"Don't need to cut hair..."

From www.babyblues.com

E and I feel slightly guilty. We have been trying to get Han into a hair salon for the past 3 days for a haircut without success. She already looks like she has an over-sized black helmet on her head, the result of a last hair cut some 3 months back.

I still remember when Han was an infant, it was her grandparents who cut her hair for her. She was blessed with a thick mane of hair when she was born and it was not even 4 weeks later when she got her first trim from grandpa. Subsequently, whenever the need arises, we will bring her to the neighborhood salons where the kind hairdressers will give her a quick and professional hair snip for between $5-$10. Fuss free service that more than compensate for E and I's sorely-lacking barber skills. The most memorable time was when the very inexperienced - yet extremely adventurous - thinking we'll get a good deal E and I decided to try out a home-based hairdresser. These are normally middle-aged women who provide hair-cuts at their homes, which are equipped with the basic salon gear. It turned out disastrous because Han was wailing away (she was about 7 months at that time) and the hairdresser's "I've seen it all - it's ok even she cries her lungs out - so let's get on with it" attitude did not rest very well on us. So guess what? We carried the poor battle-worn Han home, half-crying half-asleep. With her haircut HALF-COMPLETED. A few hours later when she woke up from her nap, we bought her to my hairdresser who completed the job well. We were so thankful that it could be completed in the first place! Subsequent haircuts were quite uneventful. So what took place the last few days did catch us by surprise!

Back to the cause of our guilt. 3 failed attempts to get Han to a hair salon the past few days had taken an emotional toil on her. The first time we tried to insist she still went ahead, she really bawled. Our instinct told us that it was not a tantrum she was throwing, but it was a fear she was exhibiting. Of what? I'm not sure, perhaps it was the noisy purr of many hairdryers combined, the snipping sound of big shiny scissors, the intimidating lights in the salon, the somewhat sinister smile of the hairdressers (now I think I am imagining things!) etc. So on the 2nd and 3rd attempt, we tried to dangle some carrots. A cold drink, a sweet, some prep talk at the entrance, distracting her by focusing on the pretty Christmas deco... Nothing worked. Tears still flow and Han pleaded, "Hannah don't need to cut hair..." We toyed with the idea of just dragging her in and forcing her to sit down for a cut but in the end decided against it as we feel we need to help our girl work through what's bothering her first. There are specialised salons for children with TV monitors in front of the barber chairs and a cute super child friendly environment, but we so do not want to be using that as the only option.

She woke up last night after a nightmare. "Daddy! Daddy! Don't need..don't need.."

The haircut could wait for now. Thankful for hairpins. Hopefully our family trip the next few days will take her mind off this for a while and when we are back, it's Operation Cut Hair.