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VOLUME 12
NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 1969
NUMBERS.
It's high ttme one of those
so-called experts on child psy
chology told distraught New
Bern parents what to do about
Junior’s first barbershop hair
cut. Nojuvenlle upheaval Is ever
more violent.
Though the storm Is tempor-
arv, It leaves Mom or Dad (us
ually the former) emotionally
bankrupt. What It does to the
poor barber Is too horrible to
dwell upon.
Look Into the clipper wleld-
er’s anguished eyes, and you’ll
realize he suffers more than
anyone else. However, from the
sound of things you would thinly
the kid, not his parents and the
barber, is being subjected to un
bearable pain.
Actually, the screams don’t
stem from real or imaginary
hurts. The child Is a victim
of genuine fear, liberally
sprinkled with a seasoning of
temperament. And fear In itself
Is often more agonizing than
reality.
There Is the strong possibil
ity, of course, that a lotoflltUe
boys who are carted to a local
tonsorlal parlor for shearing
are more spoiled than scared.
Quite a few are actually terri
fied on the first trip, but hav
ing escaped with ears intact,
the fears should diminish with
subsequent visits.
Even so, it is a matter of
r ecord that numerous kids keep
right on acting up. Parents,
aware of this unhappy fact, think
of all kinds of excuses to wish
the grim expedition of each
other. So much so that Junior
increaslnidy takes on the ap
pearance of a neglected poodle.
Ask any New Bern barber,
and he’ll tell you that a child
invariably braves better if
Mom isn’t present for the or
deal. For one thing, the average
mother is quick to give advice
on how her offspring’s cranium
should be attended to, and most
of the advice is impractical and
inadvisable.
If a barber is a good bar
ber, and most of the ones in our
town are, he’ll do all right by
Junior. If he isn’t, giving ad
vice isn’t going to improve the
situation to any measurable ex
tent.
Besides, proud mothers are
apt to sympathize with their
dear little darlings, and sym
pathy at such a time as this is
the wrong kind of medicine.
The kind of therapy one might
suggest would be a well applied
spanking, but punishing a child
publicly is a questionable po
licy.
The barber, in his secret
heart, could find deep satis
faction in taking care of both
ends of the squirming little
screamer, but he isn’t going to
volunteer his services. Pew
parents would react favorably
to such an offer. We simply
aren’t built that way.
Of course, barbers have kids
of their own, and these kids cut
up o\er cut offs Just like the
son of a butcher, a baker, or a
candlestick maker. In fact,
the greatest commotion in a
barber shop this town ever saw
occurred when a certain bsu*-
ber sheared his own child for
the first time.
Yes, we need a psychologist
to solve the problem, but first
it ml(^t be a good idea to see
how the psychologist gets a-
long himself when he heads for
(Continued on page .8)
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