The 5-year-old Haircut!

Sydni - "The Before Look"

We've been trying to convince Sydni for almost a year to get her hair cut. She has been to Great Clips for a trim but nothing ever different than what she's always had before. Then earlier this year, we made the mistake of comparing her to a neighbor-friend of Kayli's who has similar type and color of hair as Sydni. However, the neighbor girl, Elizabeth, has her hair cut short to her chin. She looks really cute and we told Sydni that she would look just like Elizabeth if she got hers cut. Well, that right there was the deciding point for Sydni; she was NOT going to get her hair cut at all, no matter how much convincing we tried! She did not want to look like Elizabeth; she wanted to look like Sydni! That's when I knew I needed to be creative.

To put it mildly, Sydni was very, very excited about turning 5. She would relentlessly (annoying her sisters to no end) announce her age ("I'm 4 and 3/4, right Mom?") and would reconfirm that fact with me several times during each day, (particularly in front of anyone younger than herself). About 2 months ago, before her birthday, she and I had a little talk about all the expectations about turning five. 

I began by telling her of the party I had scheduled two days before her birthday, inviting all of her friends and renting a large castle bounce house for the afternoon. We discussed the cake preparations and party goodies that we'd serve, so that I'd get it just right. I reminded her, as if she hadn't told me a million other times this year, that she would be starting school just a few short months after she turned five (another huge excitement and, to her, a right-of-passage into the grown up five-year-old world). And that is when I told her about one last detail: her mandatory five-year-old hair cut. Her reaction at this point was, "What? A haircut? I don't want to get a haircut!" That is when I calmly explained that when all children turn five, they must get their hair cut in a grown-up style that is fitting for starting school and that in order to turn five, she too must take part such a privilege of the five-year-old haircut experience! 

Needless to say, her great desire and anticipation of turning five overwhelmed her decision and she agreed eventually to take part. Now, she is so happy that she did because she loves her new style and so does everyone else! She had the cut the day before her party (three days before she was five).

Sydni - "The After Five-Year-Old Haircut Look"