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Monday, November 29, 2010

Behind the Chair: Children in the Hair Salon

                                                      monkey

My day job that supports me until I become a paid published author is a hair dresser, beautician, stylist, barber, or what I like to be called, a hair lopper. And this hair lopper sees a lot of children, and tagging behind are their bewildered parents. Not all come in bewildered but most. Some come in all scowl faced and breathing fire while their little darlings run in the shop, and tackle the product shelves. Few are attentive in a calm and assertive(love these parents) way reasoning with their little monkeys(yes, children are a lot like monkeys…I gave birth to five daughters that ran me ragged. I learned not all girls are docile, especially mine. That could be another blog).

From behind my chair, I have watched children run up and down the waiting area of the salon, flip off and on the lights, crawl under the chairs, open and close the front door (a bell rings each time), and I have even seen children attempt to climb our product shelves. While all of these antics are going on, the bewildered parent sits and giggles, or ignores what their children are doing (OMG-I would be crawling under the chairs to hide if my children acted like that).

Now the fire breathing parents…well, they are almost as loud as their screaming darlings. The fire breather blurts out whatever obscenity comes to mind at their children. Now that will teach them some manners(OMG-PLEASE…I feel a head ache coming on, right about now). The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Rudeness begets rudeness.

When the little monkeys finally get to my chair or any of the other stylists’ chairs, it becomes the battle of the wills(quite frankly, its not my job to force the little buggers to get a hair cut). They will achieve not getting a hair cut by screaming, kicking (yes, I’ve been kicked in my shins), spitting, wiggling, ripping off their cape…these little monkeys are true combat geniuses. I say this because at a certain point I am done, and let me tell you why.

  1. My scissors are like a filet knife. They will cut down to the bone or lop of an earlobe(I’ve cut my own knuckle off before because of a wiggling child).
  2. My clippers without its guard can chew into your child’s skin causing him some more damage.
  3. If I’m spraying a detangling spray into their hair, it may end up in their eyes and it does burn.
  4. If you want your child to have a perfect hair cut, they need to sit still. Hair cutting is a two-way street…can’t make the hair perfect if squirming is going on.

So, the next time one of you parents refer to a hairdresser as a moron to their face, please rethink that statement. We are considering the safety issues here. We would like to make your child’s salon experience a pleasant one, not a traumatic one.

Last, as a mother of five daughters, I write these suggestions from experience only to alleviate any trauma or misbehavior your child displays in the salon.

  1. Make sure your child has eaten a balanced meal before coming. Don’t bring them when they are hungry.
  2. Make sure they have napped.
  3. If your child refuses to calm down, take him or her outside. Walk them around. There’s no need for obscenities.
  4. If we refuse to cut your child’s hair it’s not because we are being mean. The safety of the child is the issue.

Please take these into consideration when you consider taking your child or children to a salon.

11 comments:

  1. I don't have children but thank you for the tips

    Before I next visit the hair lopper I will nap, and eat, and maybe I won't be so hard to manage.

    Thank you for the smile

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  2. Those instruments you use are sharp- I was stuck once by a hairdresser with her scissors. Ouch!

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  3. Eve:

    It's more than ouch. Our scissors and equipment our terribly dangerous. My hands have been a bloody mess many times over. Usually because a child has moved.

    Shelly

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  4. Now we know why kids hate having their hair cut! :) Who knew there could be loss of appendages?

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  5. Yup. It's not one of those mommy-lies that get the kid to behave. It's a fact.

    Shelly

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  6. Loss of appendages? I would think that would make any kid sit still :)

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  7. Yeeesh, and these are some of the many reasons I'm glad not to have children!

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  8. William:

    LOL. Sometimes it's not the kids, it's the parents.

    Shelly

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  9. My two-year-old is an angel for her hair cuts. She loves to look pretty. My five-year-old on the other hand...yeah, we buzz his head in the bathtub. The kid kicks, screams, left me with several bruises. His Grandma nicked him when he was 18-months-old and he's never forgotten it.

    Last time we let him watch Transformers on the iPhone. It was better, but he still pouted.

    I'm sorry there are SO many stupid parents out ther.

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  10. Becky:

    I hope parents happen to come across this blog. They need to realize that a hairdresser's tools are dangerous and that cooperation from the child and parent is advantageous.

    Shelly

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Let me know what you think.