Do you have to cut their hair?

[AnyDream]

Nah, I reckon you should just dread it up and go hell for leather for a spot in the Guiness Book of Records!

Of course you don't have to cut it! Not until it starts interfering with his breakfast, anyway

[Arimeh]

We clipped his hair..

and I regret it soooo much!!!

I'm growing it out again - stuff what the IL's have to say about it!!!!

And I'm not sure about the myth - but MY GOD his hair is thick now..

[Ozziehoffy]

Ummmm right and it's their business because??? aarrrghhh.

Oskar has had a trim at the back which I did because it looked all ratty and I just evened it up and now he won't get a haircut for a while cos his dad wants it to grow a bit cos he thinks toddlers look cute with long hair...lol...personally I think it's cos DH used to have long hair (which looked sooooo bad on him, but hey the whole rebel rock n roll ahaahaha) and he wants to live it through him. I've also cut his fringe but only to get it out of his eyes. Other than that, that's it! Nothing major at all and like I said, won't be for a while either and he's 19 months now.

[Smoke Jaguar]

I think we need to start our own thread for long-haired babes, here on BB - a long-haired baby buddies group!
If you don't want to get it cut, don't. Is it really going to make other people feel better if it's cut? If so, why is it that their happiness is so precariously hinged on what your DS's hair looks like? Wouldn't it make it THEIR problem?
People soon got off our case after starting on the 'oohh, it's time he had a haircut' and I tartly replied 'no, he doesn't, and we're letting it grow long'. DP doesn't want it to grow long but is willing to go along with it because he knows that it's not worth going against me on it...I'll be devastated, and I told him so! So then he reverted to the 'but it will get in his eyes, can we cut his fringe?'...ummm, no! Now that MIL hasn't taken to his fringe (again) with scissors, it's a nice length to tuck behind his ears...and, admittedly, she didn't cut so much off that it was noticeably shorter at the time (not the point, though - she hadn't asked me).
Yes, if you cut the hair, it may grow back changed...not necessarily in a way you'll like. One reason I'm not touching DS's hair is that there is no guarantee it will grow back curly. Some 'experts' say that it's just the weight pulling the hair straight from the top...what if it's not?
As for looking like a girl, I just say 'he doesn't care what he looks like ATM, he doesn't have such prejudices', especially as wherever he goes there are always more people who coo over his hair and say how much it suits him than people who shake their heads.
The people who know him and love him won't care how long his hair is. The ones who don't just don't matter, do they?
Final note - 100 years ago it wouldn't have mattered about long hair on boys, for some reason, adults feel threatened by little boys who aren't blatant ambassadors for all they hold dear about their version of masculinity!

[Liz]

why is it that their happiness is so precariously hinged on what your DS's hair looks like?
... he knows that it's not worth going against me on it...I'll be devastated, and I told him so! So then he reverted to the 'but it will get in his eyes, can we cut his fringe?'...ummm, no!

OK.. just because I'm in this kind of mood this morning..

It seems that people's happiness is precariously hinged on NOT getting it cut! LOL. It's just hair!

[Phteven]

OK.. just because I'm in this kind of mood this morning..

It seems that people's happiness is precariously hinged on NOT getting it cut! LOL. It's just hair!

He he that's me, I'd sook if we had to cut Imran's hair. It's so lovely and thick and shiny. We got it cut once before and I so regretted it.
On the other hand, I couldn't care less what other people do with their children's hair which I think is the issue here - the people who seem to think that their idea of appropriate hair care for a child should be applied to other people's children.

BTW - I do trim his fringe whenever it starts to get in his eyes so going by the cutting hair improves it theory, his fringe hair should be thicker and faster growing - it isn't.
As he gets older his hair is thicker and grows faster which is pretty normal I think. So many babies are born bald or semi-bald but most of them seem to end up with a full head of hair regardless of how many haircuts they get.

[Janie]

Rainy, DS had a lot of hair as a bub, and he had his first cut at 13 months, cos it was starting to get out of control (neither of us are into long hair on OUR boy, he can do what he likes when he's old enough to decide though ). He has now had 3 haircuts and I can honestly say that with each one his hair gets thicker, grows faster, and looks healthier. I don't know why that is though! And that's just my DS too.

You do whatver you like hun, I'm failing to see how your baby's hair is anything to do with anyone else!

[Liz]

We have a video of DS's first hair cut.. DH did it.. first with scissors, but that looked wonky, so we went at it with the clippers hehe.

But it wasn't until it was cut that we realised how WRONG it was looking uncut LOL. I wish we had done it earlier, coz some of his photos before it was cut are ruined by his hair do!

It makes them look grown up too when it's cut, probably part of why it's hard to do that first hair cut! heh.

[mrsmac]

DS has hd his clippered since he was 1 cause he was born with lots of hair and I have to say it is much thinker and healthier once we cut off the fine baby hair.
Its such a personal decision that its very polarising of people cause of course everyone thinks their way is right!

[Phteven]

FWIW I have one of each. Yasin has regular haircuts and Imran doesn't.
Yasin's hair is pretty much the same as Imran's, it is a teeny bit coarser because he is older and it gets coarser with age but other than that there's no differance. It looks like Imran's hair is shinier and healthier but I think that's just an optical illusion because it's longer so it reflects the light better.

[Smoke Jaguar]

It seems that people's happiness is precariously hinged on NOT getting it cut! LOL. It's just hair!

The difference being that my happiness is not hinged on OTHER people not cutting their OWN childrens' hair I'm not threatened by my own child's long hair, it doesn't violate my ideas about boys and girls and as long as other people's ideas aren't imposed on me, I'm a happy camper
Just simply saying, if you don't want to cut the hair...don't.

[Charlie08]

haha... do you want you like. i am a hairdresser. if you cut the stragely bits off it visually looks thicker. it doesnt grow thicker from the roots. it will just look less thin of you get rid if those endy bits. my son is going bald on the sides so i cut the top so it didnt look like such a contrast. if you get them use to the scissors the less problems you will have in the long run. i think with anything, if they are familar with scissors (dentists, doctors whatever) they get use to it, the less problems you will have. even if if you trim it slightly your self.