What is the best approach to cut the hair of an infant/toddler?

Question

I often loose patience and am anxious about accidentally cutting skin when I try to cut my 18 month old's hair. Please suggest approaches that you've used that work to get the hair cut safely with the least frustration for parent or child.

What we have tried: using comb and scissors in the high chair (little success) and in the shower (some success). Thanks for your time and consideration.

Answer 1

You didn't specifically say you want to do it yourself, so:

Obviously a professional hairdresser does a great job with much less risk of injuries, and much quicker. And you don't have to clean up afterward! :-)

Our local hairdresser (part of a nationwide drugstore chain) does toddler haircuts for free. The whole operation from entering the store until leaving takes less than 15 minutes and goes very smoothly. Ask your local shop what their rates are for a toddler, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Answer 2

I think our best improvement in the process is to have both parents involved. Our son usually sits on mom's lap while I do the cutting. This keeps him engaging with mom and he hardly notices the scissors. This doesn't always work, in fact sometimes it's a total bust... thankfully unless you're totally changing the hair style, most folks don't really notice that a kids hair is lopsided... so you can stop when they're not into it and come back at it tomorrow. We've had to do that a few times; I'll get one side done but not the back or the other side then he has had enough and we call it quits. The next day I'll get the other side and the back. So for a day his hair looks a little "off"... oh well.

I'll also admit that it's FAR simpler, and gets a MUCH better result to occasionally just pay the money to let an expert do it... we have a place in town that specializes in little kids hair cuts.

Answer 3

This is one area where I call in a professional. Because they work with shears all day and are used to making quick, sure cuts without stabbing anyone, they're going to be better at it than I am. For my toddler, it's a 3-person process: hairdresser, my mom, and me. The latter two hold/distract her. She still screams like a banshee, but it's enough where my lightning-fast hairdresser can just get in there, snip snip, and it's done. It's a lot less drawn-out and drama-ridden when the process takes only 5 minutes.

Answer 4

Since we use clippers for both my husband and my son's hair I find it's helpful to have Matthias help with cutting his father's hair first, and then vice versa. He sees how it's done and can see that it doesn't hurt Dad (even if it is a bit loud), so he doesn't freak out (much) when it's his turn.

On a side note: Be sure he hasn't changed the settings on the clippers before letting him go gung-ho on your hair. My husband looked ready for enlistment the last time we cut his hair!

Answer 5

My wife has done it while our youngest is asleep, she can get the sides easily enough using a comb and scissors and just does the back really quickly while he is awake and distracted. We tried clippers but he didn't like the sound of the clippers near his head. Sometimes while in the bath it works, since the baby is sitting in the tub and very distracted, just need to make sure you use blunt scissors to avoid accidents.

Answer 6

Thank goodness it grows or my kids would be living a life of embarrassment. Here's what we tried:

1. Two people work better than one, even at a salon.
2. Have the child close their eyes. This way they aren't getting distracted. Have them count to 10 out loud, or sing the alphabet or another song, then open their eyes. This will let you know how much time you have. Also, you can play a game with this. There can be a different object for them to see when they finish counting.
3. Have them look at a fixed point on a wall. This will help their head from "drifting" down or towards the scissors.
4. Play the freeze game or have a staring contest to keep them occupied but still (very good when you have an accomplice).
5. Don't cut it. Use elastics or clips to keep the hair out of their face.
6. Use clippers. They are faster than scissors and feel nice. It can take a bit to get used to the noise.

One of my son's has hair that prefers to be in tangles. He likes it long but refuses to take care of it. So, now that they are older, I give them (slightly less than) the money that would have been paid to have their hair cut when they let me cut it at home. This has ended the fighting about whether or not the hair gets cut: win win!