haircut traumas in 3 year old-what to do!?

zoesmummy_2006

my son is 3 and has quite thick hair that grows fast and wavy. Its desperate for a cut again now but every hair cut he's had, and he's had about 15 in 2 years, have been sooooo traumatic. He screams bloody murder the entire time, kicks, fights, sobs and just hates it.

I picked him up from playgroup last week and said "shall we go and get your haircut?" and he burst into tears and just sobbed. He hates it, and i dont know why.
I usually take my dad with me because he can hold him long enough for the hairdresser to cut it, but I dont want to have to keep holding him in place to have his haircut. Im now thinking of buying a set of clippers for at home and doing it myself, my cousin has just bought some as she does her 2 sons and hubbys hair and has said im more than welcome to go try and do his hair with them before buying any.

Does anyone have any ideas as to how to get my lil man to see having his hair cut is ok??????

gingin_2

No! My son was a nightmare! I ended up sitting him in front of the tv, husband holding him down, bribing him with sweets and it was still traumatic ( for me lol!).

He grew out of it... eventually. I think about 7 years old.

Sorry it's not positive!

Only tip is that I used to cut it really short and then at least he would need less frequent haircuts. He used to protest about that as well but I said that I would't need to if he didn't make such a fuss!

zoesmummy_2006

lol thanks for that!!! 4 years to go then.........maybe!! Im thinking if i can do it myself at home then he can watch his cartoons, play with his toys or a game and do it asap. Might have to get the ex involved one night, maybe (URGH!!) shave his and show him that daddy has it done and it doesnt hurt etc.

Just trying to find a decent set of clippers that are relaively quiet so as not to scare him much more

building_with_lego

DD hated her first few but I always have mine cut at the same time. We played hairdressers at home and I mentioned being "grown up enough to have a proper haircut again one day" and it seemed to do the trick. DS, on the other hand (with his wonderful surfer- dude locks), loves it and I think it's down to my hairdresser being a man. Do you take your DS to a hairdresser or a barber? Maybe you could try him in a more macho environment?! :rotfl:

building_with_lego

Oh, and another thing's just occurred to me. My previous hairdresser mentioned that whenever she had a worried child client she would get the parent out of the kid's sight. Calms them both right down, apparently!

Gingham_R

Does he really have to have his hair cut? Can you just cut his fringe for him and leave it long for now? Plenty of time to conform later.

Elle7

I hate having my hair cut, and I'm 21 and female...When I was little, SS would pick us up to have our haircuts...I'd hide, or run away, or cut my own. I just hated other people touching my hair...I still really struggle with having it cut now. I don't mind people touching it anymore...it's just haircuts...eurgh. I find them really stressful.

Would he be happy for you to trim his hair? If not, I'd either take him somewhere where they will keep him and you leave, as they are supposed to be easier, and then really praise him when you come back, or leave it be.

RichGold

Wait till he's asleep, then in the morning tell him the hair fairy must have come in the night.

WestonDave

Been there got the T-shirt!

If you are going to try it at home I'd borrow the clippers before you buy them - it may be that he won't like the buzzing near his head/ears. (It may be that if the barber etc is using them, that might be why he gets upset so you could try asking for it to be cut with scissors).

Might be worth trying to find a different barbers - at one point we had one near us that had a special kids seat shaped like a car with a TV in front of it showing cartoons. Unfortunately that closed down from lack of trade.

Now our youngest (eldest was never a problem) will tolerate one particular barber if he is allowed to watch TV whilst his hair is being cut - fair play the chap in question must have the patience of a saint because the little horror keeps turning his head to watch the TV.

zoesmummy_2006

its desperate, looks really messy and sticking out at all angles at the min hence why im desperate for it to be cut. Ive tried every hairdressers/barbers in town bar the expensive salon lol. Ive stuck to the barbers as the gent in there is worth his weight in gold and just gets on with it, he knows what my sons like now. But I hate the fact that he fights so much and kicks and screams with it. His first proper haircut when he was just 14 months was lovely, he was an angel and sat on my knee beautifully. Now hes just a demon. I dont want to leave it to get much longer as it really does suit him when its shorter and tidy. Im looking for some clippers now...........

He wont let me cut it, I took him to the barbers once and the usual gent wasnt in, so i tried the other guy-he couldnt cope with my son crying and squirming so gave up. Son fell asleep and i ended up having to cut the rest while he was asleep, he knew what i was doing though and woke up. he's a monkey lol

zoesmummy_2006

its always been scissors cuting his hair before, im definately gonna try my cousins clippers before buying any. her son is a few years older than ds, and ryan adores him, so might wait til she has to do her sons and get ryan in there at the same time so he can see how 'big boys' behave!