Hair cut from hell!!

[Merlot]

Ds2 (just 2 years) has had his hair cut - 4th one now - and it was one helluva experience

We have a lovely hairdresser come to the home - but he screamed, wailed and squirmed like a wild animal. She carried on valiantly and amazingly she managed to do a good job.

I just had a flash of the future and thought OMG - when he is even bigger and stronger (he's the size of an average 4 year old now) this is going to be a complete nightmare.

Any hints and tips and strategies. I've adopted the approach that we just have to get on with it. Like hospital appointments - there is no point faffing around with lengthy explanations for him - its totally lost on him

Ps. A straight jacket would have been useful
I had my legs locked round his and my arms restraining his!

PPS. Guess what! He gave the hairdresser a beautiful wave Good bye - we had to laugh at that one - you could just tell that the sentiment behind it was Good Riddance!!

Merlot, not wishing to be patronising on complacent or anything, but tbh LOTS of perfectly NT two year olds are like this at the hairdresser. I saw a screaming, writhing toddler when getting ds's hair cut quite recently.There was even a thread on it a few days ago! The consensus was as much distraction and as many sweets as possible. At that age I literally sat in front of ds and pushed chocolate buttons into him for the duration. And I went to people who knew they just had to crack on! he's much better now. Would he be any better on your lap?

merlot my almost 9 year old son is like this but he has AS.

when he was younger i used to have to hold him down by his arms and sit him on my knee!

the barbers where i take him now is very good and used to him and usually gets the other barber to chat to him if he,s not busy, mind u last time ds said what are u doing with my cut hair because i want it for DNA testing ??!!
i just sat there while the barber burst out laughing!

The other thread is called Hair Raising and is in behaviour/development Merlot

Merlot,

I could have written your post re hairdressers a couple of years ago. You have my sympathies

I found the following helped in my case:-
a) take child to just one hairdressers shop where they are used to children
b) get husband to take child to hairdressers with me.

Infact we now take our son to a London department store where they have a childrens' hairdressers. They are used to children who scream etc and as such do not bat an eyelid.

aloha - its a relief to know that there are other NT 2 year olds out there, who hate the hairdressers as much.

Thanks for the tip about the chocolate buttons - it might have worked, but tbh he just lost the plot and I dont think any amount of distraction would have worked. He was on my lap - but with my arms wrapped round his and my legs wrapped round his legs!

Hopefully as his understanding grows he will grow out of it? (hopeful face). The hairdresser wasnt unduly distressed and she did manage to smile when I said that she deserved danger money!

Ds2 is also usually terrible with haircuts. I found it very stressful and we have now resorted to cutting his hair with clippers at home. It's a shame because it has to be quite short and he loses his golden curls but he seems to be less stressed at home and we don't need to worry about disturbing everyone else. One option might be to get one of those mobile hairdressers to come to you.

I think what Aloha says is right - I noticed on Supernanny the other day one of the NT 3 year olds needed 6 people to hold him down at the hairdressers. That made me feel a bit better about Ds2.

Ds1 used to be a complete nightmare when it came to haircuts. We used to have to resort to sneaking into his room in the middle of the night and trimming it while he slept. His hair was curly so thankfully it didn't show too much if it was uneven. Eventually it got to the point where it needed a proper cut.

Ds1 would scream the place down and refuse to even go into the hairdressers - despite the staff trying to lure him in with chocolates and lollipops. When I did eventually get him through the door I had to hold him on my knee while the hairdresser used the razor to get it over with quickly. Later dh would take ds1 with him while he was having his own haircut. Little by little he got used to it. Now he actually looks forward to being allowed to sit in "the big chair" while his hair is being cut.

Ds2 is still at the stage where we can get away with trimming it quickly ourselves but I have to admit that I'm dreading the day when he needs a proper haircut.

Ooops! Makes it sound like it's DH who looks forward to sitting in the big chair!

lol coppertop, that does sound funny!

dd2 is also terrible with anything to do with her hair. It is very curly so gets knotty easily, which is a nightmare. I try combing it out with conditioner every now and then, but do this in the bath as she often cries so much she is sick (sounds terrible but she hates anyone messing with her hair)! As this is so terrible for her, I generally let her go round with a tangly mop . As for haircuts, I have never dared go to a proper one (she is 4!) in case she was sick which would be quite likely. I just cut it myself at home in the bath - as it is curly, it generally looks OK, but obviously it could be much better.

I have no tips as dd isn't motivated by food, so chocolate etc would not work for her. Hopefully it will all get a bit easier as they get older??? It must be so difficult as your ds is big and strong. Also boys can't get away with so much with their hair I suppose.

We have had the same lady come to our house for eight years. I don't think ds3 could manage the hairdressers salon but over the past two years he has really settled down with the lady we have.

Try to have the same person come to the house every six to eight weeks, hopefully over time he will accept her.

I have cut dd's hair for the last 10 years! We attempted hairdresser visit once age 4 and couldn't get her off the floor in a meltdown, took me 15 mins to get her out of the shop she got in such a state. We did try a mobile hairdresser but that wasn't much better. She now says the noise of the dryers/scissors/radio/chattering etc stings her ears so feel guilty forcing her, her hair is such a mess most of the time you can't notice her wonky fringe!

Merlot - I was the one who started the other thread referred to here as my ds behaves like you are killing him (verrrrrrrrrrrY slowly) when when take him to the barbers...Hence we went down the clippers route - marginly easier, but extremely dodgy haircut!

Merlot, my ds is exactly the same. I also have him on my lap with my legs and arms wrapped around him but I still could do with some extra hands to keep his head still! Being able to actually bribe him is a distant dream.

All I can say is persevere! Ds used to be on the floor in a complete hysterical meltdown but little by little he is improving. I have a great hairdresser who has known him since he was born and just gets on with it and doesn't stop until the cut is finished. Does a lovely neat job too! We have got to the stage where ds only starts crying when the hair starts to fall on his face or if the scissors touch his neck, both of which he hates. He also 'gets over it' almost immediatly and waits by the door for his lolly instead of being in a state for 1/2 an hour afterwards.

It's still a trauma, I still have to hang on for dear life and get covered in his hair, but I can see a light at the end of the tunnel!

My son, NT and now 5.5 has only just started to behave in hairdressers. In the past it has taken three adults to get him to have his hair trimmed, with all three of us ending up covered in hair and ds vomiting (this happened at hoome thank god)

We worked our way round most the hairdressers in the area, too stressed to return to any of them

What helped us a bit was getting him to have his hair cut with a friend of similar age.

Would he watch a vidio? Would that help a bit if you are having the hair cut at home?

But stmpathy, it is horrible

The best bit is all the old ladies under the dryers wondering what on earth is going on. There's this screaming, fighting child and me and the hairdresser just carrying on as though it's all completely normal!

Thanks for all your really helpful suggestions

Its nice to know I'm not alone. The hairdresser we use is a mobile hairdresser (thank god) so the shenanigans we had yesterday were for our eyes only

I'm hopeful - from your posts - that ds2 might actually come through this stage.

Thank you all

well my ds decided to cut my dd's hair. All her curls were gone. he had layered it through and it had gone from halfway down her bacl to a layered short crop

everyone commented how nice he had done it and what a good job he had done

I had to takwe her to the hairdressers so she could tidy it up. 12.50 later it looked the same and there was one very flustered hairdresser bloody nightmare innit

That brings back memories of the time ds1 managed to wriggle free half way through a hair cut. The hairdresser had started at the front with the razor/clippers and had done most of the top. The back was still long and curly when ds1 struggled free. The poor boy looked like Michael Bolton. The thought of taking him out in public like that was so terrifying that I caught ds1 again very quickly!

Argh, Haircuts, Henry 5 has always hated them, hates having his hair touched full stop.

HAircuts are normally something along the lines of my other Half armed with scissors or clippers, Me holding Henry's haed still, eldest daughter or son holding his arms down, youngest daughter reading to him. And still he screams and shouts, I can't believe the neighbours have never called the police, it sounds like we are cutting him up from the niose he makes. Last time my other half actually cut his own hand.

You lot have made me feel heaps better!