Mailbag Q & A: Sit Still for Hairdo's?
March 18, 2009
Q: How do you get your girls to sit so still while you are pulling and tugging, on their hair? At times I feel like I am torturing my daughter(s)!
A: Trust me, we all have our moments. My #3 recently overheard me talking with a friend about my desire to use the girls as “guinea pigs” for some St. Patrick’s Day hairstyle ideas. The morning of Lucky Do #1, she looked all sad when it was her turn and when I asked her what was wrong, she muttered in a very quite and sad voice, playing with her fingers and looking down… “I don’t want to be your groundhog!”
In all honesty, my girls are pretty good about this getting their hair done. I am not sure the exact reason other than I have been doing their hair in cute styles since what I call “Bug’s Life” pigtails (tiny little antennae pigtails on top) in their first year.
For all moms of infant or toddler girls… if you want the girls to be good about doing their hair, you must, MUST start young! The best tool I have ever found in helping little ones sit somewhat still while doing their hair is to give them the spraybottle! Show them how to squirt the water in their mouth and they somehow forget you are messing with their hair! For years, they would suck on the nozzle or spray the water into their mouths until I would eventually have to “wean” them off the bottle. LOL Giving them the spray bottle really works! (Just be sure to teach them that it is not OK to spray you!)
Many of you have also commented that by letting your DD pick her hairstyle off the blog somehow wells up a little more patience inside her. I have found that to be the case as well with my book of hairdos. I have also heard varies stories of people letting their DD’s eat cereal, watch cartoons, or play with a favorite toy. Whatever works!
If anyone has any other ideas or tips, please do share!!!
Happy Hairdoing!
* Note from Mindy: Don’t forget to follow us on BlogLovin, a new easy-to-use blog reader!
I agree with doing it at the table after a meal. It's better for my back, too. My daughter has Autism and Down Syndrome, so my problem is getting her to keep her head up – she wants to tuck her chin in her chest and all the hair falls forward. Very hard to part! Also, if you have a younger girl (between 1 & 2 ish) I would not recommend letting her hold a comb or brush while you do her 'do. You never know when she will decide to help, and undo your hard work!
I agree that you should start doing her hair soon. With my first daughter I started very soon, when she was 2 months old. I could do so because she had a lot of hair. With my second girl I couldn´t do so because she almost had no hair at all. So I started when she was like 10 months old and it es very dificult (she is 13 months old now). What I´ve been giving her to play so that I can do her hair is giving her a lot of hair accesories (off course that she can´t harm herself or dammage them) and she plays with them and is letting me do her hair better. (Please forgive my grammar but english isn´t my mother tongue)