Saturday, October 3, 2009

Just a little off the top.....



Now, does that look like fun or what????? The picture above doesn't look much like a haircut but more like a battle of three against one and the baby was winning! My son just had his first haircut and although the results were worth it, the process was a bit daunting. He is just under 1 year old and refused to hold still to have his hair trimmed. So I held him on my lap while my husband held his head still and my mom cut his hair. And just to add extra fun we gave him a sucker hoping it would help him to hold still, but all that really happened is that his face was covered in stickiness and hair by the end.

This was a new experience for me too because I never cut my daughter's hair (not at all) until she turned 2. By then, she was interested in watching a cartoon while the trim occured so no problem there. But for my son the process was less than fun.

So here are my questions:

What age have you found is the hardest for haircuts?
How do you get your baby to hold still for a haircut?
Do you ever use treats? If so, what have you found is best for haircuts?
Who cuts your baby's hair? How did you choose that person?
Do you usually use scissors or clippers on your baby boy?
Any other suggestions on cutting baby hair?


Please check out the post below about kids with pets. We'd love to see some advice on how to get children used to new animals in the house. There is also a pretty recent post about working moms that only has 3 comments. Remember - you are the ones that make our blog a success! Be sure to read a comment if you can.

10 comments:

Britta said...

I'm not technically qualified to answer this...my daughter has never had a haircut and I really don't want to ever give her one (I'm of the mind that long hair is a mark or a child and short hair makes them grow up too fast...)

My daughter has really curly hair though so I do know that our first foray into the hair cutting world will be at a salon. I know kids haircuts can get expensive but I don't trust myself to know how to make curly hair look good after its cut.

So I guess my suggestion is, if you don't trust yourself, don't do it! Its worth 20$ or a babysitting trade to find someone who is capable of cutting hair well and not worth the mortification of doing it wrong.

The Fisher's said...

We did the first couple of cuts ourselves on my little boy - scissors and clippers both. I am extremely lucky that my totally and completely hyperactive little guy will sit so still to have his haircut. The past few times (he is 3 now) we have paid to have it done - on a military base actually. They are fast and not too expensive and Daddy get's his haircut at the same time, so he feels like such a big boy. It's nice to have a sucker or a treat, but not until after it's over. Lots of this is just how the child reacts to new situations and noises. Less than 2 is definately harder, since there is no reasoning with them then :) My little girl is going to be a completely different story! She sits to let me do her hair everyday (16 months), but we haven't ventured into haircutting yet, and don't plan on it unless it's needed to trim and even things up a bit.

Shantel said...

I cut my little boys hair myself. I figure if I can cut my husbands and have it look acceptable that I am not going to pay for a childs cut. To get my little boy to hold still for haircuts we give him a sucker, sometimes he wants it, others he does, so who knows on that one. I think suckers are nice because they are easy to rinse off if they get hair on them and since I cut hair in the bathroom with my little boy sitting on the counter the sink is right there. The first time I cut my little guy's hair I used scissors, but since I have used clippers. I found that using scissors was quite a bit harder and the result wasn't much better than clippers. As he grows I will start to incorporate the use of both like I do for my husbands, but for now the clippers are working great!
Sorry I don't have any great suggestions, I just kind of go for it and hope for the best.

Laura said...

I have trimmed my daughter's bangs a few times, with varying degrees of success. For bangs, I find it very helpful to strap her into the highchair where she can't move much. She's also big enough now that she will watch cartoons, so that helps with holding still. Before that held her attention, I just went fast (hence the times of less success... :P). I have heard that when trimming bangs, you should only go from the outside of the eyebrows in, not all the way to the ears.

I do know that in and around the Salt Lake Valley there is a chain of children's salons called Cookie Cutters. They charge $13.95 for a child's cut, include a treat and balloon, and they have a movie playing the whole time. I haven't gone there personally, but my sister loves it. I'm sure that once my daughter needs a more significant haircut--more than just bangs--I will go there.

Universitybabe said...

I cut my little boys' hair myself. I use both clippers and scissors. I had a friend who asked me to help cut her boys hair because he faught it all the time. We found that if we let him hold the razor while it was on for a few minutes the noise wasn't as scarry. We would flip the razor upside down and let him pretend to cut daddy's or mommy's while it buzzed and he would then let me do a little bit of his own. Then we had to repeat. My absolute biggest suggestion; play with the hair, ears and neck--all the time. When people are doing their morning routines in the bathroom comb the hair in a variety of directions, pull on the ear--pretend to comb around the ears if you have to. When daddy shaves, if he uses an electric razor let the boy hold it or stand and watch and even feel it on his head. They will cooperate a lot more if people messing with their heads is not a new thing and the sounds are familiar. My son loves to tell people that he "threw my hair away." Maybe letting them HELP give the grass a hair cut or help throwing away or saving their hair will help them feel proud of it. If it is just wiggles causing your problems than I suggest using clippers so you don't have an "accident."
For little girls I am like a previous poster and don't cut it for a long time. THen I start asking their opinion on wether they want their hair as short as that person's or as long as that person's giving them some ownership in the choice helps them hold still so that "it doesn't get cut too short."

Megan said...

My little guy had his first hair cut at 10 months. I took him somewhere to have it done and he hated it! He wiggled and cried and didn't want to sit still. We gave him a sucker and that helped for a little while. The second time, he was 14 months old and it went a little better. Again, I took him to someone to have it cut. However, the sound of the clippers scared him and he cried through that part. A couple weeks ago, he needed another hair cut. However, this time, my husband did. We own clippers, my husband use to cut his hair all the time, so he said he would do it. It actually went really well. Like has been mentioned before, my husband let him hold the clippers and "cut" his own hair, and that helped him not be afraid of the clippers. My husband also strapped him into the highchair so he could really wiggle as much. It looks great! I won't pay for a haircut again unless my husband decides he doesn't want to cut Luca's hair anymore.

Trish and Matt said...

I cut my son's hair, but not my daughter's. To get him to sit still, I give him a lollipop.

One of the best things I ever did was take him to get his hair cut and then watch as it was done and ask the sytlist questions. I learned so much this way. I also found several video tutorials online that taught me how. My cuts aren't always perfect, but since he's only 3, I figure I can get away with it. Hopefully by the time he's older and it really matters, I'll have it down better.

I take him in for a professional cut once about every four or five months. This gives me some good lines to follow. I use scissors rather than clippers as he doesn't seem to mind as much.

Kym said...

I have cut Riley's hair twice now and he is ready for his 3rd this week since we are getting his pictures taken. The last time I cut it was about a month or two ago. The first time I cut it I just used scissors because it just need a little trim on top. The last time I cut it I used the scissors for the top and clippers for the sides and the back. My husband has a small "grooming" set that he uses to trim his go-tee(not sure how to spell it) and I just used that. It's quieter than the regular clippers, I think.
To get Riley to hold still, I sat him on my lap in the bathroom and ran some water in the bathtub because he loves it. I think it kept him distracted enough and he hair cut turned out pretty well. My mom cut my brothers' and dad's hair. She used to put the boys in the high chair and have someone read a book or try and distract them while she cut it.

Jared and Delia said...

We like the lollipop method to help him hold still. I use clippers with a 3 or 4 guard. My son doesn't have a ton of hair though, so it just takes a minute to buzz a bit off the back and we are done.

For my older son I have put him in his toy riding car to cut his hair with a lollipop. Doing it outside distracts him enough so he doesn't get too scared for some reason too. Clean up is a bit easier too. Good luck!

Jes said...

In the salon Ive always done the sucker (or other sucking candies) thing for bribery, but Ive also found that distractions are better if you go somewhere to get hair cuts try having your husband or yourself or etc getting their hair cut in the stylists station next to you and have you child be able to watch/face you during theirs. Some kids like to hold hand mirrors to look in (<--thats a really popular one), some just like their parent to sit in front of them and make faces at eachother...sometimes have a parent hold them and or read them a book.
Just kind of depends. I usually always keep a treat at my station, use lots of praise the whole time, and if I know its a baby or easily distracted kid I usually have the parents bring something that the kids really enjoy (special toy, book etc). Get the kids distracted first and then get the cut going. Dont start cutting and deal with wiggles and crying during it...
Goodluck! :)