The Birthday Present That Changed Kelsey’s Life Forever

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Birthdays are an incredibly special occasion for children. It is the one day of the year when they get all the attention, presents, and love from their parents. Children tend to look forward to the day of their birthday all year – since it is finally the day when they are the center of attention. Even if you have divorced parents, you get to have double the fun by celebrating your birthday individually with each parent. For Kelsey Frederick, things were similar. All she wanted was a normal birthday with her parents, but she could’ve never imagined what was about to happen.

Can I Have Two Parties?

Back when her parents were divorced, it was decided that Kelsey would always have two birthday parties. One would be arranged by her dad, and one with her mother. This was to ensure that the little girl got enough time to spend with both parents despite them being divorced.

It was finally the year that Kelsey had been waiting for – her 13th birthday. For every little girl, this day is a big milestone and Kelsey was certainly looking forward to it. She knew she would have two celebrations of her own, making it an even more special day for her.

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Having Her Dream 13th Birthday

Kelsey knew that she wanted to make her thirteenth birthday incredibly special. It was day that marked her stepping into the teenage years, and she wanted to start having fun on her birthday itself. This meant that the 13th birthday had to be different from all other birthdays in the past.

Kelsey had many ideas that she could have gone for whilst planning her perfect 13th birthday. Maybe a glamorous sleepover with her friends, or a big party with all of her classmates from middle school? Whatever party she would plan, Kelsey knew she had to have a fun weekend to celebrate.

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Let’s Take a Trip

To commemorate her 13th birthday, Kelsey’s mother wanted to do something incredibly special for her. Apart from the usual celebrations, the mother decided to book an appointment at the hairdresser’s for Kelsey. She already knew that Kelsey wanted to get something done with her hair, especially since all of her classmates and friends already had highlighted or dyed hair.

Kelsey always wanted to fit in with them, and she was so excited to finally have highlighted hair of her own. As they were making their way to the salon, Kelsey was already excited regarding what kind of highlights she would get.

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Kelsey Was Excited to Visit Her Dad, Until…

After Kelsey was done spending the day at the hairdressers with her mother, she knew she had to head over to her father’s house to celebrate. This was a standard tradition for them as a family since after the divorce, both parents wanted to spend an equal amount of time with their daughter. On her 13th birthday, the father did not want to stand behind in any way. He wanted to play his part in making sure that Kelsey has a memorable 13th birthday.

But when she arrived at her father’s house with a whole different look, she would have never predicted what was about to happen.

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What Does It Mean to Have Divorced Parents?

There are many divorced parents in the world. While divorce is known to have negative psychological impacts on children, it is still important for parents to step up ad take responsibility of their children in order to ensure that their mental health does not suffer.

When parents are divorced, most children choose to spend equal amounts of time with their mother and the father individually. This does not disrupt the child’s upbringing in any way since they develop a similar close relationship with the child. This is exactly how Kelsey’s life was.

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Kelsey Always Lived an Extraordinary Life

Living with divorced parents means spending every weekend with a different parent. As a result, you could never become bored of doing the same things every day. Each weekend has a completely different plan and Kelsey gets to have all kinds of unique experiences for herself. She herself stated that she enjoys attending baseball games with her father the most – making it a special bonding time for the two.

Kelsey also has two loving younger brothers who are always making the family laugh. Family time was always a priority for Kelsey, at least before her 13th birthday…

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Kelsey’s Relationship with her Mother was Different

Familial relationships are important for a child’s healthy psychological development. Every girl’s first best friend is her mother – the one with whom they share every little detail of their life. From the first crush to all the problems at middle school, the mother always knows everything that is going on in her daughter’s life.

Lucky for Kelsey, she has that friendly relationship with her mother. After the parents were divorced, Kelsey chose to live with her mother Christin and shares a special bond with her. The two of them always support each other in every aspect of life.

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Healthy Bonds Come From Trust

For Kelsey, her relationship with her mother is special to her. She appreciates having somebody so close with whom she can always share her problems without facing any judgment. Regardless of what Kelsey would go through in her personal life, she would always turn to her mother Christin to speak her heart out.

It was important for Kelsey to have such a trusting relationship with her mother, especially after the parents were divorced. Having her mother close to her helped Kelsey develop important interpersonal relationships in her life.

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Everything is Different with Dad

Fathers tend to play a minimal role in their daughter’s lives. Although that is a stereotype that should be broken, it is just the truth. Even for Kelsey, it was difficult for her to develop a same trusting relationship with her dad. This was even more difficult after the divorce since Kelsey always felt that her father was not as interested in her personal life as her mother. That is why she was always closer with her mother Christine and felt a little distant to her dad.

Despite things being different with her dad, Kelsey still made sure to spend important time with her dad.

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What Happened to the Happy Family?

Kelsey was fairly young when her parents decided to live separately. While it was a big shock for Kelsey and her younger brothers, they were able to cope with the situation because they had a big extended family. With lots of cousins and siblings who acted as their support system, Kelsey and her siblings were able to cope with their parents getting a divorce.

Having a good support system in place is necessary for the children to be able to cope with their parents getting a divorce. For Kelsey, she had many strong women around her who she looked up to for love and support – including her own mother.

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She Always Wanted to Go Out

Kelsey had been good at sports ever since she was a little girl. She wanted to become a big athlete, and she always made sure to participate in sporting events at her school or local neighborhood. When her parents decided to get a divorce, sports were the only thing that helped Kelsey cope through the change.

Both of her parents made an extra effort to ensure that Kelsey did not get distracted from her sports throughout the divorce. They would always take her to her games and motivate her to perform better.

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Can Divorced Parents Stay Friends?

To form a happy and healthy relationship with their children, Kelsey’s parents decided to remain friends with each other after the divorce. Even though this was a difficult thing to accomplish, the only reason why Kelsey’s parents took this big step was to make the change easier for their children and their daughter.

When it came to raising their daughter, the divorced couple agreed on almost everything. They already had a set rules of instructions and guidelines regarding how they wanted to raise their daughter in elegance and discipline.

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Could Kelsey Keep Up with Family Traditions?

Kelsey’s parents always put her needs first. They wanted her to have an easy time growing up and always made sure to help her create beautiful memories that she could look back on. One of the early traditions of the family was to take a mother-father-daughter trip to Lake Erie at the end of every month. Even after Kelsey had her younger brothers, the family tradition was kept exclusive to the three members and Kelsey always had a great time there.

Even after the divorce, the parents continued to keep this tradition alive only for Kelsey’s happiness.

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Kelsey’s Life Kept Changing

The change never seemed to end for Kelsey. Once she became accustomed to having her parents divorced and living separately, she soon had to face a new change in her life. Her father had met a new woman whom he worked with and soon got into a relationship with her.

Even though all of this was new to Kelsey, she was still as supportive as possible of her father’s new relationship. She tried to be friendly and get along with his new girlfriend.

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Time For Wedding Bells

Soon after they got into a relationship, things were progressing very quickly for Kelsey’s father and his new girlfriend. Only after dating for a few months, Kelsey’s father had proposed to his girlfriend and decided to have their marriage officiated at the courthouse as soon as possible.

Even though the new couple was not interested in having a big wedding ceremony, they still dressed up and celebrated the occasion with their families. Kelsey was happy to participate and be there for her father on his special day.

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Is It a Complicated Situation?

After the father’s second marriage, the situation could have become more complicated. While the divorce was enough to cope with for the children, having a stepmom was a completely different experience. While they anticipated that things were about to change, there were no major changes that followed.

Kelsey’s mother was okay with Schaffen’s new wife, as long as he was still playing his part in raising their daughter in the best way. The stepmom was also okay with the complicated situation that the family was already in – including Kelsey coming to stay over every other weekend.

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Nothing was Changing.

Even though Kelsey now had a stepmother to see every time she visited her father, it was already decided that nothing would change in the relationship between Kelsey and her father. She loved her father very much and was extremely happy for him to be able to get into a new relationship and find love for himself.

As far as Kelsey’s life was concerned, nothing was supposed to change.

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Kelsey Needed Someone to Rely On…

Throughout her life, Kelsey always had a strong support system to rely on. She knew that she had endless support from some of the strongest women she knew, including her aunt Kelly and godmother Haylee Ann. It was these women who taught Kelsey to be confident in herself and always prioritize herself over everybody else.

Having a strong support system was essential for Kelsey to never be threatened by the circumstances in her life – including her parents divorce and dad’s second marriage.

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She Always Had One Role Model

Even though Kelsey was just 13, she had received enough life advises from the strong women in her life. She already knew how to cope with most difficulties that she would face throughout her life. Especially with Aunt Kelly and her godmother, Kelsey had formed an important relationship that allowed her to learn from their experiences.

Since she had so much support from the strong women in her life, Kelsey never felt the need to become threatened by her stepmother. She knew that always had people to fall back in, even if she went through something traumatic.

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The Drive Back Home Was Never Tiring

One great thing for Kelsey was that both of her parents lived nearby. Whenever she had to visit her father, it was easier to commute from her mother’s house to her father’s. Both of them had their houses in Fostoria, Ohio. Since they lived nearby, it was always easy for her parents to plan the birthdays of their children. This is why Kelsey always had two grand birthday celebrations with her family every year – she could easily go from one house to the other.

Even on her 13th birthday, Kelsey had no issue spending an entire day with her mother and then being dropped off to her father’s house for the remainder of the weekend.

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Kelsey Wanted Unique Birthday Presents

Ever since she was a child, Kelsey was choosy about the things that she liked. While you would expect a typical 12-year-old to enjoy all things girly and pink, Kelsey was very different. She had a world of her own, with unique hobbies and interests that were very dear to her.

This is why it was difficult for Kelsey’s parents to always decide on a birthday present for her. Since the parents wanted to make their daughter’s birthday special, they always went out of their way to let her have gifts she genuinely loved.

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There Was One Rule

Whenever it came to celebrations for Kelsey, there was one fixed rule that she made no compromises on. That was no pink or glitz. She didn’t want any glittery balloons or sparkly candies on her birthday. Instead, she wanted something more practical and more grown-up. Growing up, Kelsey had always been more mature than her age. Nobody could ever call her a girly girl because she was always the sporty girl in her friend group.

To decide for the best birthday gift for her 13th birthday, Kelsey’s mom reached out for her friends and family’s help.

Pin on When in doubt, throw a party.

What Should I Gift Her?

As Kelsey had always been into playing sports, her parents inclined towards giving her sport-related presents. For instance, she enjoyed playing softball, so she already had all of the necessary equipment as she had been gifted everything in the past. Kelsey also loved to go fishing, but fishing gear does not make for an adequate gift for a little girl’s 13th birthday.

Kelsey was always a happy child who didn’t demand much from her parents. This is why her mother was determined to make her 13th birthday even more special for her, but what could she possibly want as a gift?

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Kelsey Had One Wish

As all fans, Kelsey also had her heart set on a specific jersey from her favorite softball team. Since softball jerseys are official, they also require a large amount of money to purchase. While Kelsey’s parents were well off, they did not have enough to spend on a Mia Hamm jersey for their little girl, even if they wanted to.

For her 13th birthday, her mother had to think of something that would be special to Kelsey but not too heavy on the pocket.

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Is It My Birthday Yet?

Kelsey couldn’t wait for her 13th birthday to arrive. As for all 12-year-olds, the jump into their teenage years is a big one. Each little boy and girl simply cannot wait to step into their teen years and start making the most of their life. They have dreams, ambitions, and passions that they can no longer put on hold. The same applied to Kelsey.

Due to her utter excitement for her 13th birthday, she and her friends began to search for party ideas and started planning out the perfect birthday celebration for Kelsey.

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They Grow Up So Fast

For Christin, looking at her little girl turning 13 was an emotional moment. She could not believe how big and mature her little girl had already gotten. She felt like it was just yesterday when she was born, and in just a few days she turns 13. In all of these years, she never left her mother’s side for a second. Kelsey was always there to support her mother through her parents divorce and even when her father got married again – she was her mother’s support system.

Kelsey’s 13th birthday was especially important to Christin since she wanted to make it as memorable as possible.

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Big Girl Decisions

Kelsey was always a dear child in the family. On each birthday, both of her parents would have some surprise planned out for her that would make her day special and unique. This time, Kelsey was turning 13 and Christin wanted her to make some decisions for herself.

Instead of planning the entire birthday herself as the mother, Christin took a big step to ask Kelsey what she wanted for her own birthday. This was a huge milestone for Kelsey since she had never been asked what she wanted before.

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Kelsey Loved Makeovers, Until…

Christin was always aware of her daughters love for makeup and pretty clothes. Even though Kelsey was never a girly girl who enjoyed everything pink and sparkly, she was still a huge fan of pretty makeup. Christin always knew this since she had found her daughter experimenting with her makeup multiple times already. She knew that when girls turn 13, they like having their hair and makeup done at all times.

Even when Kelsey got invited to wedding with the family, she was always extremely excited to go to them since she would have a chance to dress up.

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She Made a Big Decision

Once Kelsey made up her mind about what she wanted for her birthday, even her own mother was shocked. Kelsey said, “Mom, I want to get highlights in my hair on my 13th birthday”. Even though she knew this was a request that may get denied, Kelsey still went ahead and took the risk because of how badly she wanted to have her hair done.

All she wanted was to add some blonde highlights to her already brown hair – nothing too dramatic. How did Christine react to this request?

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Was Kelsey Struggling with Self-Image Issues?

Wishing for hair highlights on her 13th birthday is quite normal for any little girl. Even then, Christin quickly became concerned regarding why her daughter suddenly wanted an entire makeover for herself. She questioned whether Kelsey was not happy with the way she looked, or if she was getting derogatory comments from other girls in school. All of these problems are fairly common, so Christin’s concern was valid as a mother.

Before she could decide whether or not she would allow Kelsey to get highlights, she had to figure out the reason why she wanted them in the first place.

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Follow What Mama Does

While Christin was investigating the reasons why her daughter may be wishing for highlights all of a sudden, she realized that she herself has her hair highlighted as well. That is when Christin realized that there is no reason for her to be concerned.

Maybe the only reason Kelsey wants to get highlights is because she had always seen her strong, independent mother with highlighted hair ever since she was born. To follow in her footsteps, Kelsey wanted highlighted hair of her own. Since there was no point of being worried anymore, Christin was coming around to the idea of allowing Kelsey her wish for her birthday.

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Did Kelsey Deserve It?

Even though Christin was taken aback with her daughter’s sudden wish to get her hair highlighted, there was no reason not to allow her to do so. After all, she had always seen her mother’s hair highlighted plus she was finally turning 13 and deserved some autonomy. So, if Kelsey wanted highlighted hair, her mother was in full support of it.

When Kelsey was born, her hair was naturally blonde. Over time, her hair got darker and became a nice brown color that everybody loved. Now, Kelsey wanted to mix the two colors and get blonde highlights in her already brown hair.

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She Knew How to Keep Her Parents Happy

Christin was still evaluating whether it is time to allow Kelsey to have her hair highlighted. One of the reasons that played a huge role in influencing her decision was the fact that Kelsey had always been an obedient and happy child. She always played the role of a caretaker and role model to three of her little brothers and was also understanding of the divorce situation of her parents. She was never found complaining about either of her parents.

Due to all of this good behavior, Christin thought Kelsey really deserved to get what she wants for her 13th birthday.

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Quality Time Was Essential

Allowing Kelsey to get her hair highlighted was part of the 13th birthday extravaganza that Christin had planned. To ensure that Kelsey has a great and meaningful time during her birthday while she got her hair highlighted, she decided to get a full-day appointment at the salon and was ready to spoil her little girl with all things fancy.

Since Kelsey was getting her hair highlighted for the first time, she had no idea what to expect. She was happy to have her mother with her through the entire process.

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She Got Treated Like Royalty

Christin was picky about which salon to choose for her daughters first experience with highlighting her hair. Since she was getting her own hair dyed for years now, she went ahead and chose the same place to visit with her daughter. Lucky for them, the salon also provided packages that included manicures, pedicures, and massages for the clients.

That is when Christin realized what she wanted to gift Kelsey – a whole mother-daughter salon day! Since Christin was a regular customer at the salon, she was able to get a great deal that was not too expensive for her but included all the royal treatment that they needed.

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Kelsey Had All Her Wishes Fulfilled

As the day went on, both Kelsey and Christine were having the time of their life. She shared some refreshments and good laughs while they got their nails done. To commemorate the big day, both the mother and the daughter decided to get the same manicures and pedicures. With matching nails, they were ready to start the hair highlighting process that Kelsey was immensely excited about.

As she got her hair highlighted, she could not stop smiling. Little did she know that her smiles were about to turn into tears very soon…

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Kelsey Was Looking Forward To…

As you may know, getting your hair highlighted takes quite a bit of time. It is not a process that is completed as quickly as a manicure, so it surely requires some patience from the client. As Kelsey and Christine waited patiently at the salon, they were both extremely excited for the transformation that was to come.

When the hairdresser was finally done, Christine finally saw her daughter and could not believe her own eyes. She held the mirror up for Kelsey to see, and even she was surprised at the sight of herself.

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I Don’t Believe My Eyes

When Kelsey saw herself in the mirror immediately after getting her hair highlighted, she really could not believe her own eyes. She couldn’t believe that her hair looked this beautiful – the highlights had changed her appearance entirely! The little 12-year-old with brown hair was immediately transformed into a young teenager with blonde highlights.

Even her mother Christin noted that her daughter had never looked so beautiful or happier in her life. Seems like the highlights really made her 13th birthday very special, until the big incident happened.

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But the Party Must Go On

Since it was still Kelsey’s 13th birthday, Christin did not want to stop at the hair and nails. She knew that her daughter was growing up and heading into the world by herself, but she also knew that she adored makeup to a great extent. To help her start using makeup herself and learn all the best techniques, the mother-daughter duo finally went down to Sephora where the final surprise was.

Christine had booked a professional makeup artist to do Kelsey’s makeup! This was when Kelsey truly could not believe the amazing day that she was having on her 13th birthday.

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She Never Knew Photos Could Be So Dangerous

Since Christin saw her daughter happy and smiling through the entire day, she could not wait to show it off to the rest of the world. She knew that her friends and family would be incredibly happy for Kelsey and would love to wish her on her birthday, too. That’s why Christine quickly took a photo of Kelsey after the entire nails, hair, and makeup transformation and posted it to her Facebook account.

At that point, neither Kelsey nor Christin knew how her father would react to the whole transformation. Since he made no comments to the photo, they thought that there was nothing to be worried about.

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Heading to Dad’s House

Once Kelsey was done with her entire transformation, she could not wait to go meet her friends and celebrate her birthday with them. But before she could have the 13th birthday party celebration with all of her friends from school, she knew that she had to visit her dad’s house first.

It was a tradition in their family for Kelsey to spend her birthday with both parents equally, so she had to go spend some time with dad now. Her dad was just as excited to wish Kelsey a happy birthday and give her all the presents he had planned for her.

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Goodbye Mom

After Christin spent the entire day with Kelsey, she knew that it was now time to drop her off to Schaffen’s house. Even though Christin wanted to keep Kelsey with her for the night, she knew that it would be unfair to her father to not meet their daughter on her 13th birthday. Abiding by the rules of the divorce, Christin happily drove Kelsey to Schaffen’s house where she was supposed to spend the entire weekend until she got back on Monday.

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Why Do I Feel This Way?

Every time Kelsey would get dropped off at her father’s house, she would barely be using her phone. Since she only got a limited amount of time to spend with him, she made sure to make the most of the time she spent there and ignored all of her friends’ messages for the weekend.

Even though this behavior was normal for Kelsey, her mother was still worried when she woke up the next morning. It was almost as if the mother had a gut instinct that something was wrong with her daughter…

How This Teen's Birthday Ended In A Drastic Haircut And Online Outrage

Waiting was the Hardest

Even though Christin had an instinct that something was wrong, she was forced to not act upon it. She tried to tell herself that Kelsey would be doing great with her father and stepmom – after all, both of them love her very much and would never let anything happen to her.

Throughout the weekend, Christin kept having disturbing thoughts about whether her daughter was okay. Time passed by very slowly, but it was finally Monday morning when Kelsey was supposed to come back to her mother’s house.

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Is It Really Kelsey?

Christin had a sigh of relief when it was finally time for Kelsey to return home to her. But when the doorbell rang, Christin was shocked to see what was in front of her. For a brief moment, she could not even recognize her own daughter.

She knew something was wrong instantly as she saw Kelsey coming back home with swollen and puffy eyes. It was obvious that she had been crying endlessly over the weekend, and Christin immediately held her close. But there was something else wrong with Kelsey as well…

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Christin Couldn’t Believe Her Eyes…

As Christin tried to calm her daughter down and stopped her from crying, her mind was racing with a thousand thoughts regarding what might have happened. She could not have gotten into an accident since Christin dropped herself off to her dad’s house herself and made sure that she got inside safely.

What else could have happened? Perhaps she got into an argument with her new stepmom, or did she not get to spend any time with her father because he had to work? Christin was furious to see her daughter coming back home crying.

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What Happened to Your Hair?

When Christin finally got a moment to take a good look at Kelsey, she finally realized what was wrong. Her hair was completely different.

When she dropped Kelsey off to Schaffen’s house a few days ago, her hair was all pretty, transformed, and blonde. What happened over the weekend at dad’s house? Who did this? A thousand questions came into Christin’s mind, but she knew that Kelsey was in no position to give answers at this moment.

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She Had a Completely New Look…

Christin quickly became furious and concerned about her own daughter. She had just spent hundreds of dollars on the expensive highlights that her daughter wanted on her 13th birthday, and even Kelsey was so happy to have them. What happened, then? Where did all of her hair go?

One of the strange thoughts in Christin’s mind was whether Kelsey suddenly regretted her new makeover and decided to get rid of it immediately. However, she knew that her daughter would not be so reckless. There was something else that was wrong.

This Dad cut off all his daughter's hair after she went and got highlights  - worldtravelling

Kelsey Was Traumatized

When Christin looked at Kelsey, she knew that the poor little girl had went through something very traumatic. All of her hair had been chopped off over the weekend, even though she had loved the new makeover.

When consulting a professional hairdresser, the woman said, “what they did to that little girl is called a “chop off” – it means just cutting off all the hair with no styling at all.” Christin had no idea how to react during something so serious and traumatic for her little girl.

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She Couldn’t Stop Crying…

Remember how happy and excited Kelsey was when she got her hair highlighted? All of that disappeared now that her hair had been ruthlessly chopped off by somebody. She was so embarrassed of how she looked that she kept cupping and hiding her face from everybody.

After seeing how traumatized and upset her daughter was, Christin had no idea what she was supposed to do. She still did not know who did this to poor little Kelsey.

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Saying Goodbye to Confident Kelsey

Ever since she was a little girl, Kelsey had never struggled with confidence. She was a happy and outgoing little girl who would socialize with everybody in an impressive way. After getting her hair highlighted, there was nothing that could stop her from being even more glamorous now. But then the incident happened. All of her hair was chopped off on the day of her 13th birthday.

Now, Kelsey could not even look in the mirror. Her image about herself had spiraled down to nothing, and she was hating the way she looked. After seeing her daughter in this state, Christin knew that she had to find out what went wrong at dad’s house.

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Who Should Be Responsible?

Since Kelsey did not respond to any questions regarding what happened, Christin quickly drove down to Schaffen’s house to confront him directly about what happened to her daughter. Thankfully, he only lived two streets away, so the furious journey was not long.

She still could not believe that her own father could be so ruthless – chopping off his daughters’ hair on the day of her 13th birthday when she was so excited and happy. This behavior was totally unacceptable.

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How Did This Happen?

When she finally got to Schaffen’s house, she immediately started yelling both at her ex-husband and his new wife. How could they possibly let this happen to her daughter? Do they have the right to do everything as they wish? Christin was becoming more and more furious with anger. She did not know how to react at the sight of the people who made her daughter so upset.

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It Was a Punishment

The only explanation that Schaffen and Sarah had was that they did not like Kelsey’s new look. They thought tha a 13-year-old girl having highlighted hair was not appropriate. Since they did not like her having highlights, they decided to chop off all of her hair entirely.

This was supposed to be a lesson for Kelsey. As she steps into teenage, she must know that all of her actions will have dire consequences. She was also taught that she must consult both of her parents before making such radical decisions. There is no way that her father would have allowed the makeover in the first place.

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Christin Had to Call the Police

Christin was furious at how her ex-husband decided to teach his own daughter such a ruthless lesson. She said that there are more ways to teach children things and chopping off their hair on their birthday is certainly not the right way. Since Schaffen and Sarah were not ready to listen, Christin went straight to the police.

After taking statements from all the parties involved, the chief of police concluded that the mother was not satisfied with how her daughter was treated under the supervision of the father. The haircut was done as per the instructions of the father and stepmother, but Kelsey’s own wishes were not taken into account.

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Highlights of Sadness.

All Christin wanted was to bring a smile to her daughters face on her 13th birthday. She knew that all she wanted was some highlights on her hair, and that was not an unreasonable wish considering that she was already 13 years old. Christin could not stand seeing her little girl so upset after returning from her father’s house.

It was also surprising for Christin to see how badly her ex-husband had reacted to the highlights. It is not like Kelsey got her hair dyed red or green, it was simply some basic blonde highlights on her natural brown hair.

Dad Cuts Daughter's Hair Off For Getting Birthday Highlights, Then Mom Gets  Involved - Page 82 of 119 - Relatively Interesting

Social Media Was the Savior, Until…

Christin knew that she had to get back at Schaffen for how he humiliated their daughter. As she was still angry about what happened, Christin decided to take the situation to Facebook and publicly ridicule her ex-husband about what he did.

She knew that she would receive support from friends and family – and that is exactly what she needed right now. She needed to know that her feelings of anger as a mother were valid and that everything done to Kelsey was wrong.

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Look At What You Did

The only reason why Christin posted the before and after photos of Kelsey on Facebook was to show her ex-husband and his new wife all the pain that they had caused. They may not realize it, but they shattered the self-image and worth of a 13-year-old girl.

Christin knew that she could not bear to see the pain that Schaffen and Sarah caused Kelsey, so she was only hoping for them to see all the wrongs that they had done. They should know that chopping off your daughter’s hair without her consent can have consequences as well.

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Reaching Thousands of People for Help

Things on social media can gain traction when we least expect it. Facebook is one of the platforms where many parents are often online. When people saw the post made by Christin Johnson about her daughter, other parents were quick to sympathize and the post quickly became viral on social media. People across the world started sharing the post and shaming both Schaffen and Sarah for what they did.

Christin did not aim for the post to go viral when she posted it. All she wanted was to make Schaffen and Sarah realize what they did.

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There Were Too Many People…

When something goes viral on social media, there is no stopping how far it can spread over just a short period of time. Christin did not know how far-reaching her post would be, but eventually a large number of people were talking about the whole situation.

When locals in their city found out what happened, there were many opinions being aired on TV and social media. Since Schaffen was a firefighter, the situation started to escalate even more as many people already knew who he was.

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People Expressed Their Feelings Too

The post was shared approximately 25,000 times in just a week. There were hundreds of people reacting on the post and sharing their comments. Since a majority of the commentors were parents themselves, they really felt Christin’s pain when she shared the photos of Kelsey. People did not hold back their thoughts and were openly expressing their opinions regarding the whole matter.

There were many people who shared how Schaffen should have reacted to his daughter’s makeover, even if he did not particularly like it. Here is one interesting comment on the original post:

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An Overwhelming Situation

When things go viral on social media, they gain too much attention at once. Since the matter got out of hand and reached the local area where Kelsey lived, she had to face many stares and questions from people she knew.

Kelsey was only 13 – she had no idea how to deal with such dramatic situations. People at school started questions, and the entire thing was becoming even more overwhelming for Kelsey than getting her hair chopped off.

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Kelsey Felt Like It Was All Too Much…

Christin did reach out for support for herself and her daughter, but she did not know that she would receive so much of it. Many at times there were complete strangers sharing and commenting on Christin’s posts on Facebook. These people had opinions regarding how Schaffen and Sarah reacted, including saying that they were “ridiculous” and “should have discussed with you.”

Even though this support was great, Christin eve thought that it was getting out of hand at one point. She did not want the whole world to see her daughter being embarrassed.

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Some Supportive Strangers

When Kelsey saw that her mother’s post had gone viral on social media, she quickly started reading through all the comments and opinions that people had. There was one sweet comment that stood out for her the most. It said: “What a cruel thing for a parent to do. I’m so sorry that happened to you, Kelsey. You are beautiful no matter what!”

Kelsey felt good to read such supportive comments and they played a huge role in helping her become confident with herself again.

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Can You Deal with the Public?

As Kelsey went viral, she knew that way too many people would recognize her now. Initially, she did not even want her own mother to see her face with her hair chopped off but now millions of strangers had already seen the photographs. Kelsey did not know how to feel about the whole situation.

She had to return back to school eventually, but she was still reluctant to show her face at school. She thought all of her classmates would make fun of her about what happened to her and humiliate her all the time.

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How Could Kelsey Keep Living?

For everybody except Kelsey, life continued to go on as normal. All three of her brothers continued going to school and enjoying with their friends, and even her father and his new wife were happy with the life they had. It was only Kelsey who was left alone, betrayed, and sad.

She did not know how to let go of her anger regarding what happened. How could everybody else just start acting like nothing has happened? Kelsey was still traumatized about what she had to go through on her own birthday.

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The Conspiracy Theorists

Anybody who read about the story through Christin’s Facebook post had their own opinion about it. Everybody wanted to share their views regarding what happened – including the reasons as to why a father would react to strongly.

There were even some theorists who expressed that they felt there was more to the story than the way her father reacted. They thought that apart from being controlling, this entire incident may have been a way for Schaffen to get back at Christin for some reason.

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Everybody Has Something to Say

One comment on Facebook really shook everybody. This stranger claimed that they think the daughter was used in the middle to get back at Christin during a fight between the parents. This theory almost made sense, since the two parents had been divorced for a while now.

Even though they had decided to remain civil for the sake of Kelsey, there may have been some bad blood between the couple that we are unaware of. There must be a reason why the couple divorced in the first place… who upset whom?

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The Story Ends for Kelsey

Despite what the conspiracy theorists say, having her hair chopped off was a reality for Kelsey and she now had to accept it no matter what. Jennifer McWay, a stylist from Pear Tree Salon, stated that your hair is what really determines how you feel.

She says that Kelsey was walking around confidently with her beautiful long hair because she felt good. Now, after the incident, she does not feel good about her hair anymore and she just walks around embarrassed.

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Who Is to Blame?

Another big question in this whole scenario that remains is who shall be blamed? Even if you blame the father for making the decision of chopping his daughter’s hair off, who was the one holding the scissors? Regardless of who cut the hair off, everybody involved in the situation definitely crossed a line when they cut the little girl’s hair without her consent.

How could a father act so ruthlessly and impulsively towards his own daughter? Who cut the hair off? Was Sarah involved in any way? We may never know.

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