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AIBU?

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Original poster

Call from nursery : your daughter's hair has been cut off

213 replies

emoo777 · 08/10/2013 15:35

DD is 3 1/2 and we have been growing her lovely blonde hair, so that it was easy to put into a ponytail. I have just had a call from nursery to say the children were 'playing hairdressers' and before they saw what was happening her hair had been massively cut off. It was several inches below her neck and now apparentely can't be put into a ponytail and they suggested I book a hair appointment to even it up!?? WTF?! 3 year olds with scissors and not properly supervised? I haven't seen it yet as I have to work ahead of picking up the children. I can't work though as am furious - I don't know whether to cry or shout. What do I say to them when I pick her up? Surely this shouldn't have happened?
Help!!!
xx

OP posts:
hettienne · 08/10/2013 19:42

Scissors that don't cut hair wouldn't cut anything.

fluffyraggies · 08/10/2013 19:56

1cm in many places Shock

Crikey that's more than a snip. It will grow back OP. But that's not the point is it? I hope you get a proper explanation tomorrow.

phantomnamechanger · 08/10/2013 20:03

OP, how is your DD - is she very distressed?

Sleepyhoglet · 08/10/2013 20:08

That should not have happened. But she was obviously happy for it to happen or she would have called out.

3asAbird · 08/10/2013 20:10

ok 3things hope makes you feel bit better.

1)when dd 1 was 3 tried to cut her hair myself she moved went horribly wrong went to get a comb and she cut more off looked total mess mullet and had party to attend that afterooon lots kids perfect hair took a few months.

2)incident in nursery playing hairdressers but trim not as bad as your incident.

3)dd2 had fine messy hair never let me brush it , was growing slowly looked a mess went kids hairdressers got short bob just behnd her ears and looked lovely its been 4months starting to grown nice and long enough ponytail.

maybe hairdressers could do layer bob to try and do something about diffrent lengths im sure can be sorted get nursery to pay some pretty headbands and cbow side clips cheer you both up a bit.

Hulababy · 08/10/2013 20:18

OFSTED insist on continuous provision, even at this age. That means things like scissors have to be accessible by children whenever they want to use them. Sadly even round ended plastic paper scissors cut hair - hair is usually thinner than paper after all. And adult:child ratios of this age is fairly big isn't it?

I am sorry your little girl has ended up with her hair cut. I'd be gutted too :(

mojojomo · 08/10/2013 20:23

Do you know if your dd was happy to play along with the hairdresser game, e.g. did she also cut someone else's hair?

As well as the obvious concern that anything could have happened- if they have unsupervised access to scissors then "not near anyone's face" is surely a fundamental rule? Anyway I'd also wonder if your dd was playing happily or if she was upset about her hair bring cut. Also, at what point did a nursery teacher notice? During the cutting or after? If afterward, I suspect they can't tell you more than a good guess about how it happened.

diddl · 08/10/2013 20:24

"That means things like scissors have to be accessible by children whenever they want to use them"

Why is that?

mojojomo · 08/10/2013 20:27

And I'd be furious. And want to speak the manager. Depending on their response I'd rethink childcare arrangements. I don't see the point in speaking to the other child's mother, she's not responsible unless she suggested it at home.

hettienne · 08/10/2013 20:28

Even if the rules are scissors only sitting down at the table, holding them carefully etc, sometimes 3 year olds don't follow the rules.

Iwaswatchingthat · 08/10/2013 20:29

Safety scissors can def cut through hair. My dd2 age 3 at the time, asked innocently for a sweeping brush. "Why?" I asked. "To sweep up all of this hair" she replied....

Arrrgggghhhhh!!! It grew back...

I do think hair cutting is very common at that age tbh.

Iwaswatchingthat · 08/10/2013 20:32

Oh no OP. I have just read your update of how short it actually is. That is awful and you are not overreacting to be gutted and want to know how it happened.

Dwinhofficoffi · 08/10/2013 20:34

The best three year old setting I know allows the children to have scissors without close supervision. Accidents can and do happen.

Famzilla · 08/10/2013 20:36

Haven't read the whole thread but I cut a girls hair in nursery once. I had blonde curly hair and was jealous of a girl with long (down to her bum) black hair so I cut half of it off.

Luckily her mum understood that it was just one of those things kids do.

(Before I get a flaming I was 4, and my mum told me off)

thelittlemothersucker · 08/10/2013 20:56

((())) Hugs for the OP.

Shallistopnow · 08/10/2013 20:56

Complain to your local authority. Its very upsetting and could've been far worse. I bet you they've all had a laugh about it at home this evening. No standards these days.

soverylucky · 08/10/2013 21:03

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

soverylucky · 08/10/2013 21:05

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BabylonReturns · 08/10/2013 21:08

Ooh that sounds like a long time with scissors and no supervision :(

fairy1303 · 08/10/2013 21:08

When I was three I cut off the very long, very blonde hair of my best friend at nursery using the red plastic scissors. If I remember rightly it was her 'birthday present'

My mum was HORRIFIED - paid for friends hair cut etc.

If it makes you feel better, her hair grew and we are still best friends now - she was maid of honour at my wedding and our mums are best friends too - it was that incident that introduced them.

kerala · 08/10/2013 21:18

Ridiculous overreactions. It's hair it grows back. It's funny they were playing. They don't care how they looks unless mummy is weeping and wailing and making a fuss about it. And I speak as mother of a 3 year old who hacked off her own fringe.

jamdonut · 08/10/2013 21:18

Sounds like the child who did the cutting had remarkably good scissor skills!
So many children start school not being able to control a pair of scissors at all, as it is becoming more and more common for children not to be allowed to use them at home. In the year 3 and 4 I work in, quite a number of children still have great difficulty cutting anything resembling a straight line,even with paper.

marriedinwhiteisback · 08/10/2013 21:20

It isn't about your daughter's hair being cut as much as it is about safeguarding. The scissors should not have been out if there was inadequate supervision and I don't care what a poster said upthread. On this occasion it was your daughter's hair; on another it could be a child's eye. In my opinion this was a serious breach of safeguarding rules and a serious episode of neglect.

The hair will grow and she will probably look like a fabulously elfin urchin; the alternative consequences don't bear thinking about and they are the reason why I would be looking for a written reassurance and threatening to report them to Ofsted, the LA etc., if they don't provide a written action plan about how they will prevent this in the future.

hettienne · 08/10/2013 21:23

Should no pens or pencils be available either in case they go in someone's eye?

starfishmummy · 08/10/2013 21:29

To all the people saying that hair grows back and these things happen - how would you feel if someone came along and hacked off your hair?
I don't think you would be saying the same things then.