The Barber – Revisited

September 9, 2010January 1, 2020 Eric Jager

I wrote a while back of the challenges and small victories associated with MJ’s haircuts.

Back in December, we were celebrating the fact that he needed less physical restraint then he had previously. MJ was (and still is) in a standing position when getting his hair cut, but I was able to keep him steady by holding his hands or wrists loosely. The wrestling hold that I had grown accustomed to using in past visits was no longer necessary.

I’m happy to report even more progress. When we went for this month’s haircut, MJ did not appear upset at all when we entered the shop. Instead, after a quick pit-stop in the bathroom, he walked right over to the correct chair and stood facing it, resigned to have the scissors come at him. This may not sound like a big deal, but it was really surprising and remarkable to see.

We had considered having him wear a cape for the first time to keep his hair off his clothes, but our parent trainer had advised against this prior to this visit. MJ had been very well-behaved in his previous two visits and we were told to give him one more shot at success before adding a new element to the process. So no cape—and to everyone’s surprise, MJ was content to stand still without any physical contact from me and take his haircut like a man. Well, not really a man, but more like a typical 8-year-old boy, except for the fact that he was standing and he had no cape. For the first time, though, I can forsee a time in the not too distant future when he will be accepting haircuts like most kids his age.

Image Source