To take my 3yo with me to the hairdressers?

[mangolover]

Posting here because it's only just occurred to me I might be being really cheeky and I might turn up and piss them off.

I've got a hair appointment tomorrow. Cut, blow & foils so will be there a while. It's a new place I've not been to before. It's newly opened, went in today and door was locked (had to buzz to get in) and there was only one client & one hairdresser there. Nice waiting area close to chairs.

I've got a lot going on this week and tomorrow was the only day I could fit it in. I'm desperate for a tidy up.
Dd is 3, she will be 4 in April. She's really good, but I don't have anybody that could watch her in that time so I'd have to take her with me.
I'm thinking a little bag of snacks and an iPad for some games.

I'm being a cf aren't I?

Personally I wouldn’t, it’s a lot to ask of a small child to not want to explore and pick up everything she shouldn’t, especially when you are distracted.

With an iPad and snacks, you should be ok. Prepare to be bugged every 5 minutes or so too about needing a wee, the volume being too low/high on the iPad, telling you they dropped a snack / banged their foot / saw a cat / etc. Also make sure you have headphones for the iPad so it’s not blasting at full volume!

It does depend on your kid. My DS was a nightmare at that age, my DD is now 4 and she’s usually ok as long as she is fed and entertained. My DH took her to his hair appointment a few weeks ago because I had to take DS to a party she could wasn’t invited to and she was fine.

I think YABU. No matter how "good" she is, she's your child so her shrill little voice won't bother you but to strangers, every time she speaks or fiddles, she'll be a source of irritation.

The hairdressers is no place for small children.

If your DD isn't going to bother anyone else then you'll be fine, and no you won't have been a cf. But if she does start to roam, or gets in the way of others, then yes, you will have been a cf.

If Dd is good, trust her. If she responds to your guidance, no reason not to. They're in business for customers. If those customers come with kids, especially well behaved ones, then that's the way life falls.

Some customers have kids.

You won't be the first to take a child to the hairdressers, and it sure sounds like your Dd won't be the worst either.

Alternatively:
Can you imagine if everyone did this?

NB. Don't ever listen to anyone who says something along those lines.

YABU
Who are you expecting to look after your DD when you’re getting your hair washed? Who will be able to run after her if she makes a beeline for the door, or the staff room. How many times is reasonable to ask the stylist to stop blow drying to answer another question, or find a snack, or refill the water bottle. Have you asked the salon beforehand whether that’s? It’s massively unfair on the salon staff to have a 4 yr old portentously running around or needing ‘watxhing’. And pretty unfair on any well behaved 4 yr old.

And yes, although customers may have their own children, personally I go to the hairdressers for a break from mine.

‘Potentially’ and ‘watching’... damn autocorrect..

Sit you Dd next to you, or on your lap. Tell her to watch the funny lady doing silly things to your hair. Let her experience life.

And let her enjoy the hairdressers. We're not all that fortunate...

...from a bald Dad.

Don't be ridiculous.

YANBU, take her. It's only the hairdressers and she sounds well behaved anyway. She can just sit on your lap and watch the ipad if necessary. Hardly a great inconvenience to the hairdresser or other customers! Enjoy the pamper and time with DD!

For what it's worth she's generally really good. Quite shy. Engrossed on the colouring in games on the iPad which I tend to save for occasions like this.

She's not the wild child in the family that demands attention every 3 seconds like her brother and can't sit still. She's the one we joke often we could leave and go to the shops and come home and she would be sat in the same place. She's shy and really well behaved.

@TheGreenEye I love that comment, that's exactly how I'd be with her.

I'm also cautious of overstepping the mark though and being seen as a cf.

@thegreeneye you also want to take your children to Australia against school advice because of your depression and anxiety. No wonder you wouldn’t support someone attending a hairdressers without them

Yabu and you know it.

It doesn't sound a family friendly hairdressers and at that age at best it's incredibly boring for dd (which makes it more likely she'll act up) at worst there's potential for an accident of some kind.

At the very least you call them first thing and ask.

LOL, @Justagirlwholovesaboy - sheds a whole new light on the other thread!

If she can truly sit still and behave then sure, take her. But I find it hard to believe that a 3yo can sit still and behave and not disturb others for that long.

LOL, @Justagirlwholovesaboy - sheds a whole new light on the other thread!

If she can truly sit still and behave then sure, take her. But I find it hard to believe that a 3yo can sit still and behave and not disturb others for that long.

If you’re absolutely certain that she’ll sit quietly for the entire time including using the iPad either muted or with headphones, won’t want to run around, play with products and her having a snack won’t result in any mess then I’d say it’s fine and also that you probably have the best behaved 3 year old in the world!! If you’re mid-colour you can hardly get up and leave if she doesn’t behave, and it’s a big ask given the time it takes and that she’s so little. Having a tidy up isn’t an essential, honestly I think you’d be better rearranging it for a better time when someone can watch her.

Mum used to get her hair done with me sitting in her lap. No problems at all.

I don't think you should bring her, it's not fair on other clients or staff. Even if she's usually quiet and well behaved, it's unlikely she'll sit in silence for 3-4 hours! Kids have irritatingly high pitched voices. A salon is a relaxing place for adults to be pampered, not listen to kids chattering/whining.

There may not be space for her to have a chair next to yours (the stylists need room between salon chairs to reach equipment, plugs etc). Who will supervise her while you're having your hair washed, or dried, or when you have to keep still without looking over your shoulder. I wouldn't want a 3 year old sitting on the sofas by the door in case she wandered off or someone tried to grab her.

Then there's the risk she might touch hot straighteners/wands/styling tools or pick up scissors, or investigate the little bowls of dye stylists leave unattended. Even if YOU trust her to be sensible, the staff will be on edge!

If it really was just for a tidy up-which for me would mean a quick trim-then yes I'd take a well behave child along no problem. But as it sounds as though you're having the full works, I would say it would be unfair on your child to expect her to sit quietly for so long and I wouldn't risk it because it's not as though you can walk out halfway through if your littlun does play up is it?

YABU. if I were another customer there I'd be annoyed as I want the hairdressers to be a break for me. Even the best behaved 3 year old is going to move around and even if you are ok about it then it's still not fair on the staff or other customers. If she were silent and sitting on your lap the whole time then maybe but that isn't in any way realistic.

I used to take DD with me. Single parent, absolutely nobody to have her for me. But my DSis owns the salon! Pushchair, Netflix, snacks and drinks and she was fine.

I go to the hairdressers as a very rare chance to escape for children. I would be mighty miffed to find a young child there for that length of time.

There have been threads on here before about this, general consensus was no, kids shouldn't be taken as it's not fair on other people there who are going for their haircuts or staff trying to do work if kids are pottering round.