If you are a parent, you have undoubtedly had that moment of realizing that the house is suddenly just a little too quiet for comfort.
Maybe the kids have discovered how absorbent toilet paper is and decided to experiment by stuffing as much of it in the toilet as possible and then flushing. Maybe they discovered a permanent marker and decided a few tattoos on themselves and on the nearest wall were in order.
Or...as happened with my son...your child found some scissors and decided to perform his or her own haircut.
Let's face it -- if you are a parent, you've probably been there, done that with at least one child. Am I right???
Let's face it -- if you are a parent, you've probably been there, done that with at least one child. Am I right???
So, let me tell you a story about the day my darling little boy (he's 21 now!) decided to trim his own hair.
When my son was born, we were extremely broke -- like one wrong thing and we'd be homeless if it weren't for the help of my parents level broke. As a result, I taught myself to do as many tasks as I could myself, including cutting our hair myself. As he grew older and more mobile, I became careful about putting scissors away as soon as I was done cutting his hair.
Shortly after my son's third birthday, I trimmed his golden locks, preparing him to be the ring bearer in my sister's upcoming wedding. He was going to be so cute in his tiny tuxedo, Jerry Maguire glasses (remember that kid?), and golden curls! He was excited and so was I!
Fast forward an hour or so after the haircut and my realizing I hadn't heard a noise from my little guy in a while... Curious, I looked around the living room and didn't see him -- I'd left him playing with his Duplo blocks while I did some cooking and cleaning in the adjacent kitchen. But, the sliding glass door was open a crack (thankfully our yard was small and secure!).
I found my child on the patio, scissors in one hand, and a clump of hair in the other!
And, a big ol' bald spot smack in the middle of his hair at the top of his forehead.
My child had not only cut off a big chunk of his own hair, but he'd done so in an area that would not only be impossible to hide with the rest of his hair due to the location, but it also was quite a large patch! And, he'd cut the hair so close to the skin that it looked like he'd stopped just short of scalping himself!
I didn't know if I should laugh or cry and I probably did a little of both.
I ended up trimming his hair as much as I could. but because he'd cut so much and so closely to the skin, I didn't do a great job -- I didn't have the tools to deal with that effectively. So, his sweet, thick, soft, golden hair was gone. No more adorable curls framing his face. No more sweet bangs flopping down over his forehead.
By the time we flew to California for my sister's wedding and the preceding wedding party events, my son's hair had not had time to grow back. So, my future brother-in-law took my little boy to a friend's barbershop and they returned to my sister's house with a well done haircut that looked...
Good...?
The new haircut was indeed well done and obviously the work of a professional barber, but my son's hair was so lightly golden and the haircut necessarily so close to the head due to the near scalping nature of my son's DIY attempt that my child looked bald.
Truly, if you weren't right next to him, you couldn't actually see his hair!
Imagine if you will, a three year old of usually serious nature, large round glasses, button down shirts (his favorite at the time), and hair so light that he looked bald from a distance. Oh, and did I mention that his head was, um, large?
Now, imagine the same little boy in a tuxedo. His head looked even larger.
My son did a great job as the ring bearer at my sister's wedding, but throughout the reception, I continually had people coming up to me and asking questions like, "What kind does he have?" or "How is he handling treatment?" It took a minute for me to realize they thought he was bald due to chemotherapy and cancer!
YIKES!
But, my son made up for the seriousness of such questions by being a little bit of a comedian at the reception, climbing under the bridal party's table on the stage and sticking his head out from under the floor length table cloths and looking around -- his head looked disembodied and he was so stoic in his expression that the effect was hilarious! People noticed and he became even more serious and funny at the same time!
I wish I had pictures of my son's first (and only, thankfully) do-it-yourself haircut and the events that followed.I probably had at least a moment of being mad, but in hindsight, I'm so glad my son and I shared this experience! Photos would have been precious keepsakes, but I do have my memories.
Tell us a story about your own kids giving themselves haircuts! What did they do and how did you handle it?
Please note: links in this post may be affiliate links. By shopping via these links we may receive a small commission after your purchase at no cost to you.
When my son was born, we were extremely broke -- like one wrong thing and we'd be homeless if it weren't for the help of my parents level broke. As a result, I taught myself to do as many tasks as I could myself, including cutting our hair myself. As he grew older and more mobile, I became careful about putting scissors away as soon as I was done cutting his hair.
Shortly after my son's third birthday, I trimmed his golden locks, preparing him to be the ring bearer in my sister's upcoming wedding. He was going to be so cute in his tiny tuxedo, Jerry Maguire glasses (remember that kid?), and golden curls! He was excited and so was I!
Fast forward an hour or so after the haircut and my realizing I hadn't heard a noise from my little guy in a while... Curious, I looked around the living room and didn't see him -- I'd left him playing with his Duplo blocks while I did some cooking and cleaning in the adjacent kitchen. But, the sliding glass door was open a crack (thankfully our yard was small and secure!).
I found my child on the patio, scissors in one hand, and a clump of hair in the other!
And, a big ol' bald spot smack in the middle of his hair at the top of his forehead.
My child had not only cut off a big chunk of his own hair, but he'd done so in an area that would not only be impossible to hide with the rest of his hair due to the location, but it also was quite a large patch! And, he'd cut the hair so close to the skin that it looked like he'd stopped just short of scalping himself!
I didn't know if I should laugh or cry and I probably did a little of both.
I ended up trimming his hair as much as I could. but because he'd cut so much and so closely to the skin, I didn't do a great job -- I didn't have the tools to deal with that effectively. So, his sweet, thick, soft, golden hair was gone. No more adorable curls framing his face. No more sweet bangs flopping down over his forehead.
By the time we flew to California for my sister's wedding and the preceding wedding party events, my son's hair had not had time to grow back. So, my future brother-in-law took my little boy to a friend's barbershop and they returned to my sister's house with a well done haircut that looked...
Good...?
The new haircut was indeed well done and obviously the work of a professional barber, but my son's hair was so lightly golden and the haircut necessarily so close to the head due to the near scalping nature of my son's DIY attempt that my child looked bald.
Truly, if you weren't right next to him, you couldn't actually see his hair!
Imagine if you will, a three year old of usually serious nature, large round glasses, button down shirts (his favorite at the time), and hair so light that he looked bald from a distance. Oh, and did I mention that his head was, um, large?
Now, imagine the same little boy in a tuxedo. His head looked even larger.
My son did a great job as the ring bearer at my sister's wedding, but throughout the reception, I continually had people coming up to me and asking questions like, "What kind does he have?" or "How is he handling treatment?" It took a minute for me to realize they thought he was bald due to chemotherapy and cancer!
YIKES!
But, my son made up for the seriousness of such questions by being a little bit of a comedian at the reception, climbing under the bridal party's table on the stage and sticking his head out from under the floor length table cloths and looking around -- his head looked disembodied and he was so stoic in his expression that the effect was hilarious! People noticed and he became even more serious and funny at the same time!
I wish I had pictures of my son's first (and only, thankfully) do-it-yourself haircut and the events that followed.I probably had at least a moment of being mad, but in hindsight, I'm so glad my son and I shared this experience! Photos would have been precious keepsakes, but I do have my memories.
Tell us a story about your own kids giving themselves haircuts! What did they do and how did you handle it?
Please note: links in this post may be affiliate links. By shopping via these links we may receive a small commission after your purchase at no cost to you.
