any tips on cutting fingernails ?

[anonymum11]

How come every time I cut my 18mo DD's fingernails, she seems to scratch herself more abefore? Does anyone have any tips on cutting fingernails?

Do you think you might be leaving little pointy edges? I don't always notice until the dcs's nails have grown a bit that I've cut them a bit askew.

I use one of those little manicurist block things (I am sure they have a proper name - a buffer maybe?) to smooth them down afterwards as ou can rub it all over the top of the finger.

I know it sounds minging but my DS is 18 months and I still just bite his fingernails. Rank, right? But I find it's easier than fighting him to get the nail clippers on and that I get a much cleaner trim with no raggy bits.

i bite my boys nails too - 6 months and 3 years! Yuk but totally agree on the cleaner trim CBear6!

I used to bite

While they watched telly

Sharp scissors are much more efficient then pishy baby ones that you have to saw away at for 20 mins

Nail clip then file.
I do my 8 month old DD's when she is asleep on me during the day. So much easier than fighting to keep her still!
You can get baby emery (sp?) boards in Tesco with cute animal pictures on them.

Agree with earlier poster, need really sharp fine proper nail scissors. I got a pair of baby nail scissors after DS1 was born and they're hopeless, can't get close enough to the nail and not sharp enough. Now use very sharp thin ones and makes all the difference.

When they're little, only sure way I found to cut nails was when they're asleep. Many times I've had baby asleep in the car seat after a drive and that's perfect, baby's high up and won't move. Baby lying in the cot is awkward and light is generally poor. Or else carefully put sleeping baby on your bed to get the nail trimming done but it's a delicate maneuver. Wait at least 10-15 minutes after baby falls asleep so they're in a deep sleep.

Since he turned 3, I can now cut DS1's nails while he's watching TV. He's aware of me but too engrossed to wriggle away. I give him a running countdown so he knows there's not long left to go. That said he remains sensitive about his feet in particular the little toes and for those I need to wait til he's asleep too.

If the child is wriggling give up and wait for another opportunity, they need to be calm.

Thanks for the tips. I'll try using some proper nail scissors next time.

I only ever file my 6 mo's finger and toe nails. I can't bring myself to even try using scissors. She wriggles and screams whenever I try to dress/undress her, brush her hair, clean her face/ears or do anything that isn't leaving her alone to be filthy and sticky, so the thought of trying to cut her nails whilst she does her wiggle dance and shrieking really scares me!

I've always used a small pair of crafting scissors that were about £3 in Tesco. They have long, very thin, sharp points which are perfect for cutting teeny tiny nails. I found the baby scissors worse than useless. You need precision at that age!

When they were babies, DH used to cut our DDs' nails while they were breastfeeding.

As well as sharp scissors I highly recommend getting a glass nail file to finish them off. They work a lot faster than an emery board but they're not rough on your skin. They don't go dull like emery boards either.
They're now a standard present I buy for new Mums as they're good for really tiny babies if you don't like biting their nails.

Another vote for an emery board... Tried clipping her nails but she is so wriggly that I accidentally caught her finger. I felt so awful that now I just file her nails whenever I get the opportunity

I use adult toenail clippers and they seem rounded enough to generally avoid sharp corners.
Mostly I wait for ds to cooperate but once did it when he was in the pushchair, which worked quite well.

I use an emery board, occasionally scissors first. I distract with a book, sometimes a song too.