UCB Parents Advice about Toddlers
Aversion to the Hairbrush & Comb
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Toddler Fears
Related page: Aversion to Hair Washing
my 2.5 year old has beautiful hair but refuses to let me
comb/brush it. (i'm not even mentioning the trauma of getting
it cut!) of course she has tangles, food etc in her hair.
i've tried everything from a detangler to distracting
her etc and it doesn't work. i've even given up on making
it a power struggle aNd just (try) to comb it out in the
bath..which she also goes nuts over...any ideas? thanks
betty
To the Mom who has a little girl who hates having her hair
combed, brushed or washed I went through the same feelings
when I was a little girl. I have really vivid memories of
being terrified of having my hair washed- I hated the feeling
of the water trickling on my neck, and felt panicky if it got
in my eyes and ears. My Mom was really patient with me, to the
point of not washing my hair for three months because I would
throw such a tantrum if she tried to. She says that my hair
was a total smelly rat's nest at the end of the three months,
and that a whole bunch of sand came out when I finally let her
wash it. She did convince me to let her brush and comb it by
letting me pick out pretty barrettes and ribbons to wear, and
she got me one of those big Barbie doll heads that you can play
with. She says that this motivated me to get interested in
pretty hair. Most of all, she says that it just took a whole
lot of patience on her part to wait until I got through this
phase. After my fear suddenly lifted, I would love to have my
long hair shampooed in front of the bathroom mirror, with lots
and lots of bubbles, and my Mom would shape my hair into funny
shapes, like a unicorn's horn or silly soapy curls. I bet that
your daughter will pass through this phase soon, hopefully
sooner than I did!
India
When my daughter was little, I used to play "Ms. Tangles"
when I brushed her hair. Ms. Tangles is a witch who gets
in children's hair and messes it up, and we would chase her
all around my daughter's head (with the hairbrush), and she
(Ms. Tangles) would shriek and carry on about how she was,
"...sliding, I'm sliding; no more tangles to hold on to"
(Think of the witch in the Wizard of Oz). It called for
all my dramatic ability to alternate playing this crazy
witch and my stern adult self, telling her, "You have to
come out now; you can't keep messing up her hair". My
daughter loved it, and would often let me brush Ms. Tangles
right out of her hair.
Louise
Your daughter can't hate having her hair brushed worse
than mine!! Anyways, what I have found to help first if
you wash and condition the hair everyday it makes it much
more easy to brush. However, kids that hate having their
hair brushed Undoubtably hate having their hair washed (am
I right?) so trying to wash the kids hair everyday can be
torture. Secondly, I have found letting her pick out a brush
and trying different types of brushes makes a difference. A
pick has seemed to work much easier as well as really expensive
high quality brushes, which was something I didn't consider
early on. Also she likes me to use the brush she picked out
(from the store I mean). Also I give her the choice of doing
it fast and pulling harder, getting it over quickly (rough) or
slow and carefully (gentle). Sometimes she picks rough, sometimes
gentle, but I've focused her on how she wants it brushed, not
whether. Detangler can be cool in that sometimes my daughter
sprays her head with it and then can pretty much brush it
herself. Otherwise though, I'm not convinced it helps much.
It helps with the hair, not with the child. Good luck with both.
Elizabeth
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