Advice on Haircut for Toddler

My son did the same thing when he was younger. Just like you, I tried all different types of things, and he still freaked out. He's 8 now, and I can't remember when, but at some point, I had to work and made my husband take him alone. He went to a barber shop and made it like a "Big Boys" day out. For some reason, my son responded to that. He still was nervous, and my husband had to sit with him on his lap, but he didn't get hysterical, and FINALLY got a somewhat decent haircut!
Unfortunately, every little one is different, but maybe you can try not being there. I'm a photographer, and sometimes kids react differently when mom is out of the room. Have dad, or grandma take him. I always say at work that at two, they have so much personality, and they are learning so much that big things can just be overwhelming, and you gotta just wait it out. He's just so smart that his little brain can't process everything he wants to know all at once. :o)
Good luck. I hope it gets easier for you soon.

As a 39-yr old working, married mother of 2 yr old and new baby due in a week - I would say pick your battles. Just give up for a couple months. Let his hair grow. Try again. Yes, it will look out of control. Where do you what to invest your energy right now?

Let it grow? It really doesn't matter; he's only two. And when it starts to get hot and hangs in his eyes, maybe he'll realize the natural benefits of getting it cut. But truthfully, he doesn't care how it looks, and since it upsets him so much, then let him be shaggy.

LOL...I'm in the same situation!!!! My son just turned 4. He hasn't had his hair cut in over a year! The last time we took him to get it cut he screamed for 30 minutes. It was also at one of the places that have kids seats and cartoons. We even moved him to the regular seats while sitting on daddy's lap. He kicked and screamed and his arms were flying! The stylist only got part of his hair cut. I felt so bad for her! i also have a friend that cuts hair on the side. She even came to our house and tried. He also has never had a bad experience. We have just let it grow! He looks cute! Its also now part of his personality..plus right now lots of boys grow their hair out! He still freaks out about the idea of getting it cut! Eventually he will get over his fear. We have decided its not worth fighting him.

First of all, don't give him the suckers. I mentioned this once to a hair stylist and they didn't recommend it because not only does the sucker get hair all over it, but it doesn't usually help the kid either. Next time, have daddy go with you and get his hair cut at the same time. Maybe if he sees that it doesn't hurt daddy, he won't be so freaked out about it. I would also try using the clippers instead of the scissors and tell him that they are going to tickle his head.

Our son kept doing this also - with no rhyme or reason why. So, we just decided to do it ourselves. We let his hair grow out for a little while (to kind of get the previous hair cutting experiences out of mind). Then dad took the clippers to him and he is fine with it. Plus, we save the money from a hair cut. It is not the style that I prefer him to have, but hair cuts are a heck of a lot easier now.

As a licensed cosmetologist, I have to say the best advice that we have given parents is to either wait for the child to get a bit older (however, I've seen an 11-year-old terrified to get his hair cut because he didn't have it done when he was younger), or take the child when it is closer to his naptime so that he is too tired to fight the haircut.

The child may be afraid of the scissors, or the process of having a part of himself cut off. Some children or more afraid of scissors than clippers. Other are more scared of clippers (due to the noise they make) than scissors. Some are just scared of the process entirely. Furthermore, what works for one child may not work for another. And what works for your child might not work everytime either. I have cut young children's hair while they are kicking and screaming (sitting on mom's lap); however, we don't recommend that as the child could get cut or poked by the scissors. Finally, by forcing a haircut, you may risk that your child could take this negative experience into the future as he grows older.

My recommendation is to try to schedule his haircut around naptime and see if that works.

Finally, do not reward negative behavior unless you want more of that type of behavior in the future. Positive re-enforcement only!

Hi M.,

This is what I did with my son years ago! I'm a hairdresser so I cut his hair but he didn't like it. I gave him my spray bottle so he could spray his own hair and spray water in his mouth and on me! He thought it was the funniest thing ever because he got to spray water on me. It turned into a fun event. I don't know if your hairdresser would let him spray her but it's a thought! Good luck!

I would let it grow out. I think little boys look cute with shaggy hair anyway!!

have him sit in your lap during the session.

Hi there,

Its sounds as if you have tried most things. There are two suggestions I would give you....#1. Try talking to him about going to your personal hairdresser. Make her a friend...like...."Mommy is going to see S. today to get her hair done" Take him with you so he gets comfortable with her. (you may have already tried this) #2. Many of my clients will bring their own personal portable DVD player with their childs favorite video... then the only other thing that has worked for me with all the children I do is....bribery!! We have suckers that we give them when we start and we just keep giving suckers until we are done with the haircut.
I dont know if any of that helps but good luck!

My grandson started going when he was very young with my husband and son. It was a man thing! We found that if mom or even me (grandma) would go he would fuss, so it became a man thing. He goes with them and gets to choose if he's first second or last, usually he goes first so he can get the candy the barber has on hand. Now that he's six he helps choose how it's cut (within reason)and will tell grandpa when it's time to go!
My suggestion is to let someone else take him, you might be surprised.

Change your wording... Alot time kids associate cut with pain. Use the word trim. I trimmed my nephews hair for years because the stylist used word "hair cut". I did this until he was at least 5 years old.

Do you have a kid "friendly" salon? In Springfield we have Cookie Cutters. Kids get to pick their own movie or game while they are setting in a chair of their choice, i.e. race car, Thomas the Train, truck.....
My daughter is older but they do a good job on her hair when we have meets.

I cut my kids hair in the bath tub up until the age of 3. They didn't mind that at all. I would have a bunch of toys for them to play with, and the Shower Hose was there for me to wash it off them, when it would start to bother their necks. Now they are 4 and 6, and do just fine sitting on a chair for me to cut.

Have you tried taking him to get his hair cut with Dad? My son was terrified of getting his hair cut until my husband went with him. The first time my son just watched and Dad showed him everything was okay. Now they go together all the time. He always makes a huge deal out of the two of them going, and gets my son a treat afterwards. Hope the suggestion helps, good luck!

I had this problem with my 2 sons when they were toddlers. Thankfully my sister is a hairdresser and she came to our house at nap time. I put them down on a blanket and she cut their hair while they were asleep. Then I picked them up and moved them from the blanket for the rest of their nap. Not the ideal haircuts, but it was out of their eyes and no one at the salon had to listen to kids screaming.

I was in the same situation with my son. His first haircut was at 6 months old. His hair grew so fast, so quickly, that I couldn't possibly just "let it grow". Once every couple months, I would take him and have to hold him down in my lap while the girls did their best to give him a haircut. For 15 minutes, it was nothing but screaming and crying and red faces (his and mine). Afterwards, I always rewarded him for a job well done. Well, at 3 1/2, he FINALLY looks forward to getting his haircut and it's no longer a big deal. My advice: hang in there. It's tough and many of us experience this same thing. It WILL get easier.

We started taking my little guy when another family memeber is getting theirs cut and we talked him through ours and then his. We also found that it was the clippers that freated him out, so we now start with a basic scissor cut and then I get down in his face and talk calmly to him about the clippers tickeling his neck. He still squirms a bit, but he is over the screaming fits....

I use to give my 2 year old a sucker (small) and/or sit and feed him m & m s one at a time so he would be still. He grew out of it by the time he was 3 and could still. It's just a phase.

My son was the same way. I always just trimmed the length myself, and then he had his first bigboy haircut when he was 18 months old. That one was fine, but after that he would scream and cry at the salon, so I just went back to trimming the length again myself, until he was about 3 yrs old. We had to deal with long hair, but I always made sure it wasn't in his eyes, over his ears and too long in the back. I would do it while he was in the tub taking a bath. I would always just cut it wet, a section at a time, and try not to get the hair on him or in the bath. When he got older and was able to communicate why he hated getting his hair cut so much, he said it was because he didn't like the hair getting on him. Like he was afraid of it. Another friend of mine just bought clippers and used those on her son. She said he would scream and cry and throw fits, but the clippers made it go much faster. My son is now 4 and he loves to get his hair cut, so even though it is frustrating now, know that he will grow out of it. Hopefully you can find some way to help him cope.

My son is almost 2 and does the same thing. We found that he is much less afraid of the electric clippers, and he is terrified of the scissors. I usually just tell them to use the clippers all over, just like they would use scissors. We also give him suckers, which seems to help. I've taken him to the great mall salon and they were great with him. She says they have to do it all the time, and just work with it, even if he's screaming. They also have a tv and can turn it to whatever show you want. Hope this helps, I hope mine grows out of it soon too!

My son just got his haircut yesterday. He also hates it. We give him a sucker and a stuffed animal. He snuggles with the animal and eats his sucker and screams while the barber works. I think we just have to wait until they outgrow it.

When my kids were little I bribed them with candy.
Buy M&M's or skittles and as long as they are good you slowly give them one at a time. We didn't have any issues. My kids didn't get candy, so it was a real treat.

Good Morning M.. I have cut 4 of our gr kids hair so far (one to go). I used to cut kids hair in salon also. What I have done for Gr kids here at my house, it give them a small water bottle, ask them to help Nana get their hair wet, then they get to comb it as much as they can. They are sitting up high on a large cutting board I keep just for that use. I've never had one cry or squirm over much.
When i start cutting their hair they still have their little spray bottle so we spray each once for fun through out the haircut. They can only spray me when they see me....lol So if I move to the front I get a tad bit wet. It's fun for them and me also.

Another thing that helps is having your little one watch you get your hair done. Does he cry when washing or combing his hair at home?

All else fails, get some kids gel or mousse and just comb it back or to the side. Then tell him how Handsome he is.
I would imagine your little man feels your frustration before and through all the procedures, so he gets uncomfortable too

I wish you well
God Bless
K. Nana of 5
PS Congrats on your soon to be newest little Angel.May you have a Safe healhty Delivery

Maybe taking him to see Daddy get his hair cut, so he knows that it will be ok? My 2 year old doesnt have enough hair yet to cut, but when she watches my husband get his hair cut, she always says "my turn!" afterwards and tries to climb up in the chair.

My son was the same way when he was two. He is now three and it has been two haircuts now where he doesn't freak out.

My advice is, buy some clippers at Beuty Brands and have your husband do it. Take the high chair and put him in it so he is "trapped" and get some towels and powder (to stop the itching on his neck) and you just have to grin and bear it for an hour while he get it cut.

If your man doesn't feel like he can do it, I suggest going to several different salons until you find someone that has little boys that understands them.

Not sure where you live but the Sport Clips in Liberty is awesome and Jennifer is the manager. She has two boys and that is the only one that my son has sit still for.

Good luck!

i'm not above bribery for thirty minutes every few months! the m&m's sound like a good idea, i might try those, my two year old has become more and more resistant, to the point of fits, the more i take him. i just wanted to S. the sucker idea...WHOEVER thought giving squirmy kids a sucker while they're having loose hair fall all over the place was ...i think...a man! or had never had kids. BAD idea! then there's the tantrum when you have to take it away because it's covered in hair. grr!

I had the samething happen to me w/my son but as soon as my Dad took him to his baber shop and said act like a big boy he was fine w/it ,but the only down side is my father is the only one who can take him now lol, oh well its good for them both

I know this sounds bad....but I bring in a small bag of M & Ms..which he loves. I also have other "surprises" in my purse which I keep pulling out when the candy stops working. We usually finish with him standing on the chair with his arms around me while she finishes the back. :) Good luck...good thing long hair on boys is in right now!

2 year olds are tough, always were, always will be. Sometimes kids think they are losing a part of their body when they get their hair cut. Sometimes they feel that way about nail clipping and seeing their bowel movements flushed.

Have you ever had your son sit on your lap or his dad's lap (especially his dad's lap) when you or your husband have your hair cut? Hearing comments like, that sure feels better, looks better when you have yours done may help. Consider letting him play with the hair a little bit. Make hair cutting as routine as possible, not a big event, fight

Good luck

My son did the same thing until daddy went with us and got his hair cut too...seemed to calm things down quite a bit. I'd also recommend getting some ear plugs for him if they are using the electric razor...I know the sound always bothered my son. We primarily use the electric razor on him and trim up the top with the scissors.

As for rewards, he gets one if he sits still and quite. No reward for acting up and stick to it.

Finally, I'd sit down with him and ASK him why getting his hair cut bothers him so much....you might be surprised of the answer and it might provide some better enlightenment as to what you can do for him.