Other customs inherited from our ancestors are surprisingly tenacious. And it is not so easy to resist the authoritative statement of a grandmother or mother-in-law "I raised three, and no one has died yet." However, on the threshold of millennia, largely thanks to the information revolution, more and more young mothers are wondering about the validity of certain traditions.
Over the past decades, there has been a serious tendency to refute many myths associated with breastfeeding, complementary feeding, sleep, swaddling, treatment, and education of children. These issues are being actively discussed, and most of the young mothers, who have familiarized themselves with all the pros and cons, have the opportunity to choose for themselves and their child the only correct position for them on a particular issue. At the moment, the movement of "natural parenting" is gaining momentum in our country. Its main idea is naturalness in raising and caring for a child.
The issue of cutting a child's hair, of course, is not as fundamental as feeding or teaching a baby, but in many respects its solution depends on which group of mothers you belong to: traditionalists, relying on the signs and customs of older generations, or "naturalists" the cornerstone of the convenience and comfort of the child.
In the first case, the answer to the question "to cut or not to cut a child's hair per year", in fact, is not worth it. Cut, of course. But it is still worth protecting the baby. Take him to a specialized children's hairdressing salon, where the haircut process is thought out to the smallest detail: the child will be lured with cartoons for the time of the haircut, put in a play chair, and the specialists themselves will be able to make the haircut process the least uncomfortable and frightening than it can happen at home. And then, perhaps, the piggy bank of your family stories will not be replenished with an exciting story about how "the whole family held their son by the head, dad was cutting his hair, and grandfather danced, but in the end he still had to shave." However, your child will definitely look much better, and there will be no new reasons for crying and mistrusting relatives. If in your environment there is a tradition according to which godparents should do a haircut, just invite them to the hairdresser with you so that they can cut a couple of curls in accordance with the recommendations of the hairdresser and the model of the future haircut.
If you are guided in everything by the convenience of the child, then the question of cutting or not cutting the baby by a certain date is also not worth it for you. There may be several guidelines to follow. The first of these is the need for the haircut itself. As has long been known, the myth that hair becomes thicker and thicker after a haircut has no serious basis. It's just that with age, fluff is replaced by adult hair. A haircut only allows you to open the hairs hidden under the first fluff. The density and quality of hair is related to the number of hair follicles, genetically incorporated. Usually, hair becomes thicker and thicker by the year, so there is a tradition to cut the fluff at this age. If by the year your baby still has the same fluff at the roots, this simply means that the hair will grow a little later, but this will surely happen. So the hair should only be cut if it has grown a lot and is interfering with the child. Hairdressers do not advise shaving children, as the hair follicles are still weak and can be damaged.
Next, you should evaluate the baby's readiness for such procedures. If your child is calm, rejoices at everything new and willingly gives him care, you should not expect serious problems with the first haircut. If he is reluctant to cut his nails and is nervous with one kind of comb, you should not expose him to additional stress. Even if the hairs are already in the eyes, a full haircut should be postponed - just cut off excess strands from the forehead while sleeping or bathing, when your child is playing with enthusiasm, or turn the haircut into a fun but safe game.
And in any case, it is worth remembering a few rules. The child should be comfortable, calm and fun while cutting. Therefore, the time of the visit to the hairdresser should be appointed in that period of the day when the baby has slept, full and is determined to play. If possible, show your baby a positive video of the baby being cut. It will be great if you go with your child and someone from the adults to your hairdresser, so that he can see how mom is being cut there and how she likes it. Tell him that now he will be just like an adult. In the process of cutting, try to captivate the baby with a calm game: count his fingers together, show the bright pictures prepared for him, tell the counting rhyme. And most importantly, stay in a calm mood yourself. This will help the child know that they are safe.
