Please help!!! 2.5 year old hair cuts!

[november90]

Guys I'm completely lost and I don't know what to do!
My LB is completely awful when getting his haircut. He use to be semi ok, but then one time it all changed and he was absolutely hysterical. We went to a children's only salon and it was so traumatic! We had to hold him so she could finish. We tried to take a different approach this week and went to a sensory salon who had a reached approach, anyibholding. They brushed his hair and he was so hysterical they refused to do anymore :(
He has glue ear and I think a lot of his trauma has come from constant doctors appointments for ear infections from when he was younger. He's having grommets fitted tomorrow but I just think that isn't going to solve the hair cutting issue! He's old enough now to decide he doesn't like it!
I wouldn't have an issue with him having longer hair, it's not me trying to implement fashion on him... but he's such a little boy and is SO messy! I want to keep it shorter!
Does anyone have any advice or experiencing the same thing?!
Some hair dressers are telling me that holding him will create a negative relationship, others telling me he will grow out of it.
I've tried cutting it myself, role play etc but NOTHING has worked :(

This may sound completely ridiculous but what about trimming it in his sleep?
My son has curly hair and we always kept it a little long so I only trimmed the back occasionally.He's 19 and he still keeps it almost to his shoulders
So I guess I am not much help!
But good luck to you!

Not sure how much help it is but my Lb has tv and snacks for a haircut, wonder if offering him some good distractions like that would help? Also it’s a mobile hairdresser so it’s in his own home so not sure if that helps to keep him calm. He has his hair cut in his high chair and our main problem is that he keeps trying to look at what she is doing!!

I had the same problem. It was a nightmare. Last time I had a mobile hairdresser come to the house. That and not using the electric clippers made it a lot lot easier.

Mobile hairdresser at home was the answer for my 2y 9m twins. And one who is great with kids!

I do it at home while son (2.3) sits in highchair with tablet on

(now do DH's too when he gets round to sitting down for it)

He did not like the barbers at all and wouldn't even sit on the raised chair

Yah k you everyone! Me and my mum tried to do it the other day and it was a disaster!!! I don't know why he hates it so much or where I've gone wrong 😩😩😩

My son becomes a little tazmanian devil everytime he goes to the hairdresser. The only one that can manage him and do her job is Sally in Battersea. It's far from we live, but we cross all the town every month because she is the only that can cut my son's hair.

My son went from totally fine one time, to hysterical the next - no idea why?

In the end I booked a mobile barber who specialised in kids haircuts and she was brilliant. It was simple things like, she gave him his own brush to brush the hair away when he started to get bothered, and made it into a tickle game. It took a while, but hardly any tears! I never thought I'd have a pain free haircut ever - it was seriously life changing. I'd recommend but imagine you're nowhere near us (Halifax) but maybe try that route if you haven't already x

My 2 year old son is the same and I have to cut it myself. luckily I do a pretty good job and he lets me

My DS is exactly the same. He has been fine for a long time and decided last month that he'd make it sound like we were cutting his leg off. We've always had a friend come to our house to do it and he's sit in front of tele fine but now he screams when she comes in. Tried hairdressers and he wouldn't go through door, he's watched daddy but as soon as hairdresser spoke to him he scream and ran for the door. Last month I took him to another hairdresser known for being good with children and he wouldn't go through door, I carried him in and she started but in the end had to clipper it all off ( he had gorgeous blonde moppy hair on top) he screamed all through it but he gets severe eczema on scalp so needed doing.
I'm going to try again before Xmas. Hairdresser said by 3/4 times he'll be ok 😬 hopefully it'll pass but he's the same with doctors, hospitals, health visitors all of a sudden. Wish there was an answer

Electric clippers at home with the iPad.

I think this is quite typical and not unusual that it is happening now. It is around the 2YR mark when 'fears' start creeping in, or when children start developing fears, similar to how adults have fears too. Whether it's them being scared of the dark, having their hair cut, getting water on their face, etc it tends to start around this age. Some fears are short lived through repetition (like getting their hair cut - it gets repetitive and boring with time) while others tend to last for many years, like a fear of the dark (i.e. some adults are still scared of the dark).