MARK MY WORD: IT'S BETTER TO LET YOUR HAIR DOWN THAN CUT IT OFF

It's not every day that our 5-year-old cuts her own hair.

But her red bangs were becoming bothersome, so Bailey grabbed a pair of scissors and did her own barbering last weekend.

Of course, this impromptu haircut occurred on my watch. Joni wasn't home at the time.

I didn't even realize she had cut her hair. I was watching the NFL playoffs. Becca was at friend's house, leaving me with only Bailey and the NFL games to watch.

Of course, watching the children means different things to moms and dads. Dads view it in a much broader sense. As long as the kids stay in the same universe, it's OK. Moms keep a closer eye on the children and prefer that they not wander into the next zip code.

Unfortunately during my watch, I failed to guard against the surprise haircut.

Like all moms, Joni noticed it instantly when she arrived home.

"You let her cut her hair?" Joni asked in the kind of incredulous tone that only a wife could muster.

"No, I didn't let her cut her hair. I didn't even know she was doing it," I replied.

Joni couldn't believe I didn't notice the unevenly cut bangs.

But how was I to know? Men don't focus on hair the way women do.

Sure, we notice if a person is bald or birds are nesting in the hair. We'd even notice if it were dyed green or some other strange color. But otherwise we pass right over it.

Women, on the other hand, notice everything about hair. And moms pay close attention to their children's hair. They have radar vision when it comes to spotting gum or other debris in their children's hair.

"Is that gum in your hair?" Joni will ask, eyeing Bailey from clear across the family room. Upon closer inspection, Joni finds the offending gum.

And all along, I thought it was just a shadow.

At times, Bailey's hair has that rough-and-tumble look. It's not easy to discern any barbering there or any wayward gum either.

I guess, I'm just not observant about hair. I expect it to be there in some reasonable arrangement.

I'm more concerned about my kids' attire than how their hair looks.

Personally, I thought Bailey did a pretty good job trimming her bangs. I mean, she didn't leave any noticeable bald spots. I didn't find any clumps of hair on the floor either.

"She could have poked her eye out," Joni pointed out.

"Perhaps, we should just lock up all the scissors," I suggested, sounding like a gun-control advocate in search of trigger locks.

Of course, that would be a monumental task. There are numerous pairs of scissors in our house. I'm constantly finding them scattered on floors, tables and wherever else the children have been cutting paper.

Becca and Bailey even have been known to grab Joni's sewing scissors from time to time.

Bailey once wanted to cut her toenails with scissors. I rescued her toes just in the nick of time. She loves to cut. So I guess it's not surprising that she clipped her hair.

Maybe she wants to be a beautician, although, so far, she hasn't shown any desire to cut anyone else's hair.

She might have thought otherwise if she had seen Harry Hunt's hair. The decorated Vietnam War veteran, who lives in Mexico, Mo., was so upset when Bill Clinton was elected president that he decided he wouldn't get a haircut until Clinton left office.

After eight years of letting his hair down, Harry got a haircut a week ago. I'm sure it was the talk of the town. Even the Associated Press took notice.

Personally, I can't imagine letting my hair down for any president. I get uncomfortable when my hair starts reaching down my neck.

As for the kids, Joni wouldn't let them go eight years without a haircut. Not to mention, Bailey wouldn't put up with long hair, not when she has scissors within her grasp.

Scissors have yet to be banned in our home, although they're clearly under greater scrutiny.

And I'm paying closer attention to Bailey's hair, guarding against a catastrophic clip job on my parental watch. I don't want another bad hair day.