessions where her two adorable children can get involved.
She is used to people talking about her hands-on parenting, making statements like, ‘I guess if you don’t have very many friends you can always just make your own’ – which is certainly a sentiment a lot of mothers could agree with.
However, she managed to divide her parenting fan base this month when she recorded a tutorial of herself dying her toddler’s hair pink.
In a video called Pink hair for kids – easy hair tutorial Charity dyes the hair of her charming daughter, City LeBlanc – who runs through a series of emotions throughout the four-minute clip, from excited to very obviously uninterested.
We’ve all had to sit still with hair dye on, can’t say we blame her for looking bored.
City’s hair is already naturally quite light, which means that it was an easy process for Charity to colour it pink without the use of harsh chemicals.
The description for the video reads:
‘In this Tutorial, I’m dying my 2-year-old daughter’s hair PINK! She has been begging me for a long time so we finally just went ahead and did it!
‘I used Manic Panic Hot Pink which is a direct dye and is safe for kids. It washed out in about 3-4 days.’
Manic Panic is a direct dye and does not contain peroxide or any harsh chemicals.
Of the 1.2 million views the video has racked up so far, many left comments praising charity and her ‘Epic Mum skills.’
Some, however, have been questioning whether dying the toddler’s hair was a wise decision.
“WTF is wrong with you all? Are you serious? Just because she ‘asked’ and made that ‘cute little face’ does NOT mean that you SHOULD actually do that for her.'”
Which is an interesting point and leaves us asking the question, how young is too young to dye your child’s hair?
One commenter wants us to remember that it’s all just “a bit of fun”.
“I love this, my 5 year old has asked me to do this to her hair also, it’s a fun way to bond and have fun with your child. As long as it’s not damaging her hair (which it’s not) then it’s fine. It’s only a bit of fun!”
When it comes to parenting, there’s always someone ready to shame and criticise what you’re doing. Breastfeeding is another topic everyone has something to say about.
Last year, a young mother spoke out after being criticised for breastfeeding her son in public.
The mother from Terre Haute, Indiana, Conner Kendall, was out with her family when an unidentified male stranger took a photo of her breastfeeding, without her knowledge. The man then uploaded this photo onto both Facebook and Instagram, asking his followers whether they thought it was “appropriate” or not.
After a couple of days of circulation, Conner said she was “horrified” when she went online and saw her photo “plastered” everywhere, adding that the comments and messages that followed the stranger’s Facebook post were “nothing less than harassing and shameful to, not only me, but every past, present, and future nursing mother”.
When it comes to shaming parents on the internet, it’s almost always better to just say nothing at all.
