A woman who is close to her young niece says she had to draw a line after her sister-in-law made an unreasonable request, asking that she cut her own hair after the little girl's long blonde locks got damaged.
According to this doting aunt, her older brother Mike recently moved near her with his fiancée Sara, and his six-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, Eve.
She gets on "okay" with Sara, but has really bonded with young Eve, who became attached to her "from the start" on account of her resemblance to one of her beloved princess dolls.
Taking to Reddit, the woman wrote: "One of the activities Eve and I enjoy is styling our hair. Our hair is very similar: long, blonde, fine, and super straight.
"We enjoy braiding, curling, and ornamenting our locks, as Sara has had short hair all her life and cannot style her daughter's hair beyond a simple ponytail.
"Eve loved it when I put our hair in matching styles and we often went to dinner like that. My brother and Sara thought it was adorable."
Unfortunately, a few days ago, Eve's hair became damaged following an incident at school, and, after mum Sara took her to get it fixed, the best the stylist could do was give her a shoulder-length trim.
Little Eve was left in tears, and was especially sad that she would no longer be able to play hair-styling with her aunt, who she lamented was now "the only princess in the family".
Reaching out to fellow Reddit users for advice, the conflicted aunt continued: "Sara called me and asked if I can cut my hair to match with Eve so she wouldn't be sad. She said it will be a nice change of pace and our hair will grow back.
"I told her no. A trim of an inch is one thing but shoulder length is too short for my liking. Sara said I'm not being considerate as it'll mean a lot to Eve to know her aunt matches with her."
Her brother Mike has been more forgiving, agreeing that it was her hair, and therefore her decision, while their mother has suggested it would be "a nice thing to do".
She doesn't want to cut her hair that short, but equally doesn't want to be perceived as inconsiderate, and is now torn as to what to do next.
One person remarked: "Sara could have turned this into a learning moment. She could have gone with patience: the hair will grow back, challenging stereotypes and ideas of beauty: princesses can have short hair, being different doesn't break caring: you and Eve can still be connected despite the different hair, etc.
"Instead, she chose to teach Eve that people are supposed to cave to her desires."
Another advised: "Your body, your choices. When you're six, and things don't go quite right, life can feel tough. You've got a great chance to help show her how to rise above that, instead of expecting the whole world to cater to her desires.
"That's a lesson that will serve her well in life. Your niece still has shoulder-length hair. You've still got lots of opportunities to play hair styling together. Just because you can't be identical for a while doesn't mean it can't still be fun."
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