Since September, I have not been allowed to see my niece. Her mother allowed her to go with me to my sisters wedding, out of state. Her mother did not get her a haircut, so I had it trimmed with the father's approval. Her father lives in Florida but was there with us. When we returned home, the mother accused me of child abuse for cutting her hair.. although it was just a trim. Since then, she has not allowed me to see her for weekend visits. Not sure what to do as I really love spending time with my niece. She is a beautiful child that needs positive influence in her life, as her mother and stepfather do not provide that.

Since this was posted in Family & People and not the law boards, I am going to respond.

Somehow, I think there is a lot of background that has been left out of this story. How old is the child? What is your biological relationship to this child and her parents? What is the relationship like between her biological parents and their custodial agreement? What was your relationship like with the mother before this incident? Does the mother feel like you are over-stepping her parental boundaries to impose your own?

Why didn't you ask her mother about getting her hair trimmed/cut?

There are some things that I will not post in a forum. The child is 7. Her father, my brother, lives in Florida. Her mother and stepdad have moved from town to town since she was three. As of right now, they have verbal joint custody.