A heart-wrenching video took social media by storm this weekend in which a beautiful little brown-skinned baby, Ariyonna, breaks out into tears after confessing to her hairdresser, that she was “ugly.”
The 4-year-old has gained attention throughout social media and the hairdresser has even updated a new mantra that she’s given Ariyonna to repeat on the daily.
The video serves as a reminder that we must uplift and love on our young queens, prompting them to know their beauty and worth no matter what type of standards the world projects on them.
“From a sista who looks a lot like you….you were born worthy therefore you were born beautiful,” Viola Davis penned an inspirational message to Ariyonna via Instagram. Celebs like Jada Pinkett Smith, Gabrielle Union, and Tika Sumpter also chimed in with messages of love, with Sumpter even noting that she does what she does for little girls like Ariyonna.
Matthew A. Cherry, a recent Oscar winner for his short film “Hair Love”, has even called on #ArtTwitter to “get a collection of drawings together of this sweet little girl who mistakenly called herself ugly,” and the outpouring of love for Ariyonna from the Black community is something we love to see!
Like Ariyonna’s hairdresser, we may encounter little brown-skinned babies who are struggling with the same feelings. Here are 5 ways to pour into those Black princesses in your life:
- Surround her with beautiful images of black people in media, art, and books. As humans, we tend to have a more positive reaction to things that we are familiar with. Be sure there’s representation of beautiful Black women throughout your house.
- Speak well of yourself and other women. Self-esteem can be passed down from mother to daughter so be sure your child can hear you speak positively about yourself and other women in your life.
- Practice daily affirmations. Giving praise through words and actions is a great way to instill self-confidence. Tell her every day the things that make her beautiful and have her repeat those phrases back to you.
- Limit media. Society doesn’t do the best job of portraying Black women, oftentimes we’re over-sexualized and forced into European standards of beauty when we were never made to look that way. Monitor her access to images/videos in the media as they can permeate the mind.
- Listen. When a child is talking, don’t dismiss them. Their voices have power and should be heard. Even if it doesn’t seem important to you, pay attention. This will make your child know, that what they say, matters. Engage in the conversation and show her that her thoughts and opinions are valid.
Beautiful
Beautifulyouare😊💝