One of the most nerve-wracking experiences parents face is having their child’s hair cut. Will the child sit still, will the cut be ok, will my child like it, will I like it? In the city of Toronto several small businesses compete for this specialty niche market.

Two of the local players in my area are Melon Heads and Little Tots Hair Salon. After two botched cuts at Melon Heads and almost 8 months without a cut my daughter’s hair was falling into her eyes and she was sporting split-ends galore. It was time to brave another hair cutting experience with my three year old daughter, Kiera.

What does any web-savvy parent do when looking for a place to cut their child’s hair – check for reviews on the internet. Enter Little Tots Hair Salon in the Beaches area of Toronto - “Voted "Toronto's #1 Children's Hair Salon" by City Parent Magazine Poll”. According to their web site, open late on Thursday’s till 8:00pm.

Kiera and I arrive at Little Tots at 5:40pm on Thursday, September 14^th along with another parent and her children whom we hold the door for letting them enter ahead of us. There is only one way to teach manners to a young child and that is by demonstration. However, what ensues next is a lesson in how to be “mannerless,” and two fatal business errors that will cost any small business customers.

Laura, the lady cutting hair does not greet us; instead she says rather gruffly “How many hair cuts?” The lady we let enter in front us says “Two.” I say just my daughter “One”. What follows next is word-for-word our conversation:

Laura: Well, I can’t cut your daughters hair.
Me: Why?
Laura: Well, we close at 6:00pm
Me: I checked your web site before coming it indicated you close at 8:00pm on a Thursday.
Laura: The web site has been out-of-date for months.
Me: Are you sure you can’t squeeze her in, I drove 25 minutes in traffic and just paid money at the metre for parking?
Laura: No, I can’t. We close at 6:00pm, and frankly ANY RESPONSIBLE PARENT WOULD HAVE CALLED THE STORE TO VERIFY THE HOURS ON THE WEB SITE ARE ACCURATE. IT IS NOT MY PROBLEM.
Me: I am sorry but it’s not my responsibility to verify the accuracy of the content of the information on your web site. It’s the responsibility of the owner’s to keep their web presence up-to-date. Further, if you have known the information is out-of-date for months, why wasn’t it corrected by now?
Laura: I don’t have time for this, we are short-staffed today and I have to leave right at 6:00pm.

I just walked right out the door and will never patronize Little Tots Hair Salon in the Beaches.

There are two lessons to be learned from this experience for small business owners. First, your web site is your virtual business presence. It’s no different than the sign you hang on your door with the hours. In this day and age, parents with busy schedules often conduct their research online. If your web site is not up-to-date, it has the potential to cost you customers.

I say “potential” to cost customers because had Laura responded “I am so sorry but the information on our web site is incorrect. I am going to bring it to the immediate attention of the owners to have it updated and prevent this problem from occurring again. Please take a lollipop for your daughter and I hope that you will return to have her hair cut at our salon. Please accept my sincere apology.” I probably would have returned, apology accepted.

Which brings me to the second lesson; customers are never wrong, never at fault and certainly should never be blamed. It was certainly not my responsibility to verify the accuracy of their web site.

This story does have a happy-ending. We walked further down the street to Hair Dynamics and Kiera got her best hair cut to-date. Further, they treated her like a princess giving her lollipops, a blue slushie drink, practiced patience with her wiggling around and even offered me complimentary water, espresso, etc. If you visit them for a child’s cut ask for Nilo, wonderful cut.

Little Tots, I hope you are listening “Customers maybe “hair” today but gone tomorrow.”

Photos of the new cut follow:

Well at long last the review of Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Frank, Kiera (2.5 years old) and I went for three nights, four days in May of 2007. It was EXCELLENT and we booked to return while we were there. In fact, we'll be in three weeks again when my niece Lucy comes to pay a visit from the UK.

Photos from our trip here.

The review

Lobby/Check-In & Out:

Check-in was quick and without issue. Staff was very friendly and well-trained. I loved the wristband to get into the room, lockers, etc and the fact I could link my credit card to it which meant I could also purchase anything I needed with my wrist band. No room key or wallet to carry around and potentially get stolen. If you don't want to link all the bands to a CC - you can link only the adults. You can even load cash to your children's card for them to spend in the arcade, etc.

The Lobby was very well organized and had so much for the children in it. Story time is in the lobby every night at 8pm. Arrive early - it crowds up fast. It opens with the robotic animals doing a story for 20 minutes and then Wylie the Wolf arrives and the storyteller reads two books. Kiera LOVED it.



During the day the kids can press hand prints on the animals and they will talk to them. The lobby also has very comfortable seats and huge fireplace great for relaxing.


(Kiera in the middle with a MEOW face).

We checked out through the TV which was simple and accurate to avoid the lines at check out time.

Room:

We stayed in a family suite, the most basic room available, and it was far from basic. It contained two Queen size beds, a pull, out, TV, Mini-fridge with freezer, microwave, etc. All the amenities we need and a good deal of room. Also had a desk which we placed the laptop on and free Wi-Fi in every suite. The room was great, kept clean by the staff and we were very happy with it.

Food/Restaurants:

We did not have breakfast in the restaurant but heard from other guests it was excellent. Instead we brought up food for breakfast and stored it on the counter and in the fridge. We also brought up snacks with us, etc to reduce on the costs of buying food on site. Kids 3 and under eat free.

One night we have Pizza Hut, and the other two nights we ate the dinner buffet which was a really good value. The children's area is at a height they can help themselves and contained peas, corns, mac/cheese, chicken nuggets, pizza, french fries, etc - even the pickiest child can find something to eat. The adult buffet was impressive, roast sweet potatoes, stuffed peppers, striploin, blackened catfish, salmon, stirfries, soup, salad bar, desserts - there was NOTHING deep-fried on the adult buffet which is such a refreshing change to the usual crappy fried buffet fare. The meals change every night on the buffet - so it's not the same two nights in a row.

Waterpark:

No need to bring your own towels - they had plenty to supply you with. If you needed a locker - you could activate one for free with your wristband. There is a shop that sells anything water related you may have forgotten that seemed to have prices comparable to the mall - aka they were not ripping you off. They also have a limited number of free life jackets for use.

I loved the water park - there were more life guards present then I think were needed but that made it very safe. Older children were not permitted in the toddler area - no running around as a result. I could sit in the water area which is only 18" deep and watch Kiera exit, climb the stairs, come down slides on her own, land on her own, and repeat without the need to chase behind her and hold her hand for safety. To me, this speaks volumes as to how safe the waterpark is. It also made it a very enjoyable and relaxing vacation for Frank and I.



There was plenty for a child of 2.5 years old to do - Kiera even went on a large water slide with us in which you sit in a orange round raft and come spiraling down a massive tube from the top of the resort that winds outside and then back in the resort. She loved it and we went on it a lot.

The wave pool was nice. The swimming pool was great with these docked floating animals for the kids to climb on. The lazy river was a lot of fun also. And the tree fort with splash areas, etc was a hoot.

Other Activities:

We did not go to the arcade but it was always full of people and seemed to have so much to do.

The Cub Club was awesome and we spent a fair amount of down time there. Kiera loved getting her face painted every day - for FREE. And there are plenty of free activities, painting, drawing, stickering, etc to do. As well as, foam blocks, tree house, and some paid arts and crafts which were again fairly priced IMHO.

The Spa:

Mom went to the Aveda spa for a lovely hot stone massage whilst Daddy and Kiera napped. It was heaven :)

In conclusion, I highly recommend a vacation at GWL Niagara - and we're going back in three weeks time!

Honestly, it was the most relaxing vacation we have had as a family - more relaxing than going to Cuba and the Dominican Republic. There was just so much entertaining Kiera that she never acted up, never got bored, was always safe, that we could just sit back an enjoy being together in such a great setting.

We're going to make GWL at least a once a year visit for our family - maybe we will see you there!

Whoa - one month since I last posted here.

It's been a busy month with a lot of sadness including five different deaths among business colleagues and family.

My Mom's own battle with what we initially feared my be a stroke, but was a inner ear infection that lasted weeks. To the cat scan that indicated she had a cyst and might be a cancer. To the MRI which said it was a blood vessel on her thalamus which will now lead to 3-month spaced apart MRIs and the long wait to see a Neurologist in February.

As an aside - what the hell are Frank and I paying that health care premium for - wait times are not  improving Mr. McGuinty and you're up for re-election next year.

Two great visits with my nieces from the UK, Lucy and Anna - we did a lot of fun things. Science Centre, Zoo, Chinese Lantern Festival, etc.

And personally, I have been on the road to better health. Eating better and making to to the gym on a regular basis for about the last 3-4 weeks. Let's hope it results in some movement at the scale!

I had my first business trip away from Kiera for a night and it was utterly uneventful with Kiera doing beautifully without the breasts to put her to sleep. Although she did ask anyone else if their Milkies had any milk... heheheh....

That's my quick and dirty update :)

As someone with lactivist tendencies Frank and I did take little K to the Lactation Bar mentioned in this earlier blog entry. I went initially without the desire to taste other people's breast milk but once there found the lure of comparing my milk to others strong.

I tasted the last two milks on the sampling menu for the evening. They were called "Straight up with a Twist" and "Truth Serum #9". 3mm of milk in each little plastic shot glass. You were invited to look at it, spot the differences, sniff and then drink all at a very cozy bar which Jess played bartender at.

When prompted by Jess, the fellow beside me said he came to taste BM because his mother did not BF him and he always felt somewhat "incomplete" about it. I found that very interesting.

The first milk, Straight Up with a Twist was not too unlike mine but mine is sweeter with more body. Wow, I feel like I am writing about a wine!.  The donor walked up as we tasted it - so that was neat.

The second milk Truth Serum #9 almost made me gag on the aftertaste. I found it very strong with a bit of a bite. Jess told us afterwards the donor of that milk was vegetarian - illustrating how diet affects the flavour of milk.

I have to say I don't like the taste of my milk and liked the milk I tasted even less - maybe the pasteurization affects the taste?

Now, I know most of my friends reading this are going to say are you nuts? No one at the event was promoting the notion adults should be drinking breast milk on a regular basis. The event was to explore the taboos around something that is 100% natural - Mother's milk and artist choose to do it by having a lactation bar.

Really why are humans the ONLY species the drink milk past the developmental stage usually marked by the loss of the "milk" teeth (primary teeth)? Why do we have such low and abysmal rates of BFing? Why do we think it is ok to give our children milk from another mammal - the cow, or the goat? Why not HUMAN milk right from the tap? Why is extended breastfeeding (which should not even be called that, the natural course is to let a child self-wean) frowned upon? Its what those breasts were made for!

I fully recognize some mother's can not BF for medicinal reasons, or can not produce enough milk, etc and this is not meant as a slight against them. When you try your hardest and it does not work of course other options should be available.

However, when your milk factory is working just fine I have to ask myself why when the Canadian Pediatric Society, Dietitians of Canada, Health Canada and the World Health Organization recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, and continuing with complementary foods for up to two years and beyond it is consider nuts to breastfeed your child to two and beyond?

Signed,

Tash
A proud lactivist who is still nursing her two year old!

More information:
Article in the Toronto Star on the event.
Blog entry from one of the donors.
Statement of the Joint Working Group: Canadian Pediatric Society, Dietitians of Canada and Health Canada
WHO - Exclusive Breastfeeding

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