Should a child’s haircut cost less or more?

| December 29, 2016 | 0 Comments

LARCHMONT BARBER serves adults and children. Jorge Hilario is at right.

When getting a haircut, I’ve been known to fall asleep in the barber chair. Of course, dental hygienists have told me that I have fallen asleep in their chairs as well.

But one thing I can assure you, or various barbers can assure you, it’s usually a lot easier to cut an adult’s head of hair, whether the adult is asleep or not, than it is to cut the hair of a squirming child.

So, if people wonder why some barbershops might charge more to cut a child’s hair, I would think it would be obvious! It’s a much bigger challenge, it takes lots more work, and it usually takes more time.

I know that each of our little darlings, in our own minds, is absolutely perfect. But, really, think back to when you were a child in the barbershop or when you took your young child for a first haircut, or probably, many subsequent haircuts?

How easy was the task for the barber? Or, frankly, how easy was the task for you as a supervising parent?

Learning to sit still in a barber chair is, in fact, a learning experience for a child. As with many new things, it takes time (or repetition of the lesson) for the child to learn to sit quietly.   On Larchmont, veteran barber Jorge Hilario and the four other barbers who man the five chairs in his shop are experienced in dealing with children. Says Jorge, “There are some children who are quiet and cooperative, and a haircut is as easy as for an adult. But there are other children who squirm and squirm.”

Hilario says that, “Regardless, even though the job often is tougher for us and really should cost more, we still charge less for a child. Our price is $17 for children age 12 and under, versus the standard $20 haircut for adults.”

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