Mom asks if she's wrong to shave her baby's unibrow behind husband's back.
While some parents choose to pierce their baby's ears or dress them up with bows, dresses, or miniature tuxedos--newborn eyebrow maintenance might cause some controversy in the Mommy Facebook Groups...
So, when a frustrated mother decided to consult the moral compass of the internet otherwise known as Reddit's 'Am I the As*hole' about whether or not she'd be wrong to shave her baby, people were quick to help deem a verdict.
AITA (Am I the As*hole) for shaving my baby’s unibrow?
I have a baby girl who has a very thick unibrow. Of course I think she is beautiful, including her bushy little brow, but I am SO tired of the comments from other people.
Literally on a daily basis, people tell me I should dress her up as Frida Kahlo for Halloween, jokingly ask if she has a caterpillar on her face, tell me dad must be really hairy, etc. Nobody seems to notice anything about her except that unibrow. So, I shaved a little separation into her brow.
I used a tiny little facial razor that is very gentle on skin and made sure to take care of her skin afterwards. It didn’t cause any sort of irritation or issues and I’ve continued to do it every week or so. My husband finally noticed (I did it initially about a month ago) and demanded to know how I could possibly do something like that to our child. He’s angry with me because:
1) I didn’t run it by him first
2) I’m going to give her body image issues
3) there’s nothing wrong with a unibrow. I told him when she’s old enough to voice her opinions she can tell me what she wants, but until then I’m going to keep shaving it so that people notice more than just her unibrow. He told me to post it on here to “prove” to me that I’m the as*hole.
The issue here is mostly that a baby has no idea she is roaming this planet with a unibrow...
Changing your child's appearance because you're tired of strangers commenting on a certain facial feature is a bit vain, but is it really so bad? Eventually she'll probably be interested in maintaining her own eyebrows, and getting a head start doesn't exactly hurt anyone.
Of course, people were eager to weigh in on this parenting drama. Here's what the jury of internet strangers had to say:
Boomgtd_ said:
I can see why your husband is upset. You really should have consulted him first before doing something to your daughter. However, why wait until she comes home crying because kids are making fun of her when it’s something easy to care for now? While it’s nothing medically necessary to care for, it’s something easy to take care of.
I just imagine leaving it alone and having her hate her childhood pictures. Pictures that she can’t change but can burn instead of having the memories. I also can’t believe it took a month for him to notice. Showing that it’s really not that big of a deal.
TinyRascalSaurus said:
NTA (Not the As*hole). She's a baby. She doesn't even care if she has clothes on or not. She's not going to be at all concerned with her eyebrows. You shaved it because people were making comments that really didn't need to be made. You used appropriate tools, and clearly you haven't cut the baby. If anything, the people making the comments would cause body issues for drawing attention to a characteristic she can't help.
DisneyViking said:
NTA. This hurts no one, also she may stop having a unibrow in a year. According to my mother all my hair fell out around 1 yr of age and grew back in 3 months later a different color. And honestly, I (personally) think she would like some baby pictures where she does and doesn't have the unibrow. My cousin has some ugly baby pictures he likes to keep hidden. She can decide what she wants later. But it's not harming anyone now. Hubby, calm down. It's not like it's a tattoo. Hair grows back.
Soft yta (You're the As*hole). As a Middle Eastern person it’s something we all go through as kid’s. We always say that’s how we can tell you’re middle eastern and it’s our right of passage. But I get it I had non middle eastern people look at my baby pictures and constantly comment about it and make fun of me. If your child decides to rock that when they’re older then it’s great thing that hair grows back! It’s not like you’re getting rid of something that will never come back once it’s gone.
thehufflepuffstoner said:
YTA. I say this as someone who’s confidence was destroyed by my mother “trying to help” and it left me riddled with insecurities. I cannot believe how many people here are saying N T A. Seriously, if you were piercing her ears everyone would be riled up over body autonomy. But apparently shaving the baby weekly is fine???? Wtf?
So, there you have it!
While the opinions were slightly divided here, most people agreed that this mom isn't hurting anyone by giving her baby some light eyebrow maintenance. Sure, if she was waxing or threading her child's brows then it'd be a different story, but it's just some harmless gentle shaving. The true test will be when she grows up and gets to make the decision on her own. To unibrow or not to unibrow? Good luck, everyone!