Birthdays
There is no day more special in any child’s life than the day of their birth! They wait the whole year for this important day when their friends and loved ones celebrate them. At that age, nothing is more exciting than to turn another year older. When it comes to children with separated parents, they might even get the opportunity to hold two celebrations! Kelsey Frederick is one such girl with divorced parents. Her parents Schaffen and Christin appeared to have zero problems coordinating two birthday parties for their precious daughter. However, something came up on the big day.
What could have possibly happened?
Two Parties For One Girl
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Kelsey Frederick was about to turn a special age. She was going to be 13 on her birthday, which meant she was finally a teenager! She was looking forward to her two parties, one with each parent.
Kelsey was hoping this year would stand out from all of the rest. This birthday was special, she was growing up and thought the party should reflect that. A sleepover with a few good friends could be a fun idea, right?
Highlights
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What made it even more special was that her mother was paying to put highlights in her hair for the first time!
A lot of the girls at school were starting to get highlights, and Kelsey wanted to try them out as well! After spending some time glamming up in the salon, she headed over to her father’s place. However, let us just say no one could have predicted what his reaction would be…
Mother And Daughter Duo
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Many children wish to have a relationship with their mom like the relationship Kelsey has with her mother.
Christin and Kelsey do not just live together – the two of them are basically the best of friends! Kelsey feels like she can talk to her mom about anything. We bet this young lady is happy to have such a good mother who is there for her to turn to whenever she needs her.
A Different Kind Of Relationship
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Although she and her father also get along with each other well, it’s not the same.
He does not seem to enjoy hearing about her stories of youth like her mother does. Kelsey also spends a lot more time with her mom than her dad. When Kelsey was young, her parents, Schaffen and Christin, split. It was very hard for Kelsey since she was so little, but it was nice to have a big family and always be surrounded by cousins and siblings. Without a great support system in place, the divorce may have affected Kelsey much more.
Sports Gal
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Kelsey has been into sports since she could walk. Continuing to do something she loves helped keep her grounded through the big changes going on in her life.
Her parents made sure to keep Kelsey’s life as similar as possible to how it was before the divorce. Kelsey is also lucky that her parents stayed friends, maintaining a good relationship fo their daughter’s sake. They were mostly in agreement on how to raise their daughter as well. They sat down and made a set of rules and guidelines they both agreed to follow when disciplining and raising Kelsey.
New Love
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It may seem like something small, but the pair decided to take Kelsey to nearby Lake Erie every month, just the three of them.
Their daughter so enjoyed it when they all used to go on this fun outing when she was just a young girl, so they decided it shouldn’t stop. Not long after the divorce, Kelsey’s father found love with a different woman — a colleague of his at the fire station. This was fine by Kelsey, she actually liked her dad’s new girlfriend a lot.
It’s Official
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He soon proposed and the two tied the knot at the local courthouse. They still decided to dress up to celebrate the occasion but decided to forego a big, expensive ceremony.
Kelsey couldn’t be happier for her father. Schaffen’s new wife was not an issue at all between Kelsey’s parents. As long as she or their relationship did not interfere with the way they had to team up to raise their daughter.
Nothing Would Change
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The way they agreed to parent their daughter would not change now that Kelsey had a step-mother, that was for sure.
Kelsey was perfectly fine with the whole idea. As a matter of fact, she was happy that her dad was happy! Kelsey was accustomed to being around strong women since they were constantly around her growing up. She had her Aunt Kelly, who was around often and served as a second mother to her. There was also her godmother Haylee Ann who played an important part in Kelsey’s life.
A Challenge
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It is always difficult to choose a gift for such a young girl, but Kelsey was even more challenging than her peers.
Her hobbies were not the typical things girls that age enjoy, making it hard to pick a practical gift. Kelsey just had one simple request: no glitz. She wasn’t a so-called “girly-girl”, so she didn’t want her gift to be anything too pink or sparkly. Her mother enlisted the help of friends and family to pick something Kelsey would absolutely love.
Not Like Other Girls
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Kelsey was a softball player, but she already owned everything the sport required. She also loved to fish with her cousins, but it would be hard to give her fishing gear during a party, and she had all the fishing gear required anyway.
Moreover, she was already a happy girl. What would she like? Kelsey had been wanting a Mia Hamm jersey for quite a number of years now, but they were just way too expensive for both Christin and Schaffen to afford right now. They had to think of something more in their price range. And then Christin decided to ask Kelsey what she wanted.
Highlights For My Birthday
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Kelsey said, “Mom, I want to get highlights for my 13th birthday”.
Christin was a little taken aback, although she made the offer for Kelsey to pick whatever she wanted, so she knew she could not refuse. Kelsey’s hair had darkened over the years, and people got highlights all of the time. It was no big deal. Christin was a bit nervous, but luckily, she figured out exactly what needed to be done.
A Relaxing Day
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They waited for her transformation and hoped for the best. After spending a long yet relaxing day together, Christin showed Kelsey the mirror. At long last, she could finally see the result. They were both in for quite a surprise…
Kelsey took a look at herself in the mirror and could not believe what she was seeing. The highlights changed the way she looked! Even Christin could hardly recognize this girl. However, she had to say that she had never seen Kelsey look so beautiful with that smile on her face. Little did Kelsey know though, something else was about to happen, and she had no idea it was coming…
Next Stop Is Dad’s Place
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Kelsey was eager to go out and show off her new hairstyle to her friends, but she had to go to her dad’s place first.
He was also ready to shower his lovely daughter with love and gifts but knew he had to wait for his turn with her. Christin was happy enough to send their darling over to her ex-husband, so they hopped into the car and drove over to Schaffen’s place. The plan was that Kelsey was going to stay at his home for the entire weekend. Christin had no reason to hear from the teenager. But she woke up that morning with the feeling that something wasn’t quite right.
Who Was She?
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When Kelsey finally rang the doorbell several days later, something odd had happened. Christin did not even realize the girl ringing the doorbell was actually her daughter!
When Kelsey got to the door, something else was off. Then Christin did a double-take and saw that something was up with Kelsey’s hair. What had happened to their daughter? Not only were the expensive highlights gone, but Kelsey’s beautiful long locks had disappeared as well! Had Kelsey had second thoughts about her new look and decided to get rid of it all?
A “Chop Off”
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Her locks were clearly cut away sometime during the weekend.
A professional hairstylist commented saying, “what they did to that poor child, it’s a “chop off”, it’s a boyish cut with no styling whatsoever”. It did not make things easier that Kelsey was cupping her face in her hands and refusing to show her face. Clearly, the young girl was humiliated. Christin couldn’t believe it and didn’t know what had happened or where to go from here…
From Extreme High To Extreme Low
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In just a couple of moments, she went from feeling like the most beautiful and confident she had ever been to getting her hair chopped off on her birthday. Kelsey could not stand to look in the mirror.
Since Christin could not get her daughter to talk about it, she got in the car and drove to Schaffen’s place. Christin was fuming for the entire car ride. She couldn’t believe the man she once loved would treat their sweet daughter in such a manner. On her birthday, no less!
How Could You
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When she arrived at their house, she went up to the door and shouted at her ex and his fiancé Sarah, asking why they let that happen to her daughter. Moreover, why didn’t they get in touch with her?
Christin was so mad she couldn’t even think clearly. Apparently, they didn’t like her new hairstyle and decided to take matters into their own hands. They thought the highlights were too precarious for her age. According to them, “actions have consequences”.
Against Her Wishes
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Little did Schaffen and Sarah know, Christin was about to show them how true this was. Christin went to the authorities.
The chief commented saying, “the mother was upset at how her child was being cared for. The haircut was done against the child’s wishes under the direction of the girl’s father and stepmother.” Her smiling little girl was smiling no more. She couldn’t stand to see her sweet daughter in such a state. She was beyond her wit’s end, so she decided to take out her frustration by shaming her ex-husband online.
Taking Her Frustrations To Facebook
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She also went on social media to give him a taste of the humiliation. Christin wanted him to feel what he decided to inflict on a young and sensitive person on her birthday. She hoped by posting it online, Schaffen and Sarah would see what their actions had done to Kelsey.
However, it was not Christin’s intention to make a viral post. She just wanted her family and friends to validate that Schaffen behaved unreasonably. What she didn’t expect was the number of people it reached in such a short amount of time.
Outrage From Strangers
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Well, Christin definitely received all the support she initially wanted and then some. This was more than she bargained for.
People she did not know started calling what Schaffen and his partner did “ridiculous” and “disgusting.” The attention all became a little too much. This is only understandable, in the end, she is only 13 years old. She was also not ready to show her face in the hallways at school. The haircut was bad enough, but now all of this attention since the Facebook post? No way. How is a middle schooler supposed to deal with all of that?
Press And Police
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Some of the people who got wind of the story apparently thought there was negligent parenting! Now that authorities were in the mix, Fox8 interviewed Police Chief Colby Carroll.
They broadcasted the way Kelsey got a forced hair cut from her father and his new wife as punishment. “I’ve been doing this since ’92 and I’ve never had a case I would say that’s like this,” said the police officer.
Consequences
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It did not take a long time before the authorities knocked on Schaffen’s door. They received suspensions from their firefighting duties at the Middletown Township fire department. During this time, they were placed on “administrative leave.”
They did not want people like that working for them. There was an investigation, the authorities granted Christin full custody of their daughter. Christin took to Facebook to post this: “After 5 hours of testimony and ‘evidence’ provided by both parties, the magistrate’s decision was for Kelsey to live with mom and her siblings!” She continued, “A huge weight has been lifted off of everyone’s shoulders and we cannot be any [happier]!!”