Baby Born With Striking White Hair And Mom Couldn’t Be Prouder
It’s an understatement to say that motherhood often comes with a string of surprises. Many women discover a fierce protective instinct that they didn’t know they had, and this is especially true when their children are born with an unexpected condition. Patricia Williams is no stranger to the unpredictability of childbirth: The American mum-of-four has two boys who were born with bright white hair. She had no idea what was going on. But now, she’s written about her life as the mum of two albino children in a bid to educate others and help parents celebrate their children’s differences.
“Adjusting to the reactions of others and their comments is still a work in progress and most likely will continue to be throughout our lives. My husband and I created a silly rule that if a stranger makes more than three comments about our son’s hair, then we will bring up the fact that they have albinism,” she explained on Fashion Mama.
“We want to be good examples to our children on how to spread awareness about albinism in a positive light and not to be embarrassed or ashamed to discuss it. By keeping a positive, open dialect, we believe this is significant in helping them understand how to be vocal and advocate their needs while navigating not only through school but also through life,” Patricia added about her sons Redd and Rockwell.
Albinism is when a person has no or very little melanin pigment in their skin, hair and eyes. Albinism occurs in all racial and ethnic groups throughout the world. It is important for people with albinism to protect their skin and eyes from the sun, and have their eyes checked regularly.
But keen to explain to parents if they have any child who looks a little different, not just albino, Patricia says they should support them as much as possible.
“If you have a child who looks a little different, or has special needs, or sometimes just doesn’t fit in with the crowd … it’s our duty to provide them with tools in order to withstand how cruel the world can be,” she explained.
“We have already dealt with our fair share of kids being unkind to Redd while at a playground and we know it will continue to happen throughout his childhood (and possibly adulthood).
“Kids can be so honest in such an innocent, yet totally hurtful way and we are trying our best to use those opportunities to educate them about albinism and to explain why Redd’s eyes move back and forth and why his hair is so white.
“I’ve always said the best defence we can give to Redd is to teach him how to be confident and give him the right things to say when he hears people making fun of him,” she concludes.
Sources: fashionmamas.com, practicalparenting.com.au
