I have no idea how my 3yo got so scared about cutting her nails but you would think I was about to do a spinal tap on her. We have to put her in her highchair and my husband has to hold her other arm or leg so I can do it or I have to put her on the floor and hover over her, pinning down her other leg or arm. We started off just having her sit and calmly trying to do it of course but it was always such a struggle that I shifted to waiting until she fell asleep and then doing it when she was sleeping in her car seat, high chair or stroller. Now that she is older she is taking naps less and less and I get to the point where I have to cut her nails or she scratches us and her face in her sleep. Her younger sister used to let me cut her nails with no problem and I would do it in front of her and say 'see, it's ok' thinking it would convince her it doesn't hurt but instead the reverse happened and now she has taught her 23 month old sister to scream and carry on too. I am posting hoping I am 'missing something' and someone will have a great solution.
Thank you all so much. We do try to do it while she is in front of the tv when we do it in her highchair but she screams so much she isn't paying attention to the show. We also do it while she sleeps but that doesn't work as good as it used to because she wakes up now (doens't sleep as soundly as when she was a baby). Even when she remains asleep she is 'alert' enough to bury her hands under her body and by the time you pull it back out (even gently and slowly) she wakes up. She will 'volunteer' a nail to be cut but it's always her thumb. I cut it and praise her and say 'see that was such a brave girl' then I ask for another finger and she says 'no' and means it. I hate having to hold her down but after a few days of doing that stuff it has to be done one way or another and now I think having to do that has taught her to be scared. She doesn't get that if she would just be quiet and hold still it doesn't hurt and would take less time--ugh! I guess it will work out in time. I did like the ideas about the nail stickers--she likes stickers in general so that might be a motivator to put up with having them trimmed and the idea about 'buying' new ones that don't hurt. Thanks for the advice.
Trimming her nails while she sleeps ought to do the trick. That's how I always trimmed my boys' nails and it worked great.
If your daughter has a favorite video or tv show, try cutting her nails while she's watching it. If she's anything like my son she'll be so spaced out that she won't even notice you! Good luck!
Maybe if you file her nails once a week or so, that would keep them short enough that you don't need to clip them. Filing might take longer, but might not be as scary for her.
My 2 y/o is the same way. If she gets her toenails trimmed, then she can get them painted....which she loves!!! Fingernails may be hard for her to sit still to dry. I think they still sell "stickers" for fingers. She could decorate them (or one on each hand) after she gets them trimmed. Good luck!
I had the same prblm with my son. At first, he was fine on the changing table than started screaming there. Then I tried to cut his nails while he was in the high chair. He was okay for the first time, then he started screaming, etc. Finally, I resorted to this: I cut one nail at a time. For example, I would cut one nail right after breakfast when he was in his high chair. Then I said: "All done," put his arms up, laughed and clapped and said: "Yeah". He thought that was great. Then I did the next nail at lunch or on the changing table when changing a diaper, etc. Usually, I could cut one nail without him screaming. And I would speak in a calming and soothing voice to him while cutting his nail. Slowly, but surely, we got to two nails at a time, then three nails, etc. We are now at the point where he lets me trim all of his nails without him fussing or screaming (or very little fussing). If he does start to fuss now, I just stop and resume at a later point in the day. It was a slow process to get there. It probably took almost a week. But he learned that cutting nails is not something he needs to be afraid of.
I always did it when my daughter was a sleep.it seemed to work best!!
Must be a common problem. My son is 9 already, and he still hates to get his nails clipped. However, what worked for me is that I told him that I got NEW clippers and these clippers don't hurt. To this day, he asks me, "Are those the good clippers?" (I never did get new clippers, just took the fear away.) LOL! I too would have to start with one hand, then later the other hand, and maybe wait for the feet the next day. To this day, he even has me cut certain nails before the others. Hey - whatever works!
