I would expect something like this to happen to a preschooler, or maybe a kindergartener - but an almost 10 year old - no way!
My son is on the brink of his pre-teen years, and now officially wants his "privacy" when taking a shower. I no longer get to run a cute bubble bath for him, or wash his hair. Bath time used to be a time when we would talk about his day, and anything that was bothering him. It has been hard for me to let go of, but I have to accept that he is growing-up.
Last night I was playing a board game with my other children while my older son took his shower. When he came out of the bathroom, he exclaimed, "Mom - we need to go to the emergency room. All of my hair is falling out!"
When I looked at his head, there were major patches of hair missing. Instead of going into full panic mode, I started asking him some questions. After only a few questions, he broke down into tears. He said, "A stick fell off the shelf, and I thought it was a head scratcher. I used it to itch my head, and then all my hair started falling out." I asked him if it was a yellow stick, and he said, "yes." It was my razor!
We were so lucky that it did not cut his skin, and only destroyed his hair. I explained to him about my razor, and what it is used for. I talked to him about the dangers of touching it, and what could have happened if it was not dull.
The next big concern was - how do we fix it?
I put all the kids back into their clothes, packed up the car, and headed to our local Supercuts. All the hairdressers gathered around my crying son, as they delivered him the news that they would have to shave off the rest of his hair. I have never seen him cry so hard as they buzzed what was left of his hair off.
We are lucky that it will grow back, and he will only be temporarily bald.
What we learned was - although he is growing-up, he is still just a little kid.
