Free Haircuts For Children: Iowa Barber Supports Reading

But there’s a catch: as he gets busy with their hair, they have to read to him from a book.

“I just want to support kids reading”, Holmes said. Whether snuggled under the covers with peanut-butter sandwiches, or following along with a book on tape while on a road trip, reading together is a powerful tool in motivating your child to read.

From the 38 percent of children who used to read daily when they were 6-8 years-old, only 24 percent of them kept their habit through their teenage years, all the way to 15-17 years old. “But 50 per cent of these kids are struggling to read”.

More4Kids website says parents can encourage their children to read to them bedtime stories, and as their children read, they can ask them questions about the pictures and concepts covered in the story periodically.

Rather than spend a busy Saturday providing haircuts for profit at the salon he works for, Spark Family Hair Salon, the father of two welcomed little ones to his booth at an annual back-to-school community event.

While some organizations were giving out books, educating people about before- and after-school opportunities, and signing kids up for free backpacks, Holmes decided to put forward what he knows best – hairstyling.

Books were also being given away by St. Mark Youth Enrichment; some books were offered to Holmes for his efforts. “I did one mohawk and one fade, but majority were pretty simple cuts,”he added”. His brother, 10-year-old Titan Feeney, then took his turn in the barber’s chair.

“It’s great. All the kids, they want to have a good haircut to go back to school, “she said”.

And now the 45-year-old is considering turning this one-off scheme in to a regular thing.

He said: “I want to start something that will help with their literacy”.