Toddler hair cut

[JayLeigh]

Not sure if this is the right place for this post.

DS was born with lots of hair, he has a mop. I have had to trim it since he was 6-months, and he got his first real haircut at 1. But it is a real struggle, he hates it. Doesn't understand what I am doing, doesn't want me to put the scissors near his head. I can distract him enough, but how do I give him a "good" haircut? It looks so choppy by the end of it, from all his squirming, what is an easier way to get an even haircut on a toddler?

p.s. I think it wouold be MUCH more traumatic for him at a salon!

[L76]

Do you have kids salon's in NY?

We have a great one here in London where the kids sit in cars with tvs etc to keep them occupied! Alternatively, I have also had someone come to the house where I could plop DD in front of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and she hardly noticed it was being cut!

[JayLeigh]

no kids salons near us unfortunately

I can get maybe 10 minutes out of him if I put a show on for him, and a snack, but he moves so much, and his texture hair is VERY thick and kinda wavy, it always ends up choppy!

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

what is an easier way to get an even haircut on a toddler?

I think it really depends on the toddler's temperment...My oldest would sit still for a haircut at the salon as long as she got a Happy Meal from McDonald's from about 10 months old, now loves haircuts...but my youngest would only sit for a particular stylist who is now on mat leave, and if you check out my avatar you can see the result, no haircut for almost 10 months!!!

I think that other than a buzzcut, you'll have to ride it out and hope that the older he gets the better he will sit.

[Mum-of-Two]

I just took my 1 year old and gave him his first sucker.  He sat perfectly still and the lady did it quick and without wetting it too.  The salon, being something different, might actually work??  Maybe?  or maybe its just the lollypop    My 4 year old also gets candy.  They don't normally get it so its a great treat and they tend to concentrate on that rather than anything else.  She's the type to freak out and just sits asking for another candy or fruit snack.

[Mashi]

I set aside an entire day to do it - a few snips while he is eating breakfast, a few in front of the TV at snack time, one or two snips at lunch, and so on.  He does not like it at all...though it seems to me that what he dislikes is the fact that I am taking something that belongs to him (his hair) rather than anything else.    But by not forcing him to sit through it all at once it's a happy medium for us.  I try to do it on a rainy day when we will be staying home all day anyway and so it does not matter through those hours when it's half finished.

However, I am also fortunate (for this reason!) to have a child with a mop of curls, so the odd uneven-ness doesn't stand out so much!

[Mama2boys]

p.s. I think it wouold be MUCH more traumatic for him at a salon!

depends on the salon, we take DS to kidsnips, its expensive but he sits in a car as a chair, and watches a video and gets a sucker. He like sthe lkady who is ultra sweet and understanding....

[koe2moe]

Shauna, it WAS very traumatising for DS's first haircut.  I just couldn't live through it and the lady didn't want it either, so I started cutting his hair also.  Try videos, food, something new each time.   But then definitely do it in several settings.   

[rach321]

We usually go to a salon but I always warn them that they have 10 minutes maximum before he's had enough so do what you can!! Food in each hand helps as does staring at himself in the mirror! I go to the salon since she can cut it a million times faster than me !

[rach321]

Just had a brainwave.......bear with me I'm sleep deprived and pregnant!!
Do you remember those playdough toys you used to get that had like a barber shop where the dough squeezed through the heads and made "hair" - would your LO be distracted enough to cut the playdough hair whilst you cut his hair?

[JayLeigh]

haha, that is an adorable idea, we haven't tried play dough yet, so we will have to test that out.

I think what I will try and do is several sittings throughout the day. That sounds most reasonable!

[L76]

Or you could buy a cheap doll and give him some plastic play scissors and a brush for him to do it himself at the same time? Ok so I know he's a boy but hey if it works?!?!?!

[We Three]

I have to warn you all that of you give lo scissors (even pretend ones) to "cut" hair of a doll or toy....be prepared to hide ALL scissors until they are older, because they WILL cut their own hair when you're not looking.

There are a few ways to keep a lo distracted. I no longer do children at my salon, but giving them my squirt bottle worked like a charm almost every time.  I'd ask them to squirt my comb or my palm so I could wet the hair....they didn't mind as much when they could use the bottle!  Also I'd put a towel on top of my station and ask them to squirt the towel as much as they wanted.

Lollipops are incredible for a lo who doesn't regularly have them.

You might be surprised at how well your lo might sit for someone other than Mommy!      Especially if you visit* first....slip the stylist a sticker or a treat to *give* your lo, then leave.  Next time he can sit in the chair...(or not).....but pay a few visits to get him acclimated, wait a week in between...just stop by and say hi, kwim?

Cut the part that bothers you most first...bangs, ear area....that way if he freaks out, the bothersome part is done.

Dont forget that little ears fold...fold them forward with one hand while you cut around the ear with the other hand.

If all else fails....asleep in the carseat has worked! 

HTH!!