Brushing Hair

Brushing hair can be a fun activity for some kids and some may find it difficult if they are not comfortable to have anything touching their scalp. If your child is not comfortable with a brush touching their scalp, then you will have to begin with desensitizing your child to the hair brush. This can be done by just having the hair brush around your child and as he sees it and is comfortable with the hair brush being around him then slowly start bringing the brush closer to him. It might also help to have a variety of brushes so he can choose the hair brush he is comfortable with.

 

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Then the next step will be to show your child how to brush hair. You can start by showing the motion of brushing hair by using their hand. Have your child smooth his hair by running his hand through their hair in a brushing motion. He can also do this to a doll with hair. It is best to do this activity in front of a mirror.

 

The next step is to then start brushing hair using a hair brush. Again do this in front of a mirror and start with the front part of the hair. Initially just do only 1 stroke. Once your child is successful start having him to do more strokes and move to different parts of the head.

 

Pair this activity with strong reinforcers and also a token board to encourage your child to be successful. Visuals can also be used to so that your child can see what the routine of brushing hair is like.

 

Have fun brushing hair with your child!

 

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(Example of a token board)
 

Written by:
Jessica Ganesha
Supervisor, EAP Malaysia.