cutting toddlers toe nails without causing meltdown

[mollymoonface]

of both child and parents....

does anybody have any good tips for doing this if their child is like ours and hates getting it done? he is two and half and just goes ballistic when we do it. we have to now pin him down and hold his foot and he just gets so distressed. it feels totally horrible doing this to him but we have to do it or else his toe nail is in danger of getting caught and ripping off. have tried different times of day but seems to make no difference.

Do it while he is asleep.

do it when he's asleep

DD was like that too, until she was able to say that she thought we were trying to cut her toes off

We used to spend a long time cutting teddy's nails, cutting daddy's nails, cutting mummy's nails, cutting dolly's nails. Then we cut dd's nails. We made a game out of it to be honest.

We also tried not to do it first thing in the morning (when she is v. bouncy) nor last thing at night (when she is tired and crotchety). Sometimes we do it in the bath, because then they are soft and also then it is easier to joke about it and make it a game.

Another option is bribery. Stickers work well in this house, as do chocolate buttons.

No problems now with it- though it's not her favourite activity. She has moved onto other pet hates Arg!

DS when he's asleep - still do it and he's 7, fgs!

DD has always loved it

We tend to do it in the bath, or while DS is watching TV. Although last time he was watching TV he was suitably distracted while he did it but then freaked out afterwards and wanted me to put them back on again

I do hers, then she does mine! She is only 19mo so can't actually cut mine, just pretends.

Another vote for doing it while she's asleep. DD1 is 16 now and still hates it even though she does it herself when she starts looking like a werewolf

Bag of chocolate buttons :)

thanks! such speedy responses! sometimes it does work when he is distracted by tv so could try that again. the bath could work too (hadn't thought about getting the toe nails soft to make it easier) and also trying asleep too! does it really not wake them up when they are asleep at night?? just after i posted we had wondered about doing it when he is in his car seat asleep when we go out and about at the weekend (during the week he naps still at lunchtime). also like the idea of making a game of it and cutting teddy's nails etc. this actually worked the other day with wiping his eyes when he has an infection. got him to wipe our eyes too and that solved the problem

thanks: you are all geniuses

I do dd's whilst she is watching tv, have also done the watch mummy do mummy and watch teddy, plus choc

toenail update: cutting them whilst asleep in the car worked a treat! can' believe we didnt' try this earlier! my ds woke up with his shoes off and shorn toe nails but none the wiser for it

My DD was the same. She grew out of it really quickly and is 2 1/2 now and I have no idea why she suddenly started not to mind.
We used to do it whilst she was drinking her nighttime bottle watching TV so was quite distracted.

oh i can't say I am afraid, maybe it is a boy thing? DD loves her toes being snipped, has done forever, think it is because we do it together, bit of a girly thing going on i guess. Although she pouts as I wont put polish on hers

Oh yes, chocolate. DD hates hers being done. What I do is give her a Smartie to put in her mouth then clip one foot. The deal is that if she doesn't moan too much (her mind is usually totally taken up with CHOCOLATE), she gets another Smartie at the end of that foot. Once she has that in her mouth, I tackle the other foot. Then, if she's behaved reasonably well, she gets two Smarties, one for each foot. Four Smarties really isn't a lot. It works.

DS no longer will let me do it as 'I am too rough'. Used to do it when he was watching cbeebies/drinking his milk. Now he is 3, he will not let me near them.
So about half an hour after he falls asleep in bed, armed with torch and nail scissors and its done quickly and painlessly for both of us.

Tidybush - NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOO - I was hoping it was a phase - my dd is 7 and hates having it done, been trying to get her to do it herself but not worked so far but 16, no no no I'm in for another 9 years at least?!

We have identified the problems - dd has ticklish feet and she just doesn't like anyone touching hers. But this doesn't lead to a solution - tried everything over the years. Might be the route cause of your problem too?

distraction (peppa pig) and a choc button for each nail.

I think my DDs are weird, they love having them cut! But then I think I've probably given DD2 strange ideas about feet, hers are so chunky and lovely, I'm always squishing them and saying "What a lovely foot!" and blowing raspberries on them.
The other day she took off her shoe and sock, put her sweaty little trotter on my face and said "Kiss my foot, Mummy!" (I did haha)

in the car when he is asleep - genius! Thank you so so much, gonna try that!

I always ask DS (3.9) which one he wants me to cut first - then he feels he has some control. Otherwise, agree with everyone who said do it while they're sleeping - mine has never woken but has suddenly shifted positions, so be ready for that.

I play games and say snip snip and let DD (17mths) hold the snippers and have a go herself and pretend to cut mine.

At the end of the day though, I hold her hand still and do it, because her nails get so long she is drawing blood when she scratches her back.

I don't like doing this but I reason I am the parent and I can't allow her to injury herself just because she is stropping about having nails trimmed. She doesn't know what is best for her, I do.