I want to thank everyone for their avdice given to a previous comment about our children and trying to cut their hair. My son is 3 1/2 and we fight him all the time. I feel so bad because its like it physically hurts them, but I put a stool up to our sink and let the water run. I put a few toys in the sink to occupy him and sang one of his favorite songs just above the noise of the clippers. This help tremendously! It was enough stimulation and distraction to allow us to cut even around his ears with little resistance.
I hope these ideas will help others as well. I know the guilt you feel when you're trying to hold your child down to cut their hair. As for the finger and toe nails I still do that in his sleep.