Problem with Scissors

As a former pre-k & kindergarten teacher, I can tell you that she is practicing her cutting skills. I agree you should put the scissors out of reach and allow her supervised opportunities to practice cutting various materials. One of the favorite materials that my student's and 2 oldest loved to cut is playdough. They could spend hours just sitting & cutting, mashing it back together to cut it apart somemore. I would also provide different materials for her to cut such as the playdough, sandpaper, yarn, pipe cleaners, egg cartons, old magazines(pictures that start with the B letter sounds, anything red, people, words, etc). I would offer these materials on different days of course and then give her the opportunity to create an art picture or collage.

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ok, I as a child was obsessed with cutting things. I knew it was wrong and didn't care...it was fun. At school I would constantly cut little pieces of paper into confetti, and I even cut up my own toys.....cause I thought it was fun. As a previous cutter I would strongly advise you REMOVE the scissors. That is the only thing that will work.....promise. When she gets older she wont be so bad.....and she will be able to understand what to cut and what not too.......
I kind of giggle as I type because I always thought I was the only one who did this. One thing though that my grandma did helped though. I found a knife (keep those up too) on the table and used it to cut a gouge into the side of the table. Major no-no. So my grandma very nicely asked me to get her my favorite toy..she wanted to see it. At the time it was a my little pony. So I brought it to her and she commented on how nice it was....then out of nowhere her comes the scissors....SHE CUT OFF IT'S FOOT......I was devastated. But I never cut again. lol.
Good luck....
T.

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Get a cheap art set (I think we got ours at Wal-Mart I don't remember though, it may have been a Christmas or B-Day gift LOL), they have scissors in there that are plastic, and will ONLY cut paper, no hair cut, and both you and your child is happy.. somewhat LOL

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E.:

you have a hannah on your hands! she is my 8 year old and the youngest of 4 - she has 3 older brothers! stubborn and sneaky are her middle names! get yourself a small lock box and put the scissors in there. i know that will be aggravating for you, but it will be beneficial for your daughter! don't allow her to have the scissors unless you are sitting right there with her and then take the scissors from her and put them in the lock box. hope this helps! i wish i could say the stubborn streak will get better but so far it hasn't for us!

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Sounds like she can't be trusted to use scissors without being supervised the whole time. My eldest is 3 1/2 and our scissors are always out of reach, but he has loved cutting from an early age, so he has his own pair and I bought him the Kumon cutting books. I actually can trust him to cut alone now, but the rule is that scissors never leave the table and they're only for paper. If he wants to cut anything else, string, ribbon, etc., he has to ask first. If he doesn't follow those rules, I put the scissors away immediately. That means I have to stick close by and keep an eye on him, but he loves to cut so much that he's pretty good about following the rules. Start out watching her like a hawk and sitting next to her, then let her earn your trust back slowly.

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Sounds as if she has a particular fascination with scissors, so she might as well learn to use them properly. Put her in a restricted place (high chair, table, etc) and give her scissors and let her cut lots of different textures for a while (old clothes, paper towels, an old doll's hair, along lines/outlines drawn on paper, etc). Praise her for the nice 'mess' she's making, have her help clean it up, and say, "Now, wasn't that fun? Scissors are a wonderful tool when we learn to use them correctly!" I had to do this with sharp knives when our (now 28 yr. old) son was about 2 or less. I said, "You'll cut yourself." He said, "No, I won't!" So I put him in his highchair with a sharp knife (our family always keeps sharp knives as my dad made them for us) and a stick of raw rhubarb! He cut away for a while, then exclaimed (not even crying), "I cut myself!" It taught him a nice, healthy respect for the dangers and responsibilities of household implements!

Good luck and God bless!
P.S. I just read most of your other responses, and loved the 'play dough' suggestion (but wouldn't recommend cutting sandpaper and pipecleaners unless you want all your scissors ruined). If she's really 'into' scissors, I think you should teach her HOW TO USE them properly instead of 'punishing' her by making her live WITHOUT them. Also loved the Grandma's table/My Little Pony story! That's a winner!

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HAVE YOU TRIED TO PUT ALL THE SCISSORS AWAY WHERE SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHERE THEY ARE? ALSO, TRY TO PUT THEM IN A LOCK BOX. SHE WILL HAVE TO ASK TO USE THEM. I AM A HAIR STYLIST (19yrs) I HAVE DISCOVERED THAT 8 OUT OF 10 KIDS WILL CUT THEIR HAIR.

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well,,not sure what to tell you about your daughter and the scissor thing, but my son got a hold of scissors when he was in the first grade and cut his own hair (omg) so, I told him if he wanted his haircut so bad I would take care of it. I shaved his head bald-had no choice from the self-cut, he gave himself. He didn't exactly take too kindly to me shaving his head and having to go to school like that, but, he never picked up the scissors again, to cut his own hair!!!!

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Oh!! I think I have your daughters twin in my house! you want her back?? LOL, I finally just got rid of the scissors. She has some plastic (do not cut) ones that came in a doctors kit and I gave her those instead. SHe was mad they do not cut but oh well. Nothing else was working and like you said, mine is a little sneak too. We'd be cutting, La-la-la, and the next thing I know she's be snipping off a piece of hair before I could finish saying "STOP". I have even caught her using nail clippers to cut her hair. Hee hee...maybe I have a future stylist on my hands ;)

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I took them away for a year. at 4.5 my daughter cut all of her hair to her collar bone~yeah they were taken away for LONG TIME!!!!! She knows how to use them she does not need to practice!

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At 4.5 yrs old they know right from wrong. She seems to enjoy using the scissors.. if this is true allow her daily usage which has to be supervised at all times. Remember to put the scissors up or hide them make her go to her room or tell her to go potty or something so you can hide them as if not she will remember and get them on her own...

reward her for the great behavior when using the scissors like a big girl.
Display the ART work that she has done as well, this will make her proud of her work and how she behaved using the scissors. :)

You could give some of the art work away to grandparents who will display it etc...

Maybe too do Mosaic type of work cutting small colored sheets of paper and then gluing it to make a picture... give her old magazines to cut out things, people, food, animals, words.. etc.

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Put them where she cant find them or get to them.Only get them out for her and stay with her when using them...good luck
S. B

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you said she's 4-1/2? i would just take the scissors away and tell her that she's not responsible enough to have scissors unsupervised, and that i will give her the scissors when it is convenient for *me* (to supervise her). my ds was the same way when he was little, but i forgot what it was about. markers, i think.
anyway, good luck!
P.

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Do you think her rebellion w/ scissors could be a reaction for feeling like she has little control in her life because of her diabetes?

Just a thought.

If it is a possibility, I'd try to create situations where she has more control, Like offering her three choices of whatever (Lunch/clothes/activity) Only offer ones you approve of, but let her make the decision. That might give her back some control in her life...

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