First haircuts almost always work best if:
a. The child can sit on Mom or Dad’s lap while their hair is cut. The child sits facing the parent, (who sits in the barber chair), as far out onto their knees as possible. This positioning is reassuring to the child, and it gives the barber ample room to do the cutting.
b. Avoid using a hair cloth. Yes, everyone gets a little hairy, (it sweeps off), but the little ones don’t like having their arms covered by the cloth. Have the parent use a hair duster to brush away cut hairs from the child’s face and neck.
c. They are distracted. It’s good to have an extra person along to help keep their mind off what’s going on. A favorite toy is good. A T.V. with a DVD player showing “Bambi” or “Shrek” or??? is effective. I’ll give up my bunch of keys–they always seem to be fascinated with keys.
d. Scissors yes, clippers no. The big goal with first haircuts is a pleasant experience for the child, the parent, and you. To this end, I highly recommend a “scissors only” cutting on the first few haircuts. If they’ll sit still for it, clippers can be used over the comb around the edge hair, but because of the vibration and noise, most children don’t like them.
GOOD BUDDY
You can always tell a real friend: When you make a fool of yourself he doesn’t feel you’ve done a permanent job of it.
Laurence J. Peter