To Clip Baby’s Nails, Strap Them In A Carrier

To Clip Baby’s Nails, Strap Them In A Carrier

If you struggle to clip your toddler’s nails, you’re not alone. It’s a necessary, frequent task, dreaded by many parents. We first failed so miserably at keeping our infant daughter’s sharp little claws under control that I showed up at her one-month check-up with clippers in hand and begged the nurse and pediatrician to help me out; they refused.

When our second kid spent some time in the NICU, I was again hopeful the super-attentive staff would handle this, but alas, it was the one thing they didn’t and wouldn’t do. For newborns and solid sleepers, the problem is easily solved: Carefully snip away while your baby snoozes. But once those rascals grow more active and resistant, you can run in to real trouble—especially if, like my fourteen-month-old son, your child’s energy level rivals a non-stop, full-blown tornado.

Out of sheer desperation, and after a decade of parenting, I finally discovered a trick to save us all from looking like something the cat just dragged in. To keep those nails nice and trim, I found a no-fail nail-clipping solution that takes just a few painless minutes.

Strap your tiny tiger into a baby carrier, facing out, and snip away. Although kids can still wave their arms and legs pretty freely, there’s something about the full-body harness that makes any resistance not only futile, but super easy to manage.

And in my experience using this trick, the kid is distracted enough looking around that for once—for ONCE—they don’t care what you’re doing to their fingernails or toenails.


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