Hysterical RE Hair Cuts

Let it grow... tie it up in a ponytail if need be. My #1 son was a nightmare... I let it grow until one day he told me that he wanted it cut. He's been good ever since... (When he finally said he wanted it cut, we buzzed it....)
Basically, it's hair... there are some battles I just didn't want to fight...
YMMV
LBC

I just let it grow. My now 5 year old went through the "rod stewart" phase, the "bowie", the "hillbilly". But now he likes to get a haircut. My now 3 year old wants NOTHING to do with haircuts. It's not a big deal. Eventually he will want to be like dad/brother. I can get him to let me trim his bangs, but that's about it. You could always wait until he is asleep, then do a quick trim.

Try to wait it out. Our son went through this "stage" too. It really didn't last that long, but it SEEMED like it would go on forever.

He is 11 now, and still doesn't like haircuts b/c he is very sensitive to the loose clipped hair on his skin. Drives him CRAZY. He takes extra shirts in the car to change into after a haircut even.

Maybe your son is extra sensitive too? I would give him a couple of months (and just deal with his hair not looking quite right) and then try again. Only take extra precautions to protect his neck from the falling hairs. Be sure to mention it to the barber/stylist as well.. they can wrap tissue around his neck beneath the cape to help if they don't already.

My oldest is almost 8 and still cries when he gets a haircut. I do it, and I just buzz cut him cuz he won't hold still and that's the only way not to totally mess it up. I'm glad to hear there are other moms out there who have haircut horrors as well!

When my boys were little, I cut their hair when they were asleep!

I rolled them on one side and did that, then rolled them over for the other side and got the top too.

But, I'm a stylist, so it was easy for me, it may be harder if you don't feel comfortable trying that.

Now they are 2 and 4 and love getting haircuts. I just plop them down in a chair with a cookie in one hand or sometimes even in the bathtub and cut away.

Here's some good advice:

http://www.babycenter.com/0_parents-say-when-your-child-h...

Let it grow for awhile? He's a young guy, it won't hurt him to have some lovely locks for awhile.
Plus then he can look back at them when he's older! :)

He may have been nicked once before and is remembering that - even if it never drew blood, he could've been poked by the tip of the scissors. Or maybe they just *look* scary to him, like how a large syringe looks to many adults. Additionally, it sounds like he feels out of control and helpless over something being done to him against his will, and the grown-ups aren't listening to him, which is pretty scary even if there's no physical pain.

He also may not like a drastic change because he looks so different in the mirror. My 3 year old is like that (but he's a little older and can communicate that.)

Some places that cater to children have a TV at each cutting station so that the children are more likely to be half hypnotized by the TV and not care as much about the haircut. But at this point, I doubt he would fall for that - he's already reacting so powerfully. I'd recommend completely avoiding the haircut experience for a looong time -- this sounds like the kind of thing where if you push it, it will just end up taking much longer for him to get over it because it's become a power struggle for him. The grown-ups always end up winning and he feels powerless, you know what I mean? If you stop pushing, he doesn't have anything to struggle against, and
it becomes his decision. Then it just becomes an issue of getting over the fear of the scissors.

First, let it grow out a bit. A longer, shaggy style doesn't have to be as precise so it's easier to trim, even if you resort to doing it with a flashlight while he's sleeping, which is probably your best route for now.
My mother did that for me & my sister for several years, but it's only going to work if you have a shaggy style that's more forgiving of imprecise cutting.

I never did the trimming in the sleep, but I do let my boys hair grow until it gets in their eyes and drives them crazy - then they BEG for a haircut. While it's long, I just make sure to dress them in clothes that are OBVIOUSLY masculine so they aren't mistaken for girls - no orange T-shirts, for example. (I'd never tell them, for instance, that "If you don't cut your hair, people will think you're a girl." Seems that would just be an invitation for a tantrum.)

Personally, I think little boys look adorable with a slightly moppy look.

In my opinion, for what it's worth, your son may hate haircuts, but the more he gets used to it, the better.
He may scream and fight, but the fact is, he knows it doesn't really hurt him.
We took my son to a barber. It helped he was our next door neighbor, but it was like "guy time" sitting in the big chair with the other "men". I backed off and didn't hover.
When he retired, we took my son to a very pretty lady and let her have her way with him. (wink wink). She was really good about calming him and explaining things and we discovered my son loved having his hair washed in the bowl and his head rubbed first. We always kept my son's hair short.
He's 14 and did want it to grow out a few times around 12 and 13, but he hated having to comb it or deal with tangles. It never even got down to his collar and he wanted it cut.
Just keep trying. Hopefully sooner or later you will find a "hair whisperer."

Best wishes.

My son was the same exact way for his first 4 hair cuts. Then my husband took him alone one time and he was completely fine. I don't know if you have tried sending Dad alone? My husband thinks my son was feeding off my stress as I knew what to anticipate.

Good luck.

Mine is the same way at 2 - just this weekend in fact. It helped a bit to let him bring a toy w/ him (small washable one), and give him a lolipop or french fries...bribery I guess! Good luck. The growing out thing could work too, but then you have to actually brush/comb it - more battles...

I also had a child like this- he started to get better around 6! it was many years of tears!
The best thing is to put them in front of or in view of the tv on a stool- put in something they really love. Make sure that you wrap a towel around the neck, and also but a big black garbage bag over him (cut a slit at the bottom for his head to go thru).One of my son's problems is he HATED to feel the hair dropping onto his skin.
I also blow on his face if any hairs have fallen on it.
We ended up getting the buzzer that shaves the head to a military cut- he liked it. It can be quick. the key with those is, (at least as I have used it) the hair has to be relatively short to use it. otherwise it pulls the hair. A proffessional barber (not a salon) who is accomplished with this tool can probably do the job very quickly, even on long hair.

I had the same problem with my child. When she turned three, I took her to a regular salon, NOT a children's salon. She did great. It was a disaster the two times I took her at age two. I had to wait a while, but she finally was ready to understand what was being done to her.

Can you wait until he is sleeping? We used to trim my daughter's hair this way, although, it is easier with a girl. Have you thought about just letting it grow until he gets over it? It is not such a big deal for boys these days.

M.

A well placed bribe is worth it. With my son it was dum dum lollipops. He went through about 3 in 3 minutes. We had a great lady barber who could do a "passable" haircut in about 3 min. She was quick and could move with all my son's squiggles. We didn't have his 1st decent haircut until 3 1/2 but at least he didn't need to have a ponytail.

I am right there with you. My son is 2 1/2 and we have yet to have a pleasant hair cut experience. I even tried having his dad take him the last time thinking that if I was not there he would not be so upset about it. Wrong! My husband said it was the worst experience of his life and he will not do that again. I am not sure what we will do but he has to continue to get haircuts. I know that the next time we will try to coordinate it so that my son can see his older cousin get his hair cut "like a big boy" and maybe he will want to emulate that.

mine would do fine if I gave them a snack to eat while their hair was being cut. a box of cheezits or snack mix worked well, or if they were distracted by tv. Also try taking him to a kids specialty hair cut place. They have neat chairs that look like those old pedal cars.

My son goes to the same lady I do. She keeps a draw with happy meal toys for the kids to play with and he makes a straight line for it every time. Also in the beginning, we gave him a small sucker while he was in the chair. He if didn't sit in the chair, he wouldn't get his sucker. After a few visits, the sucker got moved to after she had started to cut his hair and now he gets it after she is done. She is able to use clippers on him as well with no problem. He has been getting his hair cut since he was about 2yrs old as well. He loves going!!

Take some small toys for your son to play with while he is in the chair and let him pick out a special snack or a trip for a happy meal afterwards if he does well and not throwing a fit.

Good luck
S.