My 12-year-old son wanted to get some trendy haircut, very short on the sides but wild and bushy on the top. I thought it would look messy and told the hairdresser just to give him a regular cut, but she said she wasn’t willing to give a child his age a haircut he didn’t want. Well, I’m not willing to pay for a haircut that looks half finished! We left without getting it done and now I’m embarrassed to go back to that same place. And he still needs a haircut. How should I handle this?
As the mom of four, all of whom are 12 or older, I believe that the issue is one that you need to handle with your son and not the hairdresser. For me, hair has not been a major issue, as I know it will grow back. I have only two rules for hair. First, if you want to dye your hair, it has to be a natural color. Second, if you want to dye/perm your hair, you have to pay for it. As for haircuts, I’m open to almost anything. I figure that there are enough battles that we will need to decide, hair isn’t high on my list.
However, if hair is important to you, then find a different area in which you can give your child more freedom.
I guess the most important piece is that you and your child should be in agreement before going to a salon or barbershop. The hairdresser or barber shouldn’t be placed in the middle; your child and you need to be on the same team before the cutting begins.
Here’s what worked for me, once my children were old enough to go for a haircut on their own and also had some spending money of their own: I told them they had to pay for the haircut up front, and *if I liked it* I would reimburse them. They were clear on what I liked and usually didn’t want a weird look enough to spend their own money on it.