Mum's horror as daughter accidentally shaves head with dog clippers

Sariah's hair before and after the incident
Sariah’s hair before and after the incident (Picture: Sian Coombs/Tiffany Wallis)

A mum was horrified when her toddler daughter managed to wander off with her dog clippers and shave a patch down the middle of her head.

Sian Coombs, 35, from Hawarden, North Wales, was about to groom one of the family’s cavapoo dogs but her daughter Sariah, two, snuck off with the clippers when she wasn’t looking. Sian said: ‘My daughter is absolutely doggy obsessed and she loves to help me but the dogs didn’t enjoy her brushing them so I gave her a bowl of treats to feed to the dogs to distract them while I brushed.

‘She was doing a great job and by feeding the treats to the puppies, she kept them distracted and it kept her entertained too – so all was going well!’

Sariah before
Sariah before (Picture: Sian Coombs/Tiffany Wallis)
The mum-of-five noticed that her daughter then left the room but thought she’d just gone to join her siblings Thomas 15, Amara 13, Henry seven, and Percy, five, as they watched TV.

She said: ‘She returned moments later holding the dog clippers in her hand, and as soon as I spotted her holding them, I leapt to get them off her but then noticed what she had done.’

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The five children
The five children (Picture: Sian Coombs/Tiffany Wallis)
Following the trend for some interesting lockdown haircuts , Sariah had managed to take the clippers and shave a whole patch down the middle of her head.

She said: ‘The hair was still sort of stuck to her head, but as I began touching it, clumps came away in my hand and I could see what had happened.’

Sariah’s first reaction was to say ‘mummy did it’ as Sian was left standing with clumps of her daughter’s hair in her hands.
Sian and Sariah
Sian and Sariah (Picture: Sian Coombs/Tiffany Wallis)

Luckily, she hadn’t touched any of the dogs as they have a litter of seven-week-old puppies in the house.

She said: ‘My first instinct was of course one of horror, but I saw the big smile on her face change into an anxious expression when she saw my face so I quickly realised I needed to hide my own feelings to protect her.

‘She’s still breastfed so immediately upon realising there was a problem she asked for ‘bobos’ so I just fed her to calm her down, and give me time to gather my thoughts a little.

Sariah with one of the puppies before the hair cut
Sariah with one of the puppies before the hair cut (Picture: Sian Coombs/Tiffany Wallis)

‘I didn’t show her the result of her hair until a little while later but she just laughed when she saw herself in the mirror which I was relieved about!’

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Sian says that her daughter loves to explore and is into everything and it can be difficult to keep up with the cheeky little girl.

She said: ‘She copies me with every task I do and she’s very bright. I don’t think there’s much in my house that she doesn’t know where it belongs or how it works.

Her blonde locks before
Her blonde locks before (Picture: Sian Coombs/Tiffany Wallis)

‘She notices everything and just loves to join in and help out.’

Luckily, none of her brothers or sisters seemed to notice or say much about her hair.

Sian added: ‘My children didn’t say much to be honest. They don’t really care what her hair is like, they just love her for who she is regardless of anything else.

Sariah after with some of the family's dogs
Sariah after with some of the family’s dogs (Picture: Sian Coombs/Tiffany Wallis)

‘They all immediately went out onto the trampoline and played together like nothing had happened.

‘My eldest was probably the most shocked, my teenage daughter just thought it was funny and the younger boys have barely mentioned it.‘

Her husband Paul wasn’t at home at the time and she messaged him to tell him the news and he did think she was joking at first.
The patch on her head
The patch on her head (Picture: Sian Coombs/Tiffany Wallis)

She said: ‘He feels the same as me. We just love her to bits and want her to be happy, nothing else matters. These things happen in life sometimes.’

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Sian said she considered shaving off the rest of Sariah’s hair, but has decided to leave it after reaching out for some advice.

She added: ‘I messaged my hairdresser and a few hairdresser friends who all told me to leave it be.

Sariah with her older siblings
Sariah with her older siblings (Picture: Sian Coombs/Tiffany Wallis)

‘I also asked Sariah and she got upset at the thought of having the rest shaved. My only concern now is to protect her feelings.

‘She doesn’t want it cutting so I won’t. I just want her to feel happy and not worry about it so we’re not making an issue of it.’

She is thinking about buying some new hair accessories or looking at supplements which encourage hair growth but they hope it won’t take long to grow.

She added: ‘I’m extremely grateful she’s only lost her hair down to a silly accident and not something far worse. There is an awful lot more going on in the world right now, a dodgy haircut isn’t a reason to be too upset.

‘I’m only too aware of people whose children lose their hair as they’re battling life threatening illnesses; my daughter is perfectly healthy so I don’t need to worry.’

Source: Psychology Today

‘It certainly caused a lot of drama in our house yesterday as friends and family were all messaging to see what happened. They all know what Sariah is like, so I can’t imagine anyone who knows her is too surprised!’

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