Trimming Son's Finger Nails

I trim my daughter's nails when she is sound asleep! It works like a charm! I have done it on many of my friends' children and got the same success so I strongly recommend doing it maybe 10-15 minutes after he falls asleep so you know he is "out for the count" and not still moving around.

I have had the same problem with my son. Have you tried letting him help? If you have a smaller pair of clippers let him hold on the end, you have all the control but he thinks he is doing it. It also help to promote some independance.

Hi J.--

Have you tried trimming his nails when he's asleep--down for his nap? Or use some form of distraction--his favorite DVD, toy, or sing songs, have another person read to him while you perform the task? Hope this helps!

My son is almost a year and I trim his nails while he takes his last bottle in my husbands arm. He is so tired and preoccupied with eating that he doesnt even pay attention to me :)

S.

My pediatrician said not to worry about cutting the nails, and to just file them down. I do this while he's on the changing table. He seems to like the feel of the little file going over his fingers! They have baby files in Babies R Us or you can use an old (softer!) file that you have lying around. Good Luck! (I file sideways, then from the top of the nail down, to kind of angle the nail so it isn't so sharp. Not a very good description, but file the opposite way you normally do - top to back.)

My 18 month old son won't let me trim his fingernails either, so I wait until he is napping or when he goes to sleep at night.
I work full time also, so I have to wait for weekends to trim his nails during a nap.
Hope this helps!

What a weird deal. My wife had the same problem with Rainey as a baby. I had to cut her nails all the time. Here's what I did.

* played smooth jazz
* waited till she was really tired.
* gave here a toy she could play with in the other hand.
* talked to her the whole time in a smooth, easy tone.

If neccessary, I would take a break after one hand to let her play or move around a bit before doing the other hand.

Good Luck

Kurt

I feel the best time to trim a 13mth Ba nails is while he sleeps, he might be a light sleeper but wait 1/2 then start by lightly touching/holding his hand and gently clip away. It's not worth getting him or yourself worked and traumatizing him, just wait until he's relaxed & asleep. Oh, do use a small nail clipper for toddlers since his nails are soft and avoid taking off more than you should. I have a 3 & 5 and also don't like their nails (hands or toes) clipped so I wait until they're deep in sleep. Good Luck!

have you ever let your husband try? my son doesn't like it either but he didn't have a choice now 3 years old he knows if he sits still he can go play in about one minute.
I asked if your hubby has tried because I do home daycare and once a week I trim all the childrens nails, the parents appriciate it they all say at home he/she wont let me, I generally have NO problem with them letting me do it, no whining, pulling away, nothing. it works out well for all.

Hi J.,
Waiting until they take their nap and then do it worked for me. Same with clipping the toenails too. :-) Good luck. G.

Sounds weird but I have never had to use fingernail clippers on my 17 month old son! While I nurse or rock him to sleep, I get his chubby little fingers and I bite his nails! Never had to worry about cutting him or getting to close to the skin. The little slivers come off perfectly. :)

J.,

I had the same issue with my boys. They wouldn't keep still while I "attempted" to cut their nails. So, I decided to try and cut their nails while they were asleep. It was successful! I continued to use this method until they were old enough to sit still (for a short period of time) and understand what I was doing which started around 3 years old (for them). Much luck!

I had the same problem with my daughter but I found I could sneak in while she was sleeping & do it she never noticed.

Been there, done that. I tried it when he was sleeping but somehow he'd wake up. So instead of fighting over the nail clippers, I gave him his own set to play with while I cut his nails. Granted you have to be very watchful that he hasn't yet figured out how to use nailclippers and accidentally nick himself (or you). Maybe ask him to clip the nails of his favorite stuffed animal. But of course put them away when you're done clipping his nails. Hope it helps.

Try doing them while your son is napping or goes down for the night....

My son is a wigglier when I do his nails, but less of a wiggler when I put his favorite TV show on.

Also have you tried doing it when he is sleeping? That works too.

I went to beauty school so maybe the practice there made it eaiser for me. BUt I can do my sons finger nails in about 1 minute, I am quick and know how to get the clippers right in there. I have done it on other children as well that i have babysate because thier parents couldn't do it.

If you need help I can help you out. I am in East Mesa.

email me at ____@____.com

K.

Hello, Yeah Trimming nails can be challenging. I started trimming my sons nails when he was really small so i think hes use to it. He is 17 mo old now and I pretend its a game, I tell him to watch and then After I do one hand I clap and get all excited with him, then i do the other hand and tell him to watch, etc, Then i let him have the clippers and he thinks he does mine. but good luck ,

Hi J., cut your son's finer nails while he is sleeping. It works great.
S.

I always trim my daughters nails during nap time. good luck!

When it got difficult to cut my daughter's nails, I would just wait until she fell asleep! I'd put her down for a nap, wait about 15 minutes until I knew she was good and asleep, then quickly cut all her fingernails. It worked really well for me. =0)

Try doing it while he's napping or watching Elmo. Or, buy a second set of nail clippers and let him play with his while you do the work with yours.

well, my daughter of 16 months is also uncooperative with nail trimming. instead of fighting, I simply trim them when she is asleep. I hope as she grows older I can help her see the value of nail trimming and that it does not hurt. For now, I just want to keep her from scratching herself and others with nails that become razors when they are long.

Hi J.,
I, like most of the other moms, trim my son's finger nails while he's sleeping. It's much easier and when I finally try to do it while he's awake, and a little older, he won't relate it to being a bad experiance - my plan is to try to make it fun:) Mommy will cut her nails and then it will be his turn...yea!!! -That's the plan anyway;) Good luck!

try trimming them while he is asleep =)

I always trim my son's fingernails while he is sleeping ;)

My kids have always liked the "clip" sound we hear when the nails come off. Well, that hasn't always been noticeable enough to keep them occupied, so I learned to dramatize it a little by saying "clip!" in a quick, high-pitched voice when I squeeze the clippers together. They giggle. Kind of cheesy, but it gets the job done. :)

~ R.

I had the same problem with my twin boys, so i just trimed them when they were sleeping. Their 4 now and i still sneak in after they go to sleep to cut their finger nails, but it's the only thing that works with them. This doesn't work with my 16 mo old daughter since she's a light sleeper so other things that work with her are having another pair of nail clippers for her to hold so she doesn't want the ones i have, or sometimes singing a fun song will keep her destratced. Hope that helps :-)

Hey J.,
i used to have the same problem with my daughter. If you do it when he is asleep, it works like a charm! :0)

E.

That's a tough one! I used to have to wait unit my son was nursing or asleep but then one day he came with me to get our dog's nails trimmed and he was fascinated! Since then I just say "let's trim your nails like Buster!" and he doesn't object anymore. If you don't have a dog you could let him watch you trim daddy's nails and say "see how daddy sits still for mommy?" Maybe get an extra pair of trimmers (or some other fun shiny thing)he can hold in one hand while you trim his other hand. Good luck!

I had the best luck trimming my son's nails when he was asleep. Nap time or bed time. It never woke him up and you can get it done really fast.

I ended up filing my daughter's nails with a big rounded emory board. She fought me the same way your son does when I tried to trim her nails, but for some reason, she would sit on my lap and not move while I filed her nails.

Giving them a sucker and watching a good show while clipping the nails worked for us.

Good luck,
S.

Hi J.,
I have a 3 month old baby boy and I was scared to death to clip his little nails. My mom helped me the first time and he was passed out sleeping. It was fast and painless, he didn't move at all. We just waited for him to take his midday nap and in the middle of it, we clipped them.
Hope that helps!
A.

cut them while he'd sleeping. Honestly it works and he'll never even know.

Hello!
In the past I was often only able to do a few nails at a time and get the rest later. Sometimes I did toe nails while our daughter was in the booster seat or after the bath, when the nails were soft. At some point this all changed and this is no longer an issue with her and there is no more fighting.
Hope this helps!

D.

Hi J., you just have to give in and let him be. Trim his nails while he's asleep. I've been doing that with my baby girl since she's been born and believe me it works out a whole lot better for everyone. =)

I take my 9 month old into a Baby Bjorn and turn the TV on. It does not work for the toes though, so toes are a struggle.

Jen.

I trim my 12 month old sons nails when he falls asleep...works great!

I have the same problem with my 11 month old. I have resorted to cutting a couple of fingernails/toenails each night, after the bath, as she's getting tired and ready for bed. It still can be a battle, but I can at least get a few done before we've both had enough of it. Good luck!

Hi J.,
What worked for me with my 3 boys was either using a nail filer and file their nails instead of clipping or waiting until nap time and do it while they where sleeping. Don't feel bad, when our children are that young everything can become a chore.
Good luck! :-) A.

We never had much luck doing it while they were sleeping, even asleep they would wiggle their fingers away from us! So, I would give them something that they normally are not allowed to play with or something to keep the other hand busy and do it as quick as possible, and I never shot for getting all done in one sitting. Sometimes I would us a sucker, but leave it unopened so they had to try to get it opened while I did one hand, or playdoh, an exciting kitchen utensil that they otherwise can't play with. Also, when my twins were your son's age I would do it in the high chair so they were strapped and I could have both hands free, one for holding the hand still and one for clipping

Good luck!

my daughter is the same age and screams everytime we don't let her have her way. unless you are hurting your son and i really dobout you are it sounds like he may be throwing a fit. make him dael with what is going on.

I had the same problem, the following worked for me:
I let my daughter see me trim my nails. That made her want to do what I was doing.
I trim them when she is watching tv. She is distracted by the tv, so she doesn't complain about the nail trimming.
Use a glass nail file to file the sharp edges of the nail. The glass nail files don't hurt at all when they rub against the skin. I got a small glass file, with a rounded end on it.

J.-

I am laughing as I read this because I just had the same problem this morning with my 15 month old daughter. It seems to work better if you try after they fall asleep. Or use a file so you won't have to worry about clipping their finger.

Although trimming while asleep will work for a while, your child needs to learn to sit still and have the nails trimmed. Easier said than done, I know. But as someone who does dog and baby nail trimming routinely, I know it is important for the little ones to see this as a positive experience right from the start. I would encourage you to try it while awake with someone else encouraging and distracting baby. Only do 1 or 2 at a time and then give lots of praise so that baby doesn't see this as a battle. Sometimes my daughter still has a little fit about it (14 months), but usually she will just watch me do it and seems fascinated. If I could only get her to hold still for diaper changes now :)

Hi J.,
I had and still have that problem with my son although he has gotten better (he is 2 now) It is just the age I think. What worked best for us was I had my husband or my mom or someone hold him and distract him while I took his hand and cut his nails. This way he usually doesn't even know I am doing it!

hi i use to trim my sons nails while he was asleep worked great. My son had alot of problems as a child we later found he was ADHD he did alot better after meds

My husband and I actually trim our daughters nails when she sleeping. She is a bit of a light sleeper so we have to wait for those times when she is really exhausted and she is in a deep sleep. It works really well...you may want to try that.
Hope that helped. Good luck! :)

I have made up a song to help son get ready in the morning and have included trimming his nails in our routine so he knows to expect it. The song goes through each step we are doing such as "this is the way we cut our nails, cut our nails, cut our nails. This is the way we cut our nails so early in the morning." It makes our routine easy and he enjoys singing the song and getting ready in the morning.

If all else fails you could try to trim them while he is sleeping :)

I had this problem with my daughter, just do it while he's sleeping, it's soooo much easier!

Try distracting him with a favorite toy or how about while he is asleep.

By far the easiest way is to wait until he's sleeping! Of course, you can also try the cute animal-shaped clippers and pretend that it's hungry and making eating sounds when you clip - this is what we did with our kids ;)

Good luck!

When he is sound asleep would be the best time (that is if he's a deep sleeper)

Cut them while he's napping.

Both of my kids would not sit still either if I tried to cut them. I actually just bit the nails. They liked to play a game with mommys mouth. Its unconventional but it worked.

I have two girls, ages 2 and 3. The sound of the clipping woke both of my girls up, so trimming while they were asleep didn't work for me either. My 2 year old still doesn't like having her nails trimmed, but she is starting to come around. My 3 year old looks forward to it...but she didn't always. About a year ago, I started giving her once a week "manicures" I trim her nails and let her pick from 3 colors of quick dry nail polish. She loves it! She wants to get her nails painted and she knows that I won't paint them unless she lets me trim them first. I know you have a boy, so nail polish probably wouldn't work, but have you tried putting stickers on the ones that are already done? I did this with my youngest one until she was mature enough to not lick the nail polish off during the 60 seconds it takes to dry. It helped her to understand that there was an end to this ordeal and she had something to play with while I was trimming her other ones - also tried washable markers when I ran out of stickers (it comes off in the bathtub). I would suggest that you not give your son the clippers or another pair because (as I found out with my older one), they do eventually learn how to use them to cut clothes, hair, or anything else they can possibly get into them. I hope this helps.

Try doing it when he naps. I had a hard time with my daughter's nails, but figured out that if I am holding her when she falls asleep, It's much easier. She's calm and not thrashing around, or trying to grab at the clippers.