Cutting Your Kid's Hair

Kids need hair cuts just like adults. However, cutting a kid's hair isn't as easy as cutting an a adult's, if only because kids wiggle and adults don't. Here are some quick tips if you need to give the little darlings a trim. Don't forget that to start, you need to be extra careful and very patient.

Talk to your child about the hair cut. Explain what's going to happen and that it won't hurt, especially if he or she doesn't wiggle around too much. Talk about things like scissors and mirrors, capes and chairs that go up and down if you're taking the child to a salon, but at least explain the scissors or the buzzingof clippers if you're cutting it yourself. It's also not a bad idea to have some form of bribery on hand so that you can be sure to get all the way through the cut. (Candy works well.)

Get the child's hair wet, either by washing it or spraying it with a misting bottle. Cover the child's clothes with a cape or a towel.

Make sure that you talk to the child throughout, being as entertaining and soothing as possible. You may think about putting on a movie if location allows.

Start at the nape of the neck and cut around the perimeter toward the front, all around the hair line. A finger width is a good place to start.

Girls' hair is usually longer, and you can achieve a better cut if you clip up layers and work your way to a full cut. You may need to continue to wet the hair throughout with a spray bottle, and you will certainly want to have a comb on hand to keep the hair together and in line.

If you want to cut layers, hold the hair at a 45 degree angle and then cut straight across. This can be tricky, so you may want to leave yourself some room for error just in case.Watch the layers to make sure they blend naturally into the hair.

The good news is that if you start cutting their hair while the kids are too young to care, you'll probably be pretty good by the time they do. Good luck!