It was the day that all mom's with toddlers in daycare/preschool dread. The day when you go to pick up your darling, beloved, gentle, angelic, happy toddler and as you walk into the facility you are greeted by the teenage boy caregiver with the words "wait till I tell you what he did today!" My day happened when I came straight from my cousin's funeral to pick him up. That should give you a hint as to where y head was at that point.
Heart pounding, breathing fast, I ask "What did he do?" (In my inside voice I am screaming NOOOOO!!! already.)
Teenage boy answers "He cut Pollyana's* hair!!"
OMG! It's worse than I thought! Wait, wait, wait! I an handle hitting, throwing, pooping his pants, saying "No!" but cutting hair? What's next? No, don't answer that!
"Where did he get scissors?" I ask in utter horror.
"Teenage boy answers "I don't know."
Screaming inside my head continues to ask the following questions as I rush into the PreK3 room:
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"How bad is it?"
"Did he hurt Pollyana?"
"Should I kill him here or wait until I get home?"
"Do Pollyana's parents know?" (cue visions of litigation)
Screech to a stop in the PreK3 room. It's completely empty except for teenage girl caregiver. Repeat above scenario. Darling boy turned Edward Scissorhands is in a timeout in the Toddler Room. Ask the same question:
"Where did he get the scissors?"
Go into Toddler Room and find my guy happily playing.
"Did they tell you what he did today?" asks teenage girl #2 caregiver. I should note that this particular young woman ADORES my child for some reason and the Bug LOVES her right back. She continues when I nod yes because I can't talk for fear of losing my gourd in front of innocent little babies and toddlers. "He LIED to me when I aked him what he did. He LIED to me to me!!!" This as she is hugging Edward Scissorhands fiercely.
Want to hear something funny? This was the most upset anyone besides me was about this. I talked to the person in charge of Child Programs "Oh, I expect all toddlers to cut hair, usually their own, but sometimes someone else's hair."
Talked to Pollyana's mom "Oh, yeah, I know. Don't worry about it. She cut her own much worse. It's no big deal."
CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHERE HE GOT THE SCISSORS??????Ah yes...the scissors. Well, all the kids were playing in the PreK4 Room and in that room, the scissors are accessible to the children. No biggie. So now, they play in the PreK3 room after school. Oh, and they are rounded safety scissors. Scissorhands couldn't have hurt Pollyana anyway. At least that is what they tell me. I don't buy it.
No big deal? No big deal? Rounded scissors? Cutting hair? This is a big deal in my world. I lectured my almost 2-year old. Took away TV. Told him how disappointed I was in him. He apologized to me and swore before he went to bed to "No cut hair anymore." This is the stuff of my parenting nightmares that I have somehow failed in some fundamental way that my beautiful boy would cut another child's hair. The litany continued in my head all night "I must be more disciplined with him. I must always explain that you never, ever touch another child with scissors or any other school supply EVER. We will talk about this again in the morning. I must be a better parent." I fell asleep completely and utterly exhausted.
That was 2 weeks ago. Since then, absolutely nothing of noting has occurred behavior-wise. No one talks about the Edward Scissorhands incident. No one seems to think about it. Except me. Apparently I have a normal almost 3-year old. On the up-side, maybe he'll want to become a barber/beautician.
