For the last several weeks, each morning before Isla headed off to daycare ended with a screaming fit over combing her hair. It was hard to blame her. She woke up every morning with her fine, curly, wispy locks snarled into a single matted ball on the back of her head, and getting the tangles out, even with the help of detangler, was almost impossible. I’m sure it was painful.
So she would run screaming from me as soon as she saw the comb and would vigorously shake her head screaming “NOOOOO” while I tried to get a comb through it. I wasn’t shooting for presentable. I was just shooting for not hopelessly tangled.
Kellen and I were feeling pretty distressed about this daily source of stress in our morning routine (among others.) A quick google search yielded a pretty obvious answer: if your child doesn’t want to sit still while you comb and style their long hair, it’s time for a haircut. I’d been toying with the idea for a while, but this bit of advice pretty much sent me over the edge. I collected recommendations from other parents in my area about the best place to get a toddler a haircut, then made the appointment.
Saturday morning, bright and early, we headed to Sharkey’s. I was worried Isla was going to refuse the haircut, but she was given a lollipop, a car to sit in, and her choice of video. 5 minutes later, her hair was cut, with no more than a few momentary tears over being required to wear a cape to keep the cut hair out of her shirt. I was obviously a little sad to say goodbye to the sweet little baby wisps we oohed and ahhed over when they first made their appearance last winter, but she looks a lot less unkempt and a lot more grown up, and our mornings have been much more peaceful.
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