398 Kings Road, London SW3 (020-7376 3966; www.yourtantrum.com)

Atmosphere and clientele: Tantrum is a dedicated children’s salon, spread out over two floors. Upstairs is for the little ones, aged up to seven; downstairs is for older children. Enormous effort has gone into keeping everyone – parents and children – busy and comfortable while the business of cutting hair takes place. Upstairs, the chairs are converted ride-on cars: a shiny red Mercedes, a blue jet plane, a silver vintage racer. There are small screens for favourite DVDs, and a big screen with Wii for bored siblings. In a small snug at the back, parents can relax, make phone calls and flick through magazines.

Products and treatments: Naturally, both our spy’s children made a beeline for the same car and the eponymous tantrum ensued. The staff were calm and helpful, successfully separating the warring factions. Our spy’s daughter, 5, received a really pretty, well-cut bob; her son, 3, requested “short”, and short he got. Both stylists checked everything with mother first. Neither needed their hair washed, but the salon does have its own range of child-specific products. Afterwards, the children got sweeties from a large treasure chest.

Highs: The converted chairs.

Lows: It’s quite pricey by children’s standards: £19 for a cut. But worth it if you want to give them a treat.

Marks out of five: Four.

If you have a salon that you either love or hate, e-mail sarah.vine@thetimes.co.uk

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