An aunt has been branded "inconsiderate" by her sister-in-law after she refused to cut her hair short to match her niece's because the little girl is now jealous of her long locks.
The 26-year-old woman explained her brother, his fiancée, and her six-year-old daughter from a previous relationship recently moved closer to her, and she has since struck up a close bond with the young girl because they both had long blonde hair and would wear it in matching styles.
But when "an incident" at school left the girl - whom the woman named Eve, although the name was changed to protect her identity - needing a drastic haircut, she was devastated that her locks no longer matched her aunt's.
The girl claimed it was "unfair" that her aunt would be "the only princess in the family" now that her own hair is short, and in response, her mum asked the woman if she would get her hair cut to match.
In a post on Reddit, the woman said: "My brother Mike recently moved near me because of work. We are now half an hour away from each other. Mike is living with his fiancée Sara and her daughter from a previous relationship Eve. Sara works from home as a freelancer.
"Ever since the move I went to hang out at Mike's a lot because I missed him. Sara and I got along OK, but Eve was attached to me from the start. She said I look like one of the princess dolls she has. Thus our friendship is born.
"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.
"A few days ago an incident at school caused Eve's hair to be damaged. Sara took her to the salon but the best they could do was cut and trim her hair to just above shoulder length. Eve was crying and really upset; she said she won't get to play hair styling and have matching hair with me anymore since her hair is short now. She said it's not fair that I will be the only princess in the family now.
"Sara called me and asked if I can cut my hair to match Eve's so she wouldn't be sad. She said it will be a nice change of pace and our hair will grow back."
The woman told her sister-in-law she wouldn't be cutting her hair as she felt shoulder length was "too short for [her] liking", but was branded "inconsiderate" by the mum.
She added: "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."
Commenters on the post were largely on the woman's side, with many saying no one can force her to cut her hair if she doesn't want to.
One person said: "They're correct - it is just hair, and Eve's will grow back. No need for you to cut your hair just because of Eve's random mishap. Sara's at risk of raising Eve to be super entitled and self-centred."
While another added: "I think it's kinda weird that Sara even asked you to do that."
Others also pointed out the hair ordeal should have been a "teaching moment" to help the girl learn lessons including having patience and challenging beauty stereotypes.
Someone stated: "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), or being different doesn't break caring (you and Eve can still be connected despite the different hair).
"Instead she chose to teach Eve that people are supposed to cave to her desires."
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