To not explain my DS's comment

[noseymcposey]

Took DS (3.5) for a haircut this afternoon. We were talking about going for a hot chocolate afterwards and the hairdresser said 'Ooh, can I come'.

DS said, 'Don't be SILLY, you're a HAIRDRESSER!'

Hairdresser was then really quite offended and made a few comments along the lines of 'but I'm just a silly hairdresser, I probably can't even read'.

Although it did sound like DS was being a massive snob who wouldn't be seen dead with a lowly hairdresser - clearly (to my mind) he just meant it would be a bit random for him to come for a hot chocolate with us.

I feel bad the hairdresser was offended, and that maybe I should have explained what DS meant, but I also thought he was being a bit of a plonker to make that interpretation anyway.

And yes, I know this is trivial but it all got a bit awkward after that...

Not much you can do now is there? No sense worrying about it.

YWB abit U. You could have explained.

I don't think the hairdresser really needed to make PA comments to a 3yo though, that's odd!

Surely even a hairdresser could understand that small children don't make judgy class related comments? I would assume he meant something like 'but you're at work and you need to be here cutting hair, not drinking hot chocolate.'

YANBU and I wouldn't go back to that hairdresser! You'd have to really have a chip on your shoulder to take offence at what your ds said when it was so obviously about the going for hot choc with someone you only see in a job role. You could easily substitute binman, doctor or prime minister instead of hairdresser and it would sound exactly the same so not snobby at all!

Well quite Captain Ankles!!

I didn't explain it because I thought it was quite obvious and that wading in saying 'oh he doesn't mean you're not good enough' would maybe make it worse as it implies that was a possible interpretation.. As you can see, I would have probably overthought it and tied myself up in knots.

Of course there isn't anything I can do now. But I'm interested if people generally go around explaining away their small children's faux pas(s) or if you just let people use their common sense?

YANBU. The hairdresser needs to get over himself. Your DS is 3 FFS. In his world hairdressers probably only exist within a salon.

I worked in a Paediatric dept once and was met by an utterly baffled expression when I implied I had a certain DVD at home "No you don't! You're the doctor". Clearly I lived in the hospital and had no real life. Silly Hedgehogging. (Actually the kid was pretty spot on thinking about it.)

It's just like kids being surprised to see their teachers outside of school; they don't realise that people have lives outside their jobs. And the hairdresser was being insanely unreasonable to make comments like that to a 3.5 year old. You really would expect a sane adult to understand what was going on there.

YANBU. That hairdresser has their own issues.

Hairdresser's an idiot

In a 3 year old's world, work people just don't exist outside their job. A fireman is always a fireman and probably sleeps in his hard hat.

Hairdresser was silly to take offense at what a toddler said, though she might have thought he got that attitude from you.

You could have explained that to him hairdressers did nothing but hairdressing. But really, I'd shrug it off and move on.

I want hot chocolate now.

Here you are then Bulb:-

(I only learned how to do these emoticon things yesterday and I've been dying to do one!)

My DD's eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw her preschool keyworker in the preschool car park today. Inviting her -or the hairdresser -out for a hot chocolate would be far too much for her to work out. She'd be less surprised if Santa sat down next to her and ordered himself a coffee.

I'd have just assumed that he only saw the hairdresser existing in the hair salon and not in life outside! Like you see the doctor at the hospital, teacher at school etc

Yes, all the stuff about hairdresser's not existing outside of the hairdresser's makes total sense, though I didn't think about it in quite that way at the time.

To be fair the hairdresser did a good job, it's quite hard to sustain a conversation with a 3 year old for the 30 minutes it took to cut his hair and he made a valiant effort on the whole. Great haircut too!

Feel less bad about now - especially as hairdresser was being strangely PA! DS, being 3 was completely oblivious and just grinning and swinging his legs, so all good there.

apostrophe fail..

I think your DS probably thought,like all the children at my nursery think I never leave the nursery and I sleep there! that the hairdresser never leaves the hairdressers shop!

I'd have just said something along lines of "they're so literal at this age aren't they "

Hairdresser was being precious. He's 3, I'm sure hairdresser will live.

DS2 was concerned the other day that there hadn't been any leftovers from lunch at daycare.

He was worried about what Miss Katie was going to have for dinner.

On further enquiry it turned out he though she lived at the daycare and only got to eat whatever was leftover.

The hairdresser was probably trying to engage you in conversation, not quite sure why you couldn't offer a lighthearted explanation.
Also if you were talking to your DS while he was getting his haircut, hairdresser joins in, is rebuffed by the child and then you don't say anything either then he probably felt a bit foolish and uncomfortable.

Well I smiled a lot and said thankyou about 4000 times for everything, so I'm hoping he didn't think I was too terribly rude!