At what age can kids be expected to blow their nose? My son is 3.5 and has a cold, and my hubby keeps telling me to teach him to blow his nose instead of constantly wiping it. When I tell him to blow into the kleenex, my son just yells "no, just get the boogie, Mommy!"
My son could blow his nose at 2. Just show him what you want and how you want him to do it. Its not hard to do. You just have to make him do it.
It's different for every child. My son could do it at 3. His friend was almost 5. I'd maybe start practice having him blow bubbles in the bath or something, just to get him used to the idea of deliberately blowing out.
I love ReverendRuby's response. :)
I have three kids and they varied dramatically on when they were able to do this, but none of them as young as 3.5 years. I would say every child is different and there is no magical age, but they definitely do need instruction. It's not something that comes automatically. I demonstrated by saying take a huge breath in through your mouth, now breathe out hard through your nose. This is while I was holding a tissue plugging one nostril so the gunk would come out the other side. Honestly though, if they are very congested, I would recommend a sinus rinse bottle such as http://www.drugstore.com/neilmed-sinus-rinse-regular-bott.... They are available at Target, Wal-mart or any pharmacy. So much more efficient and you will be amazed at the gunk that comes out. (I was reluctant at first, but it really helps. You have to have the kids kind of pant like a dog while doing it.)
I don't remember how old my daughter was when she learned to blow her nose. I know that it was a big "aha" as a parent to realize a child doesn't know, but has to learn, how to spit, blow their nose, etc. Insisting he do it won't make it happen, be patient.
One thing I did was to first gently hold her nose and tell her to blow out her mouth, with lips pursed (demonstrate). Then switch and close her mouth and tell her to now blow again (again demonstrate).
They can't blow their nose on their own for a while (like 5 or 6), and even the "blow out only through your nose" trick is pretty hard to get down. He's probably too young to be able to do that. You can start by just telling him to blow like he's blowing bubbles, and some stuff might come out.
Yes, I think he can do it by himself, at least mostly. My son is 22 months and can blow his nose. He can blow out when I tell him to but I usually have to help him with the tissue, but sometimes he does it, although I usually have to follow up! ;) My daughter, going to be 4 in Sept., can blow her nose on her own. If she has something really stubborn, then maybe I'll help her, but she handles it almost all the time. She's been blowing her nose since about 18ish months as well.
Oh, I hate this too!. It is incredibly frustrating when they don't know how, or don't want to blow their nose. I demonstrated to my son by breathing out through my nose , and made it really loud. I still have to help him, as when he does it, he squishes his nose, so not much comes out! Other times I tell him that if he doesn't, or doesn't let me help him that he will have to go see his doctor. That helps too. Good luck, it's such a frustrating thing.
Mine learned around 3 (however they are girls-I swear my older brother still doesn't blow his nose correctly!)
I tell them to pretend they are blowing out their candles but close their mouth. I've also heard have them blow bubbles w/their nose in water (like the bath) or threw a straw to get them to practice :) Good Luck!
