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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Son cut his hair in school

115 replies

Shmee1988 · 06/02/2025 09:54

Hi everyone. I'm just looking to gage some opinion on this one. My DS is 5 and in year 1. Yesterday when my DP collected him from school he had a HUGE chunk of hair missing, right at the front of his head. My DP asked the teacher what had happened and she said she didn't know as she hadn't even noticed the (astonishingly obvious) massive chunk of his hair missing. When asked, my DS said that him and his friend had both cut there hair with scissors while doing an arts and crafts lesson. Another child had also cut up a tennis ball behind the sink.... I was a bit upset that this was able to happen and annoyed at the lack of supervision but no harm done (this time).... so my attitude has been very much 'kids will be kids, it'll grow back' no need to make a fuss. However, upon relaying this funny anecdote to others, it seems that some people feel I'm not taking it seriously enough. I did speak to the teacher and she said she was distracted by another group of kids and I understand that she cannot have eyes in the back of her head, all kids need supervising and my DS is old enough to know it was a stupid thing to do. Apparently some others are of the opinion that I need to be raising my concerns with the head and be more concerned about the level of supervision. Dont get me wrong, I am concerned and I've made this known but it can't be undone and I don't see what good will come of making an already stressed out teacher feel bad about it. Equally, it could of been so much worse and someone could of got hurt. Am I being too relaxed?

YANBU - give the teacher a break, she's likely stressed enough as it is.

YABU- take it more seriously and complain about the lack of supervision of 5 year olds with scissors.

OP posts:
Kuretake · 06/02/2025 10:01

This happened in my son's class in year one - a little girl cut a massive chunk of hair off at the front and looked like she worked in Shoreditch for months afterwards. Her mum found it quite funny. My DS was absolutely enthralled by the idea you could just cut your own hair. He was clearly very impressed and went on about it for ages so I had to keep an eye on him around scissors for a while!

I don't think it's the teacher's fault, just one of those things

vodkaredbullgirl · 06/02/2025 10:03

What child hasn't cut their own hair, it grows back.

boulevardofbrokendreamss · 06/02/2025 10:04

It's a fairly standard rite of passage ime whether at school or at home, they will have been safety scissors. My daughter did it at home, huge chunk at the front, looked bloody awful. I didn't have eyes on her so can imagine why a teacher doesn't have eyes on 30 kids at one time.

Catza · 06/02/2025 10:05

I wouldn't make a fuss of it either. At this age, they were probably safety scissors and the school is not going to magic up extra staff for close supervision. They are more likely to ban arts and crafts beyond a bit of colouring (unless some parents have concerns about sharp pencils).

WhenTheyComeForYou · 06/02/2025 10:06

Humans can’t be in two places at one time or have eyes in the back of their heads. It’s impossible.

This is a laughing moment - store it in the funny things your kid did part of your memory and move on.

Not everything is a complaint!

MumonabikeE5 · 06/02/2025 10:07

Teach your child not to cut things apart from the project work.
he is in year 1 this isn’t his first experience of using scissors at school or nursery, and presumably you work with scissors and cutting at home?

you son has been naughty. It’s not the teacher that should be scolded here, your son did a naughty thing and wasn’t doing the activity he was supposed to do.

stayathomer · 06/02/2025 10:08

My sons friend cut off her hair at home and had to get a pixie cut. I’m torn op, A class of five year olds- you wonder who could stop something like that happening but then they are there to watch them … very split but yes would be afraid the teacher would get in trouble

Original poster
Shmee1988 · 06/02/2025 10:13

MumonabikeE5 · 06/02/2025 10:07

Teach your child not to cut things apart from the project work.
he is in year 1 this isn’t his first experience of using scissors at school or nursery, and presumably you work with scissors and cutting at home?

you son has been naughty. It’s not the teacher that should be scolded here, your son did a naughty thing and wasn’t doing the activity he was supposed to do.

I'm not sure I agree that he was being naughty or deserves to be scolded. He was silly yes I agree and rather than scolding him we have had a discussion about how not to do it again. I'm not trying to pass blame, that was the entire point of my thread..

OP posts:
Original poster
Shmee1988 · 06/02/2025 10:15

WhenTheyComeForYou · 06/02/2025 10:06

Humans can’t be in two places at one time or have eyes in the back of their heads. It’s impossible.

This is a laughing moment - store it in the funny things your kid did part of your memory and move on.

Not everything is a complaint!

Exactly. Laugh and move on was my exact reaction. 😀

OP posts:
InTheRainOnATrain · 06/02/2025 10:16

my attitude has been very much 'kids will be kids, it'll grow back' no need to make a fuss
Exactly! Don’t doubt yourself!

The teacher has 30 kids, of course she can’t supervise each one that closely, they’ll be safety scissors that can’t cause any injury and given they’re normally introduced at nursery age it’s expected by age 5 that the kids know how to use them appropriately. If you want to be cross at someone then it should probably be your son who was being silly with the scissors and wasn’t doing the work he was supposed to do. But his silly hairstyle whilst it grows out and the fact that this will become one of those funny family stories are punishment enough!

vodkaredbullgirl · 06/02/2025 10:17

Both my dds have done it, not to each other though 😆

Reallyyyyyy · 06/02/2025 10:19

Right of passage in my book. Mine have all done similar. My year 1 daughter gave her self microbangs at school the other day. I wasn't happy. But it's hair. It will grow back. She did it a few days earlier and decided it wasn't enough....

SwingTheMonkey · 06/02/2025 10:20

Your son did a silly thing. It’s not the teacher’s fault, she cannot possibly be watching every child at the same time.

Im astounded a pair of safety scissors were capable of cutting up a tennis ball though.

Haveyouanyjam · 06/02/2025 10:20

I cut a triangle out of my fringe at home when I was 5 and I was one of two children at home with my mum. I was a pretty sensible kid but was cutting my doll’s hair and wanted to cut mine too! Meant I grew my fringe out at 5 which was actually a win as all my friends decided to do it as pre teens and it was more awkward. Not sure why everyone had a fringe in the 90s…

No need to complain. If they were able to harm themselves with the scissors then I’m sure they would have provided closer supervision. Part of life and no harm done!

Beamur · 06/02/2025 10:24

This has been happening forever. Take a photo.
It's not a massive safeguarding fail.
It's a good life lesson and no harm done.
It's not anywhere near the same as they might have cut themselves or someone else - the scissors aren't that sharp. This is just perfectly normal curiosity. It doesn't hurt to cut hair and gets a laugh from your mates..

dreamingofpalms · 06/02/2025 10:24

My DD had beautiful long blond hair when she was 3. My DS was 5 at the time and decided to give her a haircut. They were in the lounge happily playing (I thought!) , whilst I was in the kitchen. He was half way round giving her a sort of bob haircut, then got bored and started something else. She came to find me 😱
Anyway she had to be quickly whisked off to the hairdresser and ended up with a Lady Di type cut c. 1982. It quite suited her! We still laugh about it and they are late teens now.

It happens- just let it go

RoomtownBat · 06/02/2025 10:26

A little girl cut a chunk out of DSs fringe in the first year of infants… he had been ‘annoying’ her apparently so she turned round and lopped off a chunk of his hair!!
The teacher looked devastated when she brought him out… I said that he’ll think twice about annoying her in the future, took him to get a shorter hair cut and within a few weeks, you’d never have known. Kids and scissors are always an entertaining mix!
Ask our Ddog, she was treated to a “haircut”….

EliflurtleAndTheInfiniteMadness · 06/02/2025 10:26

Mine did it at home, its certainly a laughing moment and I wouldn't be blaming the teacher, it takes mere moments to do. YANBU your friends are

MumonabikeE5 · 06/02/2025 10:27

Shmee1988 · 06/02/2025 10:13

I'm not sure I agree that he was being naughty or deserves to be scolded. He was silly yes I agree and rather than scolding him we have had a discussion about how not to do it again. I'm not trying to pass blame, that was the entire point of my thread..

Show quote history

I don’t think it is the teachers fault, is all that I’m saying, and that by year 1 it’s reasonable to expect the children to use scissors responsibly.
if you don’t think he was being naughty then what’s the issue? Chalk it up, kids hair grows, teach him not to do it again and to concentrate in class.

Irridescantshimmmer · 06/02/2025 10:32

YANBU,

You are right.

You can't feel bad enough to make the situation any better.

MyUmberSeal · 06/02/2025 10:33

I tried to pierce my friends ear for her with a compass from a compass and protractor set when I was 8. Her mum wouldn’t let her have her ears pierced so she asked me to do it at school. It didn’t work 🤣.

OP, it’s a sweet funny tale. Ignore the people that say you should be taking it more seriously. Kids will be kids, and long may that continue.

Original poster
Shmee1988 · 06/02/2025 10:34

MumonabikeE5 · 06/02/2025 10:27

I don’t think it is the teachers fault, is all that I’m saying, and that by year 1 it’s reasonable to expect the children to use scissors responsibly.
if you don’t think he was being naughty then what’s the issue? Chalk it up, kids hair grows, teach him not to do it again and to concentrate in class.

Show quote history

Yes exactly, he's old enough to know it was silly but also still young enough imo to not fully understand it's not funny. I just wanted some assurance that my opinion of not moaning at the teacher was the right one and it seems it is 😀

OP posts:
custardpyjamas · 06/02/2025 10:35

At some point teacher's are maybe helping one child while the others are busy, if they have to be constantly scanning the room there could never be a one to one interaction with a child. It's just not possible to be watching 30 children carefully all the time, I'm sure they seemed to be happily engaged!

HotCrossBunplease · 06/02/2025 10:37

I don’t know that the scissors 5 year olds use for crafts were sharp enough to cut hair!

theressomanytinafeysicouldbe · 06/02/2025 10:42

We've all done it. But a bit alarming that these scissors were good enough to cut hair and cut up a tennis ball. I would be more concerned with this than the hair.

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