An unsupervised toddler with a pair of scissors is nightmare fuel for parents. Will you find shredded books, a hole in your new couch, or a pile of lopped off hair when you emerge from your quick trip to the potty?
Toddlers may still be very young, but they are fast and have a knack for getting ahold of unapproved things quickly, usually to innocently inflict maximum destruction. TikTok user, @designerluxury4you, experienced just that in a shared video of their toddler proudly showing off the haircut she had given herself.
Experiencing your child giving themselves or their siblings a haircut seems to be a rite of passage for parents. But the way this mom handled the discovery is showing how gentle parenting is changing the game. It’s pretty safe to say that most parents would react in a more expressive way and immediately remove the scissors from the child’s hands. This mom responded in the kindest and most respectful way you can imagine and maybe the Internet is a little better for having seen it.
When the mom walks in to see her daughter holding a pair of child’s scissors, she calmly asks, “What’d you do?” to which the now mullet-sporting toddler explains her actions. The little girl, Max, says, “I cutted all of it off and I put it on here.” While the toddler is finishing her story we get a quick glimpse of the pile of blonde hair sitting on the nightstand. This is the point that seems to divide the commenters because the reaction isn’t anger or even a stern tone. Instead, this shocked mom says, “Oh, wow. You did a really good job, Max.”
The mom asked if her daughter felt better since her hair was no longer in her face, to which Max answered, “Yep.” Max was given several options, including going to the hairdresser to fix it. The video cuts off before we find out the toddler’s choice, but the mom’s reaction was the topic of discussion in the comments.
One person wrote, “Seriously, this is impressive parenting. What a gift you are to her.”
Another said, “Wow, you handled that so well lol she’s so adorable.”
Others were confused and more critical of the mom’s calm reaction and lack of consequences. Someone wrote, “I just can’t with gentle parenting. She lost me when she said no but allowed it anyway.”
A different user expressed confusion, writing, “Not knocking gentle parenting but at the end of the day how does she learn this was wrong and not to do it again?”
There were multiple comments reminding people that even though the girl is a toddler, it’s still her hair and she should get to decide what to do with it.
Watch the video below. Do you think this mom handled this situation well?
This story originally appeared two years ago.
