Toddler Toenails
Taking care of your toddlers toenails can be a tricky task particularly if they squirm about like mine do. My wife and I have a three year old boy and a little daughter just about to turn one and as you can imagine I get the task of trimming the little darlings toes and finger nails - after all I am a professional! The other reason is that when our son Jack, was 6 months old my wife attempted to cut his toenails after she had just purchased a nice new set of safety clippers. I was at work cutting my patients toenails as I do when I received a call from reception saying to call back my wife urgently. Of course the mind wanders to what has happened to our precious little boy. My wife proceeds to tell me she has chopped then end of ours boys toe off! Now it wasn't all that bad, she had just pinched the skin underneath the nail and cut the toe - but little toes do bleed quite a bit. Luckily I had a half hour gap between patients and could race home to see the damage. Jack was a bit upset but not nearly as much as my wife. We stopped the bleeding patched him up and all is well - Jack still has 10 little fingers and ten little toes. My wife proceeded to tell me that I'm the podiatrist so I should be trimming the kids nails from now on - fair enough.
You can see my boys toenails above. He is a pretty rough and tumble kid and has lots of shoe off time so his nails often chip off. Try and trim the nails reasonably straight - easier said than done.
Wriggling toes and the 'fear factor' of both parent and child can make nail cutting a nervous experience.
So here is a list of advice I can give to young parents struggling with the intricate job of cutting toddlers toenails.
1. Cut your nails first in front of your toddler - if fear is a problem for your toddler thinking "cutting" their nails will hurt - show them buy cutting your own nails in front of them that all is well in the world and this is a pain free experience.
2. Soak the toes in warm soapy water first or use a warm washer to clean around the toes. This will help soften the nails and make it a bit easier to cut. This also helps clean out and dirt and debris that has built up underneath their nails which will help prevent any infections.
3. Toddlers toenails flake off and split quite easily from day to day play, particularly if they are a bit long. Crawling, climbing and running around with no shoes on, incidental knocks and injuries to the toenails are very common. They are a bit softer compared to our nails and can appear to have a spoon shape to them. This is quite normal but keeping the nails filed and trimmed will help. Often by the time they are 6 or 7 years old, their nails look more adult like in shape and structure.
4. Use safety clippers or nail clippers that have a blunt round tip. This reduces the risk of a sharp injury from the tip of the clippers - particularly useful with wriggling toes.
5. Trim your toddlers nails when they are sleeping. This can make such a difference for parent and child to reduce anxiety associated with nail clipping and the wriggling toes we often have to deal with. If your toddler still has a day sleep, this is the perfect time to quickly tidy up those toddler toenails.
And last of all:
6. Toddler nails should be cut relatively straight or following the natural curve of the nail. It is amazing how quick their toenails grow so small amounts often - every 2-3 weeks would be ideal. Filing is not essential but does help reduce any small flakes or sharp edges. If the nail has chipped off, apply a small amount of betadine around the nail edges to prevent infection.
If your child's nails are ingrown or you are having difficulty trimming them, don't hesitate to see a podiatrist for advice and strategies to keep your child's little toes neat and tidy.
