Sunday, June 17, 2018

Ben's Summer Haircut

One of my friends was telling me how she cut her son's hair, and I looked at the YouTube tutorial she used and thought I could do that.  I asked Ben if he wanted his hair a little shorter before the summer heat, and then I bribed him with Minecraft time, and everything was golden.  For every minute I would spend cutting his hair, he would get a minute of Minecraft time (this is an extremely big deal to Ben: currently he only gets 30 minutes of Minecraft on Saturday and Sunday).


I took him out in the yard with the clippers my dad gave me, and set to.  I cut off his longer hair (we're still finding chunks in the grass, to Genevieve's disgust), so the clippers did not hurt so much. The haircut lasted 15 minutes - Ben was almost disappointed it wasn't longer, but I was so pleased with the results and he was ultimately pleased to have extra screen time.  Bribery is probably not a great parenting tool, but it gets great results.  It's also how I'm getting ponytails on Phoebe these days.


Ben felt so fine and sharp after his shower to wash off the hair that he put on his favorite shirt for supper.  Someone in the house dressed for dinner!  How I love that boy.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a handsome young man! You did a great job, the haircut is just right and looks so good on him.

Chris S in Canada

Hazel said...

It really suits him- you did a great job!

Becky said...

Love his haircut!

It's not bribery, it's a system of rewards. At least, that's what I tell myself. Every parent does it. I tell myself that too.

sillygirl said...

Ben, you look great! Your new haircut makes you look super-cool! Mom, you did a great job!

e said...

Great haircut! Certainly as good (or better) as going to a GreatCuts.

Also, instead of bribery, think of it as negotiation. Negotiation is a skill that everyone needs and this was an opportunity to practice. :^)

Alica said...

It looks great...good job Mom!! I love the little photo bomber :) She's so cute!

Lana said...

Good job Mom! He looks so handsome!

I am wishing I could have bribed some boys with screen time for haircuts but they were way before that. I often wonder how much money I have saved by cutting my husband's hair for 40 years plus our 3 boys.

Lisa said...

Great job! He looks nice and cool.

Jennifer Jo said...

That's a fabulous cut!

I'm trying to figure out how to make my girl's pixie cut look a little more feminine. She doesn't want to spend more than two seconds on it, and it mustn't be in her face. Maybe there's some sort of thinning trick? Guess I just have to do more research...)

jenny_o said...

Wow! You did a great job! It looks excellent and will undoubtedly be cooler. And dare I say he looks older? I don't want to make you any more nostalgic for his childhood than you might already be.

I started cutting my husband's hair when he was off work and money was tight, and just kept doing it after he was re-employed. At first I used the clippers, then clippers plus scissors, and now I just use scissors. It helps that he is not a drama queen (king?) about it like I would be :)

Katie said...

I use lollipops and clippers--so far only brave enough to do a simple fade. I used to just buzz on #2s--got it done.

BLD in MT said...

Incentives make the world go 'round. Seriously. I mean, how many people (even those who love their jobs) would get up and go in every morning without the incentive of pay. And so on. Of course, choosing incentives wisely is important--and I think you hit the nail on the head here.

Sarah Barry said...

He looks so handsome. Great job. I also like to pull out the "big gun" aka Minecraft when I need results. Works like a charm!