DS fighting haircuts

My DS refuses to have his haircut. He is 22 months and fights and fights. We've tried the kid-friendly hair places but after a few 'scenes' there I am doing it at home myself. His hair grows so fast and being a boy, I really prefer it to be trimmed around his ears and layered up all the way around the bottom. He is unimpressed by entertainment (i.e. videos, grandma singing, big brother dancing, peek-a-boo, other humor, etc.), we have tried food items to no avail. We strap him in forcefully and he arches his back so hard, refuses a cape or towel around him, has snot and saliva spewing as he screams- this is all before the scissors have approached his head! I don't give either of my kids candy and this one is allergic to corn products so most candy he can't have anyway- so I haven't tried suckers. But maybe I should find some sugar free suckers to try and put one in each hand. Any thoughts? I'm in a little panic now because I would like to take 2 yr pictures soon but not with a mop on his head!

Have you tried having him sit on your lap when they do the haircut? This sometimes works for me when they cut DD's hair. Also, it freaks my DD out when they use the spray bottle to wet her hair. I now have them spray the comb and just comb her hair to get it wet.

Good luck!

Oddly enough, the only time DS fought a haircut was at one of the "kid-friendly" places. I think he was over-stimulated. I now just take him to the place where I get my hair cut and I've never had a problem. They sit him on a booster and put a Harry Potter cape on him and it takes about 5 minutes.

Of course, two of the times we've been there, the minute he got out of the chair he ran over to the computer and turned it off before I could catch up with him! But his hair looked great as he was crashing their system!!

Jeanne
Mom to Truman 11/29/01 and EDD 4/23/04!

Nothing worked to keep Julia entertained either until the stylist gave her the hand held mirror to look at. Maybe I have a little diva on my hands but oh well- it worked. She spent the whole time just looking at herself.

Daniella
Mom to Julia 6-13-02
http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=...21b35d0802848f *December pictures

We cut Nick's hair at home, and he does much better than at the hair places where it felt like he was climbing into my body! He sits on my lap while DH trims it with some Wahl clippers I picked up at Target (they come with attachements for ears). The clippers make it faster and he is mesmerized by the buzzing it makes. We also skip the cape/towel to make the process faster, just dust him off afterward.

Susan
Mom to Nicholas 10/01/01
& Baby #2 due 4/23/04!!!!

I have a very rambuncious 20-month-old boy. Over the past month or so, I cut his hair myself, on the theory that he is way too young for a barber or stylist.

I cut his bangs in front when he was asleep: When he falls asleep in the car, I bring him in from the car asleep and place him in his old car seat carrier (which of course is way too big for him, but who cares). Then I cut his bangs (this is also how I cut his nails). Then I place him in his crib for the rest of his nap.

I cut the back over the course of several weeks whenever I found him distracted: (I always had the scissors at the ready.) in the bathtub, after the bath, while he was playing with some Christmas tree ornaments, etc. It took several weeks of a snip here and a snip there, but I finally got it all trimmed reasonably well.

The mom of a preschooler boy in my local moms group said that 2 1/2 years was the absolute minimum age that she would recommend to take a child to the barber/stylist. At younger ages, many just can't deal with the new stituation.

Good luck. -A

It just depends on your child. And on how much hair they have! :) My DD had SO much hair, that I have been taking her to one of those kids haircut places since she was 7 months old! It's old hat to her now and doesn't phase her in the slightest.

My older son has been the worst at having his hair cut! Just before he turned 4 was the first time he didn't cry. We would have him sit in our lap while he got his hair cut, but he still cried. I read him a story called "Mop Top" by Dan Freeman (I think? The same man who writes the Corduroy books). We would bring a matchbox car that he got after he got his haircut. Oh, and also, no clippers - just scissors - phew, what a lot of work! We always asked them to cut it as short as possible so that it was a LONG time before we had to go back :)

Anyway, the last time we went was also the first time his little brother got his hair cut too. I made a big deal about how his brother would be scared, and DS could let him know that it didn't hurt and that there was nothing to be afraid of. It was the first time he didn't cry. So, just wanted to let you know that it will end sometime, just a matter of when. Maybe he can get his hair cut at the same time as his brother? I know my little one looked like he was going to cry a few times and then would stop because he was watching his big brother (they were in 2 different chairs and getting haircuts at the same time).