Sounds ridiculous BUT ... how do you teach a 4yr old to blow her nose?!!

[Snowstorm]

My 2 year old is great at it, always has been (which is good because she seems to have had a cold most of her life!) but I just can't seem to teach my 4 year old to blow out of her nose and not out of her mouth and can't find the words to describe the action any better than I already am!

[cruisemum1]

i had this problem. Actually, a school mum taught her in the end! She got her to hold her lips together tight and make the tissue move which she held above her nose! Worked a treat. dd ws about 5 btw

[littlelapinofLURVE]

I don't know, but I wish I could teach my 10 month old

[singersgirl]

Don't know if this will help, but I taught mine one nostril at a time. Hold the tissue on their nose at first, squeeze one nostril shut and see if they can blow out of the other. Seemed to work for mine! Don't know if that will stop her blowing through her mouth, though.

[ja9]

i've tried telling ds to close his mouth tight and blow really hard. sometimes works! he's 2.5.

[Earlybird]

I told dd to pretend she was an elephant. Elephants make noises with their noses/trunks, and any noise you can make with your nose requires either breathing in or blowing out. So, I told her to make an elephant nose sound...

Maybe odd, but it worked.

[Snowstorm]

Thanks everyone - I shall work my way through the suggestions one by one till I find one that works! She's really irritated by the snot (and I can't bear the sniffing noises) but every time we try and get it out her nose she just huffs out of her mouth - even if I've got my hand over it (that sounds terrible doesn't it!!!).

[cruisemum1]

needs must snowstorm!

[Issymum]

My mother taught us by putting a feather on a table near the edge and then getting us to stand with our nose just over the table edge and our mouth beneath it and try to move the feather across the table. Best tried post-cold unless you want snot all over your table.

[snuffy143]

DS (4) has finally got it this week with his cold. I told him to actually TRY to blow snot out of his nose (rather than spending time telling him not to!) and I 'happened' to have a tissue waiting! Now he is very proud. Mouth closed is essential!!