Originally Posted by rjy9343 (Post 6205674)

Can you take them to a beauty school? It would be money, but it would get their haircuts at the same time and then you could deal with the baths without the hair cleanup.

Originally Posted by rjy9343 (Post 6205674)

If that's not a possibility, then I would deal with M first and have G clean up the hair while you bathe M. Take G with you if needed. I would also sweeten the pot and offer some sort of reward for his help. You know your son's currency, so I would do that and add more to it the more help he gives. Ivy gets extra privileges as well as spending money so I can get other things done and it's the only way I can make it through the day sometimes.

Then V and again, G cleans up while you bathe V. Then G and you clean up while G bathes.

The mess is something I totally understand, I shut down with that kind of thing as well and really struggle with it.

Originally Posted by WanderingJuniper (Post 6205675)

I ask these questions very gently because you do seem really overwhelmed.
Why do they need cuts twice a month?
Why do they require baths immediately after?

Why I’m asking is my son could not handle getting his hair cut that frequently and he couldn’t stand it touching his ears when he was younger so we went really really short when he was under ten years old to stretch out the need for a cut.

If you went somewhere to get a hair cut would you immediately come home to bathe?

The set up Hubs used when he would cut my son’s hair was a big old towel on the floor for DS to stand on and catch the hair, a barber shop drape to cover his body. DS couldn’t handle the feel of it at his neck so he cut an old T-shirt to fold over the drapes itchy collar. He also didn’t wear a shirt under it. Hubs uses a big soft make up brush to dust off any stray cut hairs that might have gotten under the drape.

Originally Posted by MaybeGracie (Post 6205680)

Where do you cut their hair? I have mine stand on the bathtub during haircuts. Contains the mess and then they're ready for an immediate shower afterwards. I scoop out most of the hair pre-shower and then I use a Tubshroom to filter out the rest so no drain clogs.

I'd only cut one child's hair per day so you're not juggling. They don't all need to be on the same day. That would stress me out and none of mine are bath-resistant. I'd also cut less often, if that's a possibility. Of my 3 boys, two have short hair and one has long. None of them get haircuts even monthly. It's more of a "hey, you're looking a bit shaggy, haircut tomorrow?" (Sorry, cross-posted, I see you explained the frequency above.)

Originally Posted by Katigre (Post 6205681)

Can you switch them to taking showers instead of baths? That makes washing hair easier b/c of the water pressure.

Originally Posted by Aerynne (Post 6205679)

Is your dh deployed or something? Sorry- I can’t remember.

Could you hire a local tween or teen girl to help? Cheaper than haircuts.

Also why every 2 weeks? I cut my boys’ hair once a month ish.

Originally Posted by WanderingJuniper (Post 6205675)

I ask these questions very gently because you do seem really overwhelmed.
Why do they need cuts twice a month?
Why do they require baths immediately after?

Originally Posted by forty-two (Post 6205688)

WRT baths, my dh always showers right after I cut his hair b/c of the cut hairs stuck in his hair are really itchy. Ds does the same thing, although I don't know whether it is b/c of the stuck hairs or b/c it's what Daddy does.



~*~



I agree that stretching haircuts sounds like a good idea, esp with how much the whole thing stresses you out. I don't think I cut dh and ds's hair more than once every two months :shifty. And I delegate the mess clean-up to dh. Is it possible for your dh to partner with you in this? Supervise baths or do the cleaning up or whatever else would be helpful?



Since the existence of the hair mess and the likelihood of your youngest getting into it stresses you out, would it help to clean up after each kid?



Order-wise, here's some thoughts that come to mind:

1st: M. Have G clean up the hair while you bathe M.

2nd: G. He can bathe himself while you immediately move onto

3rd: V. Have G supervise him in the bath while you do the final clean up (or clean up himself if you think he'll do a good enough job), and then you can pop in after cleaning to supervise the actual washing up part. If G's not fast enough to be out of the tub when you need to wash V, then have him postpone his bath till after V's bath.



Also, with the younger ones being bathing-reluctant, I'd schedule haircut day for a normal bathing day - hit two birds with one bath ;).



With the hair mess stressing you out - what about it is a problem? I might be more lackadasical than you, in that whatever hair gets on me (not much, usually) I just brush off before cleaning the floor - it wouldn't occur to me to need to change clothes. (When dh cleaned up with a vacuum, I'd have him vacuum off any particularly bad sections, but mostly I just haven't worried about.) I totally agree about getting an apron in your shoes - that's an easy solution.



Does the hair really fly around so much when you cut? Again, my tolerance might be higher, but I cut it dry and, idk, the mess stays pretty contained - within a three foot circle. (Honestly, the idea of cutting it damp, with the way wet hair sticks to *everything*, sounds thoroughly horrible :shiver.) Dh/ds sits on a wooden chair, no shirt, and I put the barber's drape around him, occasionally brushing the hair off the drape to the floor. When he's all done, I brush the hair off the drape more thoroughly, take it off, brush off any hair that's on the torso, brush the hair off the chair, move the chair, and have the haircuttee sweep up the hair on the floor. We always cut hair over tile (cutting over carpet *would* drive me mad), and in our new house we just use a little handbroom/dustpan combo for sweeping it up. Very straightforward and easy to do after each person.



Thought - can you cut hair in the bathroom where they bathe? That way you could supervise bathing while continuing to cut hair, and you'd always be right there to prevent people from getting involved in the hair mess, plus bathrooms usually have hard floors. Pick up all the bath mats and you've got a small, hopefully hard floored room where the mess can be contained and easily cleaned.