Dad’s Punishment of Daughter Getting Highlights Goes too Far, Mom Steps In

Every child gets excited when their birthday comes around because such celebrations only happen one time a year. Therefore, the events are often spectacular and age-appropriate. Some kids have divorced parents, so they often have the opportunity to get two parties!

Kelsey Frederick was one of those children with divorced parents. Luckily, they always seemed to coordinate the birthday celebrations and never fought on her special day. This made Kelsey happy, but that all changed once she turned 13. Her world came crashing down around her, and she was sad and upset, wishing she had never been born. What could have caused such a turnaround?

Two Birthday Parties

Kelsey Frederick always seemed to get two birthday parties because her parents were divorced. However, her mom and dad wanted to throw a huge celebration this time because she was turning 13. She was very excited about the plans!

Turning 13

Kelsey hoped that this year would be better than all the rest. It was a special time in her life because she was turning 13 and becoming a young lady. Her parties had to reflect that, but what themes did her parents choose?

Getting Highlights

What made this birthday seem more special than the last? Her mom decided to allow Kelsey to get hair highlights for the very first time. Most girls her age were doing it, and Kelsey was dying to try the fad.

After the Salon

Once Kelsey finished at the salon, she went straight to her father’s house. It was the normal routine, so she never expected anything bad to happen. However, she had no idea what her dad would decide to do to her!

A Regular Tradition

Kelsey wasn’t in a unique situation because many children have divorced parents. However, the divorce contract stated that each person got to share equal time with their daughter. Therefore, she often alternated weekends with the parents.

Always Had Fun

Since Kelsey was with a different parent every weekend, things were always exciting. She enjoyed going to baseball games to watch the fun while she was with her father and two younger brothers. It was always interesting!

The Divorce

Schaffen and Christin were Kelsey’s parents, and they divorced when she was young, so it was harder for her to understand. However, the situation didn’t affect her as much as you might think because she had a great support system of cousins and siblings.

The New Wife

Soon after their divorce, Kelsey’s dad found a new girlfriend and eventually married her. That wasn’t an issue, though, because Kelsey liked the woman. Having a stepmother didn’t affect how her biological parents chose to raise the children.

About Kelsey

Kelsey wasn’t like other girls her age and had different hobbies. This made it hard to choose presents for special occasions. However, her mom decided to talk to her daughter’s friends to get ideas that weren’t pink or sparkly!

Taking a Lifetime

Most 12-year-old girls feel that it takes forever to become a teen, and Kelsey was no different. She counted down the days to her birthday just like others. Plus, she and her friends wasted no time, starting the planning process as soon as they could.

Birthday Highlights

Kelsey told her mom she wanted some highlights. Her goal was to add some blonde to her brown hair. It was a fairly normal request since other girls in the school were doing the same thing at the time. What did her mom say?

A Worried Mother

Kelsey’s mother wasn’t prepared for such a drastic change. In fact, she worried that her daughter might be trying to go blonde because she had no self-esteem or didn’t like her appearance. It was a difficult decision, but she had to provide an answer fast.

Influenced

After thinking about her daughter’s request, Christin realized that she herself had wanted blonde highlights for a while and talked about it often. Maybe she had influenced her daughter to do the same thing!

Mother-Daughter Bonding Session

Soon after that, Christin said it would be fine for Kelsey to get highlights on her birthday. Now, she had a plan and wanted to provide the royal treatment as the birthday present. They headed to the salon to get her hair done.

That’s Not All

Kelsey got a special birthday treat. Christin routinely went to the local salon, so the management offered a discount. Now, Kelsey could do her nails, too. She definitely left the place feeling like a beautiful princess.

The Result

After the treatments, she took a look at herself in a mirror and noticed a shocking transformation. Those highlights made her look different, and she loved the new style. Christin also admitted that her daughter was breathtakingly gorgeous now.

Wait For It

Christin had one more surprise that Kelsey never saw coming. Though she got her nails and hair done, she also received a professional makeup job. They headed to Sephora to turn her into a queen.

Posting the Final Product

When Kelsey’s makeup was done, she took a photo of it, posting it on Facebook for her friends and family to see. Christin and Kelsey didn’t expect the reaction they got from one family member in particular.

Time to Show Dad

Kelsey was usually excited to go to her dad’s, but this time, she was showing off her new hair and getting his honest opinion. She knew he supported her decisions, so she didn’t think this time would be different.

Something Isn’t Right

Christin knew her daughter didn’t call during Kelsey’s dad’s weekend, but she woke up the next day and had a bad feeling. Something wasn’t right, but she tried to push it aside, waiting for her daughter to come back home.

Unrecognizable

Kelsey arrived back at her mom’s house, choosing to ring the doorbell. Christin opened the door, not recognizing her own daughter. Finally, she realized who it was. Kelsey had been crying, so her face was swollen, and she also had something missing!

What Happened

Upon closer inspection, Christin saw that the expensive highlights were now gone, but her gorgeous hair had disappeared, as well. Had Kelsey done this because she regretted the transformation, or did someone else do it to her beautiful daughter?

A Chop Off

Kelsey’s hair was completely chopped off; there wasn’t much hair left at all. Later, Christin learned this was a “chop off” hairstyle. It was a boyish haircut with no styling done at all. This confused her immensely!

A Sudden Change

Kelsey had gone from feeling comfortable and confident with herself to being embarrassed in just a few days. She started bawling every time she looked in the mirror. Christin had to know what had happened!

An Angry Mother

Christin couldn’t get her daughter to talk about anything. Therefore, she got in her vehicle and drove to her ex-husband’s house. In fact, she was so mad; she couldn’t think clearly. Once she got there, she demanded answers.

A Punishment

Kelsey showed off her new hairstyle, but her stepmother and father didn’t like it and thought they should punish her for doing it. They believed that blonde highlights weren’t appropriate for a 12/13-year-old girl, so her actions required consequences.

Taste of Their Own Medicine

Christin decided that her ex-husband and Sarah (his new wife) were right. In fact, actions should have consequences. Therefore, she called the police because Kelsey’s haircut was done without her consent or permission, and they had to be taught a lesson.

Taking to Facebook

Christin was livid and felt helpless. Her daughter’s hair was now gone, and she couldn’t do anything about it. That’s why she took to Facebook to let out her frustrations. She wrote a post that detailed what her ex and his new wife did.

A Viral Post

Christin never expected her Facebook post to go viral, though it did exactly that. She just wanted her friends and family to validate her feelings that her ex-husband’s behavior was totally unreasonable. However, it got more attention than she could have imagined.

Outrage

The post was actually shared over 24,000 times. People shared their outrage about what Kelsey’s father did without hesitation. Facebook users held nothing back about this radical decision, and it gave Christin hope.

Support from Strangers

Christin’s Facebook post got overwhelming amounts of support, which showed her just how wrong her daughter’s father’s actions had been. Most people said it was disgusting and ridiculous! However, we wonder what Kelsey thought of it all!

Too Much Attention

Kelsey didn’t really like all the attention she got from the Facebook post. She was dealing with her personal embarrassment over the haircut and also dealing with other people bringing it up and staring at it. How did the middle schooler cope with it?

Like Everything Was Normal

Kelsey’s father, stepmother, and younger brothers all lived their lives normally. Meanwhile, she was hurting. Clearly, she felt angry, betrayed, and humiliated by what they’d done. As a slap in the face, they thought they were right!

Opinions

Her mom’s Facebook post brought up different opinions. Jennifer McVay was a hairstylist at Pear Tree Salon and said that having good hair leads to feeling good. The girl was probably embarrassed by what her father did.

Mixed Feelings

Most people said they could understand why the father was outraged since he didn’t know the makeover was going to happen. Still, that didn’t excuse what he did. It was cruel, heartless, and humiliating. If he loved his daughter, he wouldn’t want her to feel embarrassed.

Raising Awareness

Christin used the attention she got from her Facebook post to raise money for her daughter’s new hair treatment. She created her GoFundMe account to get contributions from readers. However, no one knew if it would work out.

Moving Away from Embarrassment

Christin liked to update people about the story and her daughter’s progress. She continued living life, even with a haircut she didn’t want or ask for. However, she couldn’t hide away in her bedroom forever!

Administrative Leave

Soon after the viral Facebook post, Schaffen and Sarah experienced adverse effects because of their actions. They were both suspended from their firefighter duties. In fact, The Middletown Township fire department didn’t want those types of people on the team.

Consequences for Their Actions

With the social media attention, the local authorities stepped in and investigated the matter. They decided to give full custody to Christin. In fact, that relieved Kelsey immensely because the relationship she’d had with her dad was now tarnished, and she couldn’t look at him.

GoFundMe Success

The GoFundMe campaign was successful, too. Kelsey went back to the salon she used for the highlights and got a wig to wear until her hair grew back. She was very grateful to have her mother’s support and those who contributed to the account.