Children with sensory challenges often hate haircuts. You may get advice to let your child take a favourite toy to the haircutter and bribe him or her with a chocolate lollipop. That’s a good start, but often not enough. For a child with sensory issues, who may have trouble with the height of the chair, the sight or sound of the scissors or razor, or the smell of the shampoo or chemicals in the hair salon, consider these strategies:
• Use the word trim instead of cut to make the process seem less frightening.
• Stop by the hair salon for a visit to watch someone else get their hair cut. If it’s the buzzer sound that scares your child, the barber can “play the buzzer” for your child on a day he’s not having his hair cut. At home, you can hold a
vibrating toothbrush or vibrating pen near your child’s ears so the sound becomes familiar and non-threatening.
• Use a towel and clip rather than a plastic cape. The plastic or Velcro fastener can be even more irritating to a child than hair on the neck.
• Bring an extra shirt so your child can change immediately afterward.
• Go to a child’s hair salon that’s more kid friendly and doesn’t stink of hair dye or perm chemicals.
• Play them their favourite music during a haircut.
• Have your child sit on your lap or in a low chair rather than a high chair seen in most barbershops.
• Massage your child’s scalp and neck before the hair trim.
• Use a weighted lap pad for calming, and a toy your child likes
• Bribery can help. Plan a special activity for after the haircut.
• Consider cutting your child’s hair at home.
Noorulain Ghulam, Senior Occupational Therapist,
Aga Khan University Hospital
