We took Cole to get his first haircut yesterday--expecting the worst. For a kid who doesn't like anybody touching him or generally in his personal space, we came away quite impressed at the little guy.
Of course, it helps that he got to watch a Thomas & Friends DVD while sitting in a race car. But considering the tears and screaming usually required to wash his hair or cut his fingernails, this was a nice change.
Our driving theory was short. Short. Short. Short. The shorter it is, the longer before we have to come back. Buzz it off. But the lovely, patient, all-business keeper of the clippers at the kid-oriented shop we went to suggested starting off with scissors because the kids handle that better. The electric makes that awful sound and is a little more scary. You're the boss...experience counts in this department. It was something we hadn't thought of.
And Cole sat still for the most part. Now, he was definitely annoyed and complaining that someone was touching him, but really most of the hair was gone before he even knew what happened. By the time the big crying hit us, she was already trimming around his ears for the finishing touches. While Kelly went to pay, we shifted him to a different race car so the stylist could keep cutting the steady stream of kids. But Cole happily steered until it was time to go.
He got a plastic dinosaur, baggies of his curls, and a certificate with his name and photo on it.
We had brought along his Build A Bear gift card thinking that a new teddy bear might be a nice reward for having to endure the trauma. He loved running around the store, but we showed him a variety of animals--monkey, bunny, bear--and he said no, clearly, to each one. No reason to spend the money and time for something he didn't want so we turned around and walked right back out.
He did, however, enjoy the escalators, elevators, people, and walking around at the mall. And finally found something he DID want as a post-haircut treat.
Frozen yogurt. Well, ice cream to his little toddler brain. But he happily ate bites of ours and was completely happy getting back in the car to come home. If only the rest of his "firsts" can go so smoothly.