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Original poster

Childs hair cut at school

77 replies

shatteredL · 26/06/2023 15:30

Not sure what to do with this one!

Picked up by child from school early for an appointment, noticed some areas of her hair are shorter than another's. It's been cut at school 🤦🏻‍♀️she has been asking for shorter hair so I'm pretty sure she's either a). Cut it at school herself
Or b). Asked one of her friends too.

It's definitely not happened at home as scissors are out of reach for her.

I've asked her teacher to give me a call but not sure what to say on this one. Surely this is something they would notice if they were being supervised?

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viques · 26/06/2023 17:23

neilyoungismyhero · 26/06/2023 16:37

Considering in a lot of workplaces now, proper scissors and knives are not allowed due to health and safety issues it seems odd that a child could get scissors sharp enough to cut hair..I'm not a fuss pot person but would be concerned about kids waving sharp instruments around other kids faces/eyes.

I am trying hard to think of workplaces where scissors and knives are banned, so far I have come up with planes, prisons and locked wards in psychiatric hospitals.

Usernamenotavailab · 26/06/2023 17:24

Whendoesmydietstart · 26/06/2023 16:07

My ds and his best mate cut each other's fringes with paper scissors at age 5. It was hilarious. You can imagine the relief on the poor teacher's face when both mothers rolled around laughing. These things happen, which is why paper scissors only cut hair, not fingers!

Willing to bet though it’s only mums of boys find it hilarious.

mums of girls tend to be more precious about hair, especially cutting it 🙄

viques · 26/06/2023 17:30

I have also remembered my daughter, aged about three, being suspiciously quiet in her little playhouse in the corner of the sitting room. Turns out she was determinedly and patiently cutting a bath towel in half with her safety scissors “So you will have two Mummy”

I wasn’t happy, but had to admire her perseverance and her mathematical understanding. In my own defence I can only offer the explanation that we didn’t do helicopter parenting in those days.

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Magenta82 · 26/06/2023 17:30

viques · 26/06/2023 17:23

I am trying hard to think of workplaces where scissors and knives are banned, so far I have come up with planes, prisons and locked wards in psychiatric hospitals.

Show quote history

This.
Adults can be trusted with sharp objects unless they are very mad or very bad.
Children need to learn to safely use sharp objects and need some supervision while they learn. However as much as they try teachers can't watch every child every second.

Frequency · 26/06/2023 17:31

Both of mine are girls. When DD1 did it I was just confused as she'd just had a haircut. I wasn't annoyed or upset.

DD2 first did hers at school and made a right mess of it. Some chunks were only a few mm long. The teacher looked very concerned and anxious when she was explaining what happened and even offered to pay to have it corrected at a salon. Meanwhile, I was using every ounce of strength I had not to fall on the floor and piss myself laughing.

Clymene · 26/06/2023 17:36

I got chewing gum stuck in my hair once and I wasn't supposed to have chewing gum so I knew I'd be in trouble.

I cut the gum out and was really pleased with myself for getting away with it. I was gobsmacked when my mum noticed the massive hole in my hair GrinGrin

jannier · 26/06/2023 17:38

shatteredL · 26/06/2023 16:02

They can eye roll all the want. I don't expect them to have eyes in the back of their hairs but as another poster has said, it's potentially dangerous for her or potentially another child to have scissors close to their heads/faces whether she or somebody else has done it. Of course I will be speaking to her as she's gone radio silent and sheepish and won't say who's done it

Show quote history

What age is she? Can she use scissors safely a skill normally taught before school?

ErrolTheDragon · 26/06/2023 17:38

Willing to bet though it’s only mums of boys find it hilarious.

mums of girls tend to be more precious about hair, especially cutting it

If you'd bothered to read the thread, you wouldn't have made such a silly bet.

QuillBill · 26/06/2023 17:38

I've had a year two rub her longhair with one of those Velcro bats you catch a Velcro ball with at lunchtime.

We had absolutely no luck getting it out and she had to go home with it still on her head.

Clymene · 26/06/2023 17:39

QuillBill · 26/06/2023 17:38

I've had a year two rub her longhair with one of those Velcro bats you catch a Velcro ball with at lunchtime.

We had absolutely no luck getting it out and she had to go home with it still on her head.

GrinGrinGrin

UsingChangeofName · 26/06/2023 17:41

@JeandeServiette you clearly have no understanding whatsoever of the Foundation Curriculum.

jannier · 26/06/2023 17:41

neilyoungismyhero · 26/06/2023 16:37

Considering in a lot of workplaces now, proper scissors and knives are not allowed due to health and safety issues it seems odd that a child could get scissors sharp enough to cut hair..I'm not a fuss pot person but would be concerned about kids waving sharp instruments around other kids faces/eyes.

What age should a human learn cutting skills, senior school? No wonder there are so many 10 year olds unable to eat with cutlery, chop a piece of fruit or cut out a template. Children need to do things for themselves....

ThursdayFreedom · 26/06/2023 17:48

SausageinaBun · 26/06/2023 16:59

In reception, my DD cut her friend's hair, got told off for it and had the scissors removed, then went and retrieved the scissors and cut her own hair. Apparently when told that "scissors are for cutting paper" she replied, "but there are so many other things I want to cut with them".

The biggest issue for me was that she actually cut herself a decent fringe, so there was no natural consequence of looking ridiculous until it grew back. I ended up showing her pictures of children who gave themselves awful haircuts on the internet. She asked me why they were all crying.

@SausageinaBun she sounds like a right character! I bet parenting her has been fun!!

how old is she now?

jannier · 26/06/2023 17:48

JeandeServiette · 26/06/2023 16:45

You have very little understanding of a primary classroom @JeandeServiette

Ha. I've spent more time in primary classrooms than many.

Although, thinking about it, in the area I grew up, and in which my mother taught, there had been an infamous eye injury from safety scissors in the (I think) 1970s - the blade ended up embedded in the eye - which got referenced a lot. So maybe they were all freakishly uptight about safety. Maybe everywhere else scissors are treated in the same way as PVA.

Yep free access in craft area with mark making and glue...rounded end scissors...but you would have the same result with a pencil, paintbrush stuck in an eye wouldn't you so sounds like a child choked on a grape ban grapes but cherry tomatoes are fine scenario.

johnd2 · 26/06/2023 17:48

SausageinaBun · 26/06/2023 16:59

In reception, my DD cut her friend's hair, got told off for it and had the scissors removed, then went and retrieved the scissors and cut her own hair. Apparently when told that "scissors are for cutting paper" she replied, "but there are so many other things I want to cut with them".

The biggest issue for me was that she actually cut herself a decent fringe, so there was no natural consequence of looking ridiculous until it grew back. I ended up showing her pictures of children who gave themselves awful haircuts on the internet. She asked me why they were all crying.

Not being funny but why did you want her to have done a bad job so she would not like it? Trust is a wonderful thing!
In my mind that's like your child helping themselves to cereal for breakfast and then showing them pictures of people throwing up?

Shinyandnew1 · 26/06/2023 17:51

JeandeServiette · 26/06/2023 16:08

I expect staff not to turn their backs on a class once scissors have been handed out, to count scissors back in, to (sooner or later) notice if chunks of hair show up on the classroom floor...Yes.

Show quote history

I have taught for 20+ years and have never seen a teacher counting scissors back in again! They are usually freely available on the tables along with whiteboard pens and pencils for whenever they are needed. Some groups will be cutting and others may not at any given time.

Last year a pupil from one of our Y1 classes took a pair of scissors into the toilet in her pocket and hacked part of her ponytail off-then put the cut hair in the bin with the paper towels. The parent quite rightly told her off and said she should have known better. She didn’t blame the teacher for no noticing who had smuggled scissors into the toilet.

Birdkin · 26/06/2023 17:59

A boy in my class cut his hair the other week because he thought it’d be funny. His mum was not best pleased with him, mainly because he’s in year 5…

Frequency · 26/06/2023 18:01

Last year a pupil from one of our Y1 classes took a pair of scissors into the toilet in her pocket and hacked part of her ponytail off-then put the cut hair in the bin with the paper towels

That's how DD2 managed to make such a mess of her waist-length curls before being caught. She snuck the scissors into the toilets and her and a friend took turns cutting lumps off. She cut her hair quite a few times in various settings between the ages of three and 6ish. I remember sitting her down once and explaining that there was nothing wrong with little girls not having long hair and if she wanted a pixie cut all she had to was ask and I'd take her to get one done properly. She asked what a pixie cut was and then started crying that she didn't want to look like a boy when I showed her Confused

She later told me she just liked the sound the scissors made when she cut things. She also cut little triangles into her bedding with safety scissors she found in DD1's art box and cut a massive patch of the cat's hair off.

When they were both much, much older and more than old enough to know better they decided it would be a good idea to shave a "go faster stripe" on the dog with my old hair clippers. They then panicked about getting into trouble when I saw the dog and decided the best way to not get caught would be to shave the entire dog. The poor thing looked like Golam from Lord of the Rings. I had to get my mum to knit him a jumper.

Original poster
shatteredL · 26/06/2023 18:03

Frequency · 26/06/2023 18:01

Last year a pupil from one of our Y1 classes took a pair of scissors into the toilet in her pocket and hacked part of her ponytail off-then put the cut hair in the bin with the paper towels

That's how DD2 managed to make such a mess of her waist-length curls before being caught. She snuck the scissors into the toilets and her and a friend took turns cutting lumps off. She cut her hair quite a few times in various settings between the ages of three and 6ish. I remember sitting her down once and explaining that there was nothing wrong with little girls not having long hair and if she wanted a pixie cut all she had to was ask and I'd take her to get one done properly. She asked what a pixie cut was and then started crying that she didn't want to look like a boy when I showed her Confused

She later told me she just liked the sound the scissors made when she cut things. She also cut little triangles into her bedding with safety scissors she found in DD1's art box and cut a massive patch of the cat's hair off.

When they were both much, much older and more than old enough to know better they decided it would be a good idea to shave a "go faster stripe" on the dog with my old hair clippers. They then panicked about getting into trouble when I saw the dog and decided the best way to not get caught would be to shave the entire dog. The poor thing looked like Golam from Lord of the Rings. I had to get my mum to knit him a jumper.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

OP posts:
spiderlight · 26/06/2023 18:08

Birdkin · 26/06/2023 17:59

A boy in my class cut his hair the other week because he thought it’d be funny. His mum was not best pleased with him, mainly because he’s in year 5…

At least it was his own hair. I was giving our dog a trim yesterday, nipped to the kitchen to get him some treats and had to sprint back in and remove the clippers from DS, who was about to attempt to give him 'go-faster stripes'. DS is sixteen 🙄

SausageinaBun · 26/06/2023 18:24

She's 8 and is lovely, but significantly harder to parent than DD1.

She once cut up the PJs she was wearing - the nicest ones I've ever bought her. When I moaned about it to my mum, she laughed and said "she's just like you as a child". So apparently she's some sort of karma for me being the same as a kid.

SausageinaBun · 26/06/2023 18:26

johnd2 · 26/06/2023 17:48

Not being funny but why did you want her to have done a bad job so she would not like it? Trust is a wonderful thing!
In my mind that's like your child helping themselves to cereal for breakfast and then showing them pictures of people throwing up?

Show quote history

I'd be delighted if she'd get her own breakfast. But I definitely discouraged being her own hairdresser. Even I'm not independent enough to cut my own hair.

Whendoesmydietstart · 27/06/2023 20:26

Usernamenotavailab · 26/06/2023 17:24

Willing to bet though it’s only mums of boys find it hilarious.

mums of girls tend to be more precious about hair, especially cutting it 🙄

Show quote history

Ha ha, despite the patronising eyeroll you are wrong. Yes I also have a dd, and oddly enough her self styled haircuts have only been temporary too. Girl's hair grows back just as quickly as boy's, you know. Admittedly she made a better job than her brother.

johnd2 · 28/06/2023 09:30

SausageinaBun · 26/06/2023 18:26

I'd be delighted if she'd get her own breakfast. But I definitely discouraged being her own hairdresser. Even I'm not independent enough to cut my own hair.

Show quote history

Thanks for the reply. Surely what you did is not discouraging, it's scaring her into not cutting her own hair!

Also, remember your children are not less capable versions of yourself, there may be lots of things you wouldn't do that they would be happy to. That's part of becoming their own person.

Good luck and take care.

Hugasauras · 28/06/2023 09:35

Scissors bring out the devil in kids. DD1(4) is a generally very well-behaved kid, she rarely does anything that's particularly 'naughty', but the other week she was wearing some lovely handmade trousers I'd just bought for her and doing some cutting in one of the 'cutting skills' books. I was sitting beside her watching her and I saw her look at the scissors and then her trousers and before I could say anything she had snipped a tiny hole in them.

I was aghast! It was so out of character for her. Obviously I reacted in a slightly miffed fashion and she was like 'The scissors made me do it 😭😭😭' so there we go.