First Haircut By Kate

Rosie's been cheerfully living with various wonky "mummy cuts" to her fringe ever since she was able to grow hair long enough to get in her eyes. I don't think it's immodest of me to say I do have a few talents, but hairdressing is emphatically not one of them. Precision handicrafts aren't exactly Theo's forte either. So going to a professional to neaten up Rosie's fine, flyaway mane was inevitable sooner or later. Especially as her hair was starting to annoy her by getting in her face when she wanted to focus on something important, like picking up pieces of random fluff from the floor; clinging to our legs while we're trying to cook the supper; attempting to press every button in sight on our home computer; or a whole list of other essential toddler activities. She doesn't tolerate hair-clips or hairbands for very long, so it was time for the chop.
With that in mind, I booked Rosie into Eskimo Kids in Bristol - a children's toy, shoes and clothes emporium which also happens to have a hairdressing salon especially designed for dealing with the hair-cutting needs of Very Small People.
Rather like this:


It might have cost a few pounds more than a short-back-and-sides at the local barber, but I figured it was worth the extra cost if the whole thing was to be an enjoyable event for Rosie. And it also meant a bus ride into the city centre, which was enough to get Rosie interested. She loves riding on the bus.

Rosie was immediately intrigued by the various vintage pedal-cars and aeroplane positioned in front of the mirrors and very much liked the idea that she could watch some animals on a DVD while sitting in one of them. She was still reluctant to actually climb into the wonderful crimson and chrome automobile she had selected, but the stylist Gemma sealed the deal by the simple expedient of offering a Rich Tea Biscuit if she did so. Rosie needed no second invitation.
"In, in!" she cried, accepting the biscuit and submitting happily to the application of a gown around her neck.

Gemma knew that speed was the name of the game and she wasted no time while Rosie was happily distracted with her biscuit and DVD. Gemma rapidly snipped away and I watched the long curls of Rosie's baby hair drift onto the floor. In little more than five minutes it was all over and Rosie was sporting a neat little pageboy bob, which made her look even more cherubic than usual.

I asked Gemma if she encountered many determined resistors to the charms of the toy cars, DVDs and biscuits. "Oh yes," she said, "But I'm stubborn and I've got a lot of patience. If it takes three hours, I WILL get their hair cut." Gemma told me she had only been beaten by two children in all her time as a child's hairdresser. Not a bad record, given how tricksy toddlers can be about these things. Gemma also said she never wanted to go back to adult hair cutting - the combination of quick fuss-free styles, no prolonged exposure to chemicals and no tedious jobs like applying hair-dye - combined with the satisfaction of completing a cut on all but the most determined fighters - made it a fun job.

Rosie left the hair salon a satisfied customer. She spent the next few days proudly telling everyone she met how she'd sat in the car with a biscuit and watched the animals while Gemma cut her hair. I'm pleased too. And I'm even more pleased that when putting bibs or aprons on Rosie, we no longer have to extract her hair from the Velcro while so doing. That's definitely worth a few quid on its own.