As a parent, there are a many traumatic incidences in life. Say, the first time you have to take your child to the hospital for stitches or a broken arm? Or when they decide they want to dress themselves, and all you can say is, “Wow. Great outfit!” while thinking, “I have to go out in PUBLIC with her!”
But, one of the most traumatizing experiences, according to many moms who have posted photos on Facebook, is when your children cut their own hair! Now THAT’S traumatic, especially when your daughter’s thick, long hair is now a mullet circa early 1980s.
What mother doesn’t want to weep when she sees her daughter’s gorgeous long hair chopped into a hockey player style? (CAN YOU BAN CHILD-PROOF SCISSORS?) If you are not the mother of a child who has decided to cut their own hair, you can’t help but laugh…and feel the other mother’s pain, while thinking, “Well, I’m hiding the scissors right now.”
Children want to play hairdresser, probably even more so than actual hairdressers.
So, when they do cut their hair, they either end up with a mullet, or looking like they have male pattern baldness, or with the shortest bangs in the world, or only with the left pigtail remaining.
Mothers find this more traumatic than their children. You’ll hear from friends, when you tell them your child “decided” to cut their own hair, “I’m so sorry!” as if someone has died.
Luckily, most kids are smart enough by age 4 not to do this. That is unless they have older siblings who decide to “test drive” their stylist skills on your younger children in the form of perhaps a bribe (“Just let me cut off your pony tail and I’ll let you watch whatever television program you want! But you can’t tell mom!”)
It’s completely normal for young children to experiment. Call it the “amateur hairstylist.” While people who see your children wearing god-awful outfits they pick out, at least they know your child choose it. But when it comes to them being Amateur Hair Cutters, you will be asked, with a gasp of horror, “What happened?” The answer of course is, “My kid has hair. Found scissors. The End.”
But if your child went all out, and now looks like she has constant bed head, or one side of her hair is really long and the other is as short as grandma’s, obviously you need to do something. Here are our tips on how to handle it.
First, take a deep breath, and know you are not alone. Check out this compilation video featuring kids who cut their own hair. (One kid: “You can fix it with glue!”)
Second, try hard not to (in front of them that is!) show your true feelings. Another article says don’t embarrass them. They are probably proud of themselves. So now what? There needs to be a conversation, like, “Scissors are used for paper and always ask before you use them.” Or hide the scissors somewhere they can’t reach them and need to ask you to find them. Or get them a doll that they can practice on (Old Barbie’s are great for this!) Of course they’ll know they did something wrong, because you’ll probably be mad or crying. But try not to.
Next, fix it! If the cut isn’t too bad, do a little touching up, and go with it! Check out these awesome asymmetrical haircuts or surf Instagram for hairstyles, and pick one out with your child (Thank God, the “Pixie” never goes out of style!)
If it does need help, call your hairstylist ASAP. Check out our list of child friendly hair salons, like, Melonhead (www.melonhead.ca) or www.cutekidscuts.com. Trust me, they’ve seen it all. In this case, I’m not the believer of the “natural consequences” otherwise known as, “Letting your kid walk around with a bald patch for months and making them explain what they did.”
It’s also time to teach your child to “accessorize” (Ah, every females favorite word!) Take them hat, hair band and clip shopping. Check out www.elizabethstreet.com (search “hats”) for some amazingly cute hats and headbands. A good accessory can hide all sorts of evils!
Finally, DO NOT FORGET TO TAKE PICTURES! Even though you may be mortified now, you will laugh about this memory eventually (and so will us moms on FB! Sorry!)
Remember, it could be worse. Like, um, if your child cut off YOUR hair while you are asleep.
And, hey, it’s just hair. It WILL grow back.
