So... how do you clean your toddlers ears!!!

[GinPalace]

my 22mo ds hates me cleaning his ears, he will dodge me in the bath, scream and wriggle.

I have tried using ear cotton buds, sponge, flannel.

He was sat on my knee this morning and I was horrified to discover he has little crusty bits in the hard to get at folds. And although his ears aren't awful they are not getting cleaned properly!

It's only a little problem but I am still interested to know how you wise and experienced ladies out there manage to keep sparkly ears on a reluctant toddler.

TIA

We started off using a tri corner sponge and then moved on to cotton buds. By making it part of the bathtime routine it got easier. Dd knows that we wash her body, then hair (wetting ears at same time) and then she gets toys and an ear cleaning.

warm damp flannel over your finger...or a wipe.

Do it when hes asleep if necessary!

NEVER USE COTTON BUDS

inside the ear obviously, creases are fine but personally I would steer clear altogether.

Cotton buds are fine! Just don't poke them inside the ear. The rigidity makes them great for cleaning around the curves at the top of the ear.

X-post!

Thanks guys.

Think sillybeardy makes a good suggestion about structuring things a bit more. I chop it around at mo as keep trying to find something that works but maybe the toys as bribery and a higher inevitability factor might help me get the job done.

It doesn't help that I am pregnant and being bent over chasing him round the bath while he tries to evade it is the worst part of my day just now!! Our bath as one end which is harder to reach for me and he knows it!

Any other cunning suggestions gratefully received.

Amber a wipe when he is asleep is a goody - might try that tonight. :)

Gin, my DS is autistic and is a master at dodging many a hygeine related activity!

Bathing aside I have become adept at doing many many things while he slept.... if he ever slept...but thats another matter!

Ears

Toenails/fingernails

Hair

Good luck!

If mini-gin escaping is the problem, have you thought about using a bath seat/bumbo type of thing? Makes kiddie wrangling so much easier!

Never put anything in your ear smaller than our elbow! A prominent ENT surgeon once said this in a lecture...

As poster above said you should never put cotton buds inside the canal. They push the wax down to compact it and there is a risk of perforation. Ears are self cleaning.

Just wash the creases with a flannel in the bath.

Staverton said just what I was going to say about elbows!
NEVER put a cotton bud in the ear canal. I have seen far too many damaged ear canals, ear drums etc.
A simple wipe when he is in the bath should be fine.

No - don't worry no cotton buds are going near his ear canal. It the folds and curves of the ear I struggle with. One ear in particular is tricky as the top fold is squished (deformed from birth if deformed is right word) so really hard to get to. But the evading doesn't help.

sillybeardy can't imagine a bumbo type thing helping as at nearly 2 he would be well capable of getting out of that. Suppose I just have to physically force him to tolerate it - maybe the physical feat of doing that just now is what is the problem - still not much anyone can do about that till dc2 is born!