Emilia's Big Firsts · Story 3
About “Emilia Gets a Haircut”
- Ages: 2-5
- Season: Emilia's Big Firsts, story 3
Emilia's bangs have grown so long they flop in her eyes. At Miss Poodle's salon she learns that hair has no ouch, giggles through the mist and the warm windy dryer, and meets her reflection.
Many toddlers dread haircuts for reasons that make sense from where they sit: scissors look sharp, the dryer is loud, and a cape and a spinning chair are strange. Emilia's worries are spoken aloud by the narrator before she ever reaches the salon. Will it pinch? Will it pull? Miss Poodle answers with one easy line, hair has no ouch, and proves it with a single snip. The spray bottle, the scissors, the roaring dryer and the big mirror each get a moment of their own, so a child meets them one by one. Since it's only a trim, Emilia still looks like herself afterward.
- first haircut
- new sensations
- sitting still
- mirrors and reflections
This story comes out on YouTube on October 10. You can read it below and print its coloring page now.
The three big words
- trim
- A tiny little cut.
- mist
- Tiny drops of water, like a soft rain.
- reflection
- What you see when you look in a mirror.
Tips for grown-ups
- A day or two before, mist your child's hair with a spray bottle at home and call it mist, like Miss Poodle does. Then the first step at the salon will already feel familiar.
- Use Miss Poodle's line, 'hair has no ouch.' You can snip a piece of paper while your child watches, then talk about how hair, like paper, doesn't feel the scissors.
- The dryer is the loudest part of the story. The narrator says it roars like a lion but feels like a hug; at home you can try a hair dryer on a low, cool setting so the sound isn't a surprise.
- Let your child bring a comfort toy. Emilia squeezes Pip when she feels wobbly, and a familiar friend in the lap can make the cape easier to sit under.
- Afterward, stand at a mirror together and turn left and right like Emilia. Name what changed and what stayed the same.
Talk about it
After watching, ask:
- Why did Emilia need a haircut?
- What did the spray bottle make?
- Did the snip hurt?
- What did the dryer sound like?
- Who did Emilia see in the mirror?
Try this together
Play salon with a teddy: drape a towel for a cape, spritz with water, pretend-snip with two fingers and blow warm air like a dryer. Then hold up a mirror so your child can wave hello to a reflection, just like Emilia.
Free coloring page
Emilia's First Haircut: print it (US Letter or A4) or color it on screen.
Read the story
Emilia's bangs grew, and they grew, and they grew,
till they flopped in her eyes. Oh! Peekaboo!
She puffed them away with a big pffft of air.
They floated up... and flopped down. Still there!
Time for a haircut! Mommy smiled wide.
A haircut? Emilia felt wobbly inside.
Would it pinch? Would it pull? Oh dear, oh dear!
She squeezed Pip, her bunny, and held him near.
At Miss Poodle's salon, the big chairs could spin.
The mirrors were shiny. Emilia peeked in.
Then out came Miss Poodle, with curls piled high,
curls on her curls, curling up to the sky!
Come in! said Miss Poodle. Hop up on my seat!
On went a cape, from her chin to her feet.
A cape, like a superhero's! Swishy and bright!
Emilia felt super. Well... almost. Not quite.
Spritz! went the bottle. A soft little mist.
Tiny drops, like rain, gave her curls a kiss.
A mist is a tiny, gentle rain in the air.
It sprinkled and sparkled all over her hair.
Then out came the scissors. Snip, snip! Oh no!
Emilia froze, from her head to her toe.
Hair has no ouch! said Miss Poodle. It's true!
A trim is a tiny snip. That's all I do.
Snip! Just a trim! A curl floated down.
It didn't hurt at all! Not a pinch! Not a frown!
Snip, snip! went her bangs... and now she could see!
No more peekaboo bangs! Hee, hee, hee!
Then WHIRRR! went the dryer. A warm, windy breeze!
Her curls flew and fluttered like leaves in the trees!
It roared like a lion, but it felt like a hug,
as warm as cocoa poured into a mug!
Ta-da! said Miss Poodle, and spun the chair round,
and there in the mirror... look what she found!
Her reflection! It's you, in the mirror. Hello!
Bangs neat as a ribbon, curls bouncing just so!
She turned to the left. She turned to the right.
Her reflection turned too! What a wonderful sight!
Bravo! said Miss Poodle. You sat so still!
Your very first haircut! Oh, what a thrill!
Her very first haircut! She did it! Let's sing,
and clap, and dance, and do the She-Did-It thing!
Then home to her chart, spot three. Here we go:
a pink scissors sticker, right there in a row!
Three big firsts, done! Is she proud? Oh, yes!
Six spots to go! What's next? Can you guess?
Big words today! Say them with me!
Trim!
A tiny little cut. Snip, snip!
Mist!
Tiny drops of water, like a soft rain.
Reflection!
What you see when you look in a mirror.
Every big first starts out wobbly and new,
then one day you do it! Hooray! Look at you!
Next time, Emilia goes to preschool! Bye-bye!
Questions parents ask
My toddler cries at every haircut. Can a story help?
Seeing each step ahead of time can make the real thing less of a surprise. Watch together, then talk about whichever part your child finds hardest, whether that's the scissors, the dryer or sitting still.
Does Emilia's hair change a lot?
No. She gets a small trim of her bangs, so she still looks like herself, which can reassure children who worry about looking different after a haircut.