Haircuts for Preschool Kids

Haircuts for Preschool kids can always be a bit of a challenge. It seems that it does not matter what we do or say, they are afraid that it will hurt. Well, I have come up with a method that seems to work, & we both laugh ourselves silly. First, a little prior warning, there is not a lot of style here, & it probably only really suits boys.

Step One. I let Ed {my 4 year old son} know that we will both be having a hair cut later in the day, I tell him this first thing in the morning so that he has a little time to get used to the idea. I also let him know that it is both of us, & he will also be helping to cut my hair. This tends to place an element of trust in the deal & he seems to realise that I would not let him do it to me if I knew that there was a possibility of getting hurt.

Step Two. We both go to the bathroom & strip to our underwear. I set up the Electric clippers with a #2 blade & guard. We then both stand in the DRY shower recess {please ensure that the recess/bathtub is very very DRY}, and also make sure that the tap is very firmly in the off position.

Step Three. I use the clippers on my own head & take a few strokes just to remove some of the hair, while saying that it is fine & does not hurt at all. Ed is by now interested. I then ask him to stand very still and place the clippers on the front of his head. I do not actually move them, but he can feel the buzzing sensation. Ed tells me it kind of tickles. I reassure him that all is fine & he is a big boy now. I now give a couple of small strokes so that some hair will fall at his feet, then remove the clippers from his head. There is a reason for this. It is so that he can lean down & touch the hair that has fallen & learn that it really did not hurt.

See all 6 photos

The first few cuts accross the front

Ed proudly holding the clippers

Ed doing the job on me. This was a surprisingly difficult picture to capture

Doing the area around the ears on little Ed

And then on myself.

The final result, & we are both all smiles

Step Four. I now give thanks to the great god of inventors & the person responsible for the clippers safety guard. I give the clippers to Ed and ask him to cut a little of dads hair. He gets a real kick out of this & then very carefully starts to cut the front of my head. Yes, I do have a mirror next to the tub, & I can see what he is doing. We do not want little fingers in the wrong places. However, I feel i have taught him responsibly, & he knows where to hold the clippers & where not to put his fingers. I think it comes back to mutual trust.

Step Five. We alternate for a while between each other, and get a few laughs out of cutting funny patterns in the hair. After a lot of the hair is cut I take over to do the remainder. I then brush us both down with an old soft brush that I only use for this purpose. I stand Ed on the bathroom sink cabinet, remove the guard from the clippers & trim around his ears, then do myself in the same area.

Step Six. We gather up as much of the hair from the tub as possible and place in the bathroom bin. We do this because it is so much better than blocking up the drain. It is now almost over, all we do now is turn on the shower & wash ourselves down, & clean the remaining hair from the tub at the same time.

Now I know that I am probably going to receive a bit of negative feedback about this method. However, it works for us. I have never had a crying child while trying to cut his hair. We have a good time and laugh a lot. Obviously I am very aware of all the safety aspects & ensure that there is no water at all in the room prior to starting the process. I also make double sure that everything is turned off & packed away before we get in the shower at the end. I never mix power & water, the results are just too devastating to even consider.

The final result of this method is that we both get a hair cut. I am the first to admit that it is not exactly the most stylish of hair cuts, but it is certainly practical. Because I am a single dad, I am always on the lookout for methods that get the job done with the least amount of potential tears involved. We have learned that if the idea is stupid, and it "works", it is no longer stupid. I have always said that the only difference between a good {and possibly expensive} haircut, and a cheap home done haircut, is about two weeks growth.

Sorry about the quality of some of these pics, but I'm sure that you all get the general idea. Smile & have fun with your kids, they grow up too fast to miss out & try to go back.