Help! They're Cutting My Hair! Quiz

Answer: phobia

My first thought was, "Come on! You know Meemaw isn't going to hurt you!", but therein lies the problem. Phobias may be irrational fears, but they are real to the person having them! In "G's" case, I am not the first to cut his hair; who knows what originally happened to make him dislike haircuts? Some phobias, like having a fear of mice, might be easily avoided by just living in a place where there are no mice; having a haircut is not so easily avoided.

While some people would say that hair stylists are accustomed to dealing with circumstances like "G's", who wants to take a kicking and screaming toddler into the beauty shop?

Answer: Tonsurephobia

Surprisingly this is a fear that many people have, even adults. Some people say that it is because they are afraid the hairdresser won't do what they ask; others say that it's because they don't know exactly what they want. For young children, it may be the fear of being restrained, or the fear of the sound the clippers make. It may also be that using the term hair "cut" sounds painful to them. In "G's" case, I believe it is the fear being restrained. He is very active and loves to walk and run around outside. I think I need to find a way to do a haircut that doesn't involve restraining "G" too much! That might take some creative planning!

By the way, ambulophobia is the fear of walking, dentophobia is the fear of dentists, and rupophobia is the fear of dirt.

Answer: True

Behavior Therapy methods operate on the assumption that there is something troubling the individual that needs to be changed. The reasons for the behavior aren't important; the focus is unlearning the learned fear and reeducating. Behaviorists do not employ just one type of therapy; there is a wide range of techniques they can use, including systematic desensitization, token economy, aversive conditioning, and operant conditioning.

Answer: Stimulus

The word "stimulus" is defined as "something that causes a physiological or psychologically response". Of course, "G's" response to hearing the clippers has been kicking and screaming to try to avoid the haircut. I have to admit that I am a bit baffled that "G" is frightened by the noise.

He loves electronic books and games that offer a variety of sounds. I thought that perhaps "G" would enjoy holding his own pair of clippers while I cut his hair, but NO! He didn't want anything to do with them!

Answer: Modeling

Many professional hair stylists believe this is a way to alleviate the fear of getting a haircut. It may well be, but my grandson is still very egocentric in some ways. Life is more about him; his interest in watching in daddy's haircut didn't last very long before he was ready to go on to something else.

Answer: Flooding

Advocates of the use of "flooding" agree that it causes distress and agitation. It even increases a person's heart rate, but the heart will not pound forever! This definitely didn't work with my grandson. He was reduced to trembling that was so forceful and long in duration that it took quite a long time of comforting and soothing to calm him down. Isn't that how most people would react to something they were so afraid of? Take the person with the fear of mice. Would it be humane to put them in a situation where they are surrounded by mice to try and alleviate that fear? Sure, their heart may stop pounding - when they have a heart attack!

Answer: Relaxation

This may work with some people and some fears, especially for those who are older, but explaining relaxation to a toddler is a very difficult thing to do. Even for adults with phobias, saying "just relax", may not be very helpful. In this type of therapy, the therapist creates a comfortable environment for the client while they talk about the irrational fears the client has.

In some situations this might work if used with another type of behavior therapy. I can see that this might be beneficial for adults who are afraid of haircuts; I am not sure if this would work for the person who is afraid of mice.

Answer: Counter Conditioning

Counter Conditioning is a multi-step process. The idea is to pair the stimulus that causes fear (sound of clippers) with a response or action that "G" enjoys. It involves relaxation, which for "G" was a time after he had rested and eaten. I decided that making sure that "G" didn't have any biological needs was the best I could do to get him to relax.

Then I began to show him the clippers and turn them on, while not making any attempts to go anywhere near his hair. I had do some some thinking before I knew what to do next. "G" needed to be somewhat restrained while doing something he liked. How am I going to pull that off?

Answer: Any activity he enjoys that will keep him still will help.

I did have his favorite ice cream on hand, but kept it as a last resort. Ice cream covered in fine baby hair? Yuck! What we finally decided was that this endeavor would be a two-person job. Someone to cut; someone to entertain. So, Pop Pop put him in the high chair, and let him play with the I-pad.

There was a new game "G" loves to play. It worked out great because "G" bowed his head to play the game, and became so engrossed that he didn't react to the clippers until I tried to trim around his neck and ears. Wow! What a difference a plan makes!

Answer: Reinforce

We will use the same method now every time "G" needs a haircut, and I think it would be a good idea to try and cut the hair more often for a while just to establish a pattern that he remembers. After the hair cut, "G" also got to go outside and play in his playyard. That was kind of stretching it because it was really too wet to play in the yard, but what the heck? He earned it! He looks great! All those psychology classes paid off! Again!