When Your Preschooler Screams During a Haircut

I was once at a hair cutting place. The place accepted walk-ins, and there was a waiting area. Seated somewhat across from me was a couple and their son. He appeared to be around 3, though he could have been 4. He had curly dark hair, and I could tell something was wrong with him.

He obviously couldn't talk, and instead, made noises. He was wearing overalls and playing on the floor. The salon had toys available for small kids. Though he appeared to be 3 or 4, his behavior was more like a 1 year old. Physically, he looked perfectly normal, and had no apparent physical defects; he walked and got around just fine.

The obvious conclusion was that he had mental retardation, though he could have also had autism. He was getting on the hyper side, and I could tell that his mother was growing restless and nervous, perhaps keeping her fingers tightly crossed that he wouldn't get too feisty and loud, as he alternated between playing on the floor and scampering about nearby his parents.

What caught my attention was that at one point, she gave him a big bottle of soda - not the diet kind, but the sugary kind. I thought, "That kids needs all that sugar like he needs a hole in the head. Brilliant move."

But that was the least of the parents' show of lack of sound judgment. They were walk-ins, and the person to get the hair cut was the boy. When it was their turn, they took him across the large salon room to a hairdresser's station, and got him up in the chair. Almost immediately, he went ballistic.

I don't know if it was because he saw the shimmering metallic cutting instrument coming near his head, or the hairdresser looming over him. The hairdresser was a man about 6-4 and 240 pounds. Do you see the problems with this picture? Let's look at some facts:

1. The boy has some kind of mental disability and behavioral problem.

2. The hairdresser is the size of a pro wrestler.

3. The hairdresser is a stranger.

4. The hairdresser is a man (let's admit it; women usually are better at these things than are men.)

5. The boy's hair didn't need to be cut, as far as hygiene is concerned.