Scott's tips for a painless first haircut

Riley needed a haircut. Hippies were stopping to stare at him and everyone thought he was a little girl. Haircuts can be traumatizing and every first haircut that I have ever seen was pretty rough. Tonight we gave Riley his without a single tear. Here's how:

Step 1: Show the child this video by Pavement.

I have had this song stuck in my head prior to every haircut that I have had over the last 15 years. The video is a tool to help the child understand that all big kids get haircuts. Ask the child to point out the crazy things that happen when these guys get their haircut to show them that it can be fun. The bonus is that you will be introducing your child to a cool indie band that results in instant cool dad status.

Step two: Invest in a Flowbee. That's right, a Flowbee. Taking the child to a professional, no matter how good they are with kids, will be at least three times harder than being in a comfortable environment, getting a haircut by someone that they know and love. Imagine someone with a forced smile coming at you with scissors for some reason you don't understand. Instant tears. The scissor cut will take at least ten minutes if the child cooperates and they never do. A Flowbee cut took Riley three minutes including time for changing out the guides. That is less than two minutes on his head. He didn't have time to fret.

Step three: Turn the vacuum on and suck up some of your hair and laugh and make faces. Show them that it is fun to play with vacuums.

Step four: Take a before picture and cut off the first lock to save (we forgot the last part and I am not going through the shop vac to find it).

Step five: Give them the haircut. Hopefully you have experience with a Flowbee. After two haircuts on yourself, you should have the knowledge and skill to best a hair designer at one of the discount places.

Step six: Take the after picture and admire your cute child. The Flowbee has virtually no cleanup and doesn't require you to slap down nine bucks plus tip.

Pictures to follow.