Clip or File Infants Nails

Hi J.:

What parent does not dread trimming an infants nails! They are moving targets. The nurse in our pediatricians office suggested baby nail scissors and that is what we have used for 3+ years. They are great. The scissors have a curved cutting surface and they give you great control. I have a tremor in my hands and have never nipped my son with these. Good luck!!

Use baby clippers they work the best...but only do this when they are asleep. Sitting in the car seat is about the best. Take your time. Use a magnifying lens (glasses) if needed. I still only use baby clippers for myself. Great for hangnails. xo

I use the clippers but i am a nail tech so its easier for me. You can get a soft file if you feel safer with that, about 180 grit or higher. Just make sure the edges of the file are not sharp or they can cut the skin, if they are, use another file on them to grind them down a bit. Or you can get a soft block buffer and use it to take down the nails. Use what ever you are most comfortable with.

I hate the scissors. The first 3 I used the nail clippers but the last one I used the nail file. It's easy but you have to do it often. I can't stand cutting those nails wrong.It'll be easier to cut with the clippers once the baby is older.

I have never with either of my boys used the files.....I always used the clippers and was very careful. There were a couple of times that I pinched the skin when they were really little or they jerked their hand while I was clipping. The sore was very tiny and healed in about a day.

Hi - I always used a nail clipper. I just tried to be very careful. I also tried to clip my son's nails when he was sleeping or distracted so that he wouldn't move his hands so much.

J.

I used regular adult clippers. I tried the file and it took forever. I tried the baby clippers and they aren't as sharp so I wound up pressing and pushing. Regular clippers do the trick in one clip and I have never nicked his finger once.

Clip her nails when she's asleep. That's how I do it with my boy. She won't be moving around and you can do a much better job. I used only the file during the first 2 months, after that I started with the nail clipper and it has been working great. My baby is 6 months now and I clip his nails twice a week. Always duing his nap time.

I use baby nail scissors for the first few months. Then use the baby nail clipper. Never use the file, it is hard to use when the nail is still so soft.

This sounds gross but the quickest and easiest way is to bite them off. It takes literally 1 minute to do all of my daughters nails.

Go to the baby section of Walmart or Toys R Us and get a nice little baby scissors. It works best as you can control how the cut is and don't have to worry about jagged edges. I used it til my daughters were maybe ten or twelve when their nails got thicker. They even enjoyed the times we did it as it was nice having them sit on my lap while we did their nails.

Buy the scissors, they are much easier to use. I clipped my son's skin with clippers the first time I tried to cut his and really hurt him and made him bleed. I couldn't bear doing that again, so someone told me about the scissors, they are like safety scissors and you can't hurt them with them. My son is now 2 and I still use them because now he's an even bigger wiggle worm than he used to be.

I used nail scissors about once a week. The only advice I can give is not to cut her nails after a bath when her skin is wet... you're more likely to get skin with the nail and cut her. I did that once and felt awful...

I always found clippers difficult, and preferred to use a file or the nail scissors, which did not pinch the way clippers did.

Hi J.,

I have found that using nail scissors worked and still work best for us. I always had trouble clipping her skin with the clippers and I wouldn't bite them off because you can't control how much you are taking off. With the scissors you can use one hand to pull back the skin away from the nail and cut with the other hand. I was never able to cut my daughters while she was asleep, she would always wake up. Good luck!

Try clipping when your daughter is asleep or distracted. Using clippers is fine. I used them with both of my children. It is important to keep them short and cut straight across to prevent in grown nails. If your baby is asleep in your arms it will be much easier to whip out the clippers and go to town. She won't even feel it. Good Luck.

Maybe my family has bad genes or something, but I have four kids, and I have never once clipped, filed or bitten any nails off. I don't know what happens to the nails, but I'm thinking that maybe if you don't clip them they just don't grow as much? I mean if my kids had nails that looked like acrylics I would of course cut them, but they have never gotten anywhere near that point and I have never done anything with them. I will clip off hang nails, but that's the extent of it. So my point is, if you are just making it a weekly ritual because you think you are supposed to, maybe you just don't need to do it at all. If you are doing it because they are ridiculously long, then this advice won't help you!

J.
After 5 infants the best way I have found is bitting their nails after a bath for the first few months then using mini clippers before a bath.
J.

In the first months, I filed them. When my son was just a couple days old, I accidentally cut him with the clippers, and it bled for like 10 minutes. He screamed the whole time. A few months later, I started using the clippers. I just do it when he is sleeping because he is very wiggly.

As a shower gift, I just received a nail clipper that has a little light on it to clip at night while the baby sleeps. its by safety first and I think was about $4.

I have had to file my sons nails for almost 2 years now. I never could get them short enough with the clippers and he was/is a big scratcher (his eyes especially) so I always file them and kind of use a downward motion at the last file on each nail so that it is smooth. Obviously you need to be very gentle and use a file that is not too rough. I never tried the glass file, but I imagine it would work well. The only file I strongly do not reccommend are any of the really cheap colored ones, (like from the dollar store) they file all the color and grit onto your nails and I cannot imagine tht that would be good for a baby. just my opinion.

I used a nail file on my twins until they were about 2 months old. Not a baby file, but rather a regular buffer file of my own. The file was larger in size (easier to handle) and a soft grit, so it did the trick! As soon as their nails started to be a bit more firm I switched to the clippers which took a little practice, but now it's second nature since I have to trim two sets of nails once a week!

We used clippers but it wasn't without incident. I still remember the ear-piercing scream my son made when we clipped a small tip of his finger, the first time we cut them. After that, it was smooth sailing! You just do THAT once! (or hopefully never!)

I use the little clippers on all 4 of my kids. Most of them sit still and enjoy it, but there's one who doesn't like it so I do hers when she's asleep. I pull back on the fingertip so that I don't catch her skin in the clippers. Sometimes I'll use an emery board just to smooth out the edges, but since their little nails are so thin, it's hard to file them down without cutting them first.

My husband pinched one of the girls fingers with a clippers a LONG time ago. He was more upset than she was and now I'm the sole nail-clipper in the house. I know it probably bothered you to pinch your daughter's finger, but she won't be traumatized by it! :)

Ya know.. At first I thought this was gross.. but then I tried it... IT was easer.. As some kids DONT like the Clipers and many have trouble with using them....
A lady told me.. She bites them off... and just has a napkin to put the nail in....
WHen her child was almost asleep.. you just one by one get them.. IT was easy... and less stuggle....
Some kids have sensory issues with Fingers and toes... So just a thought....
I never got file to work unless it was an Edge... at times Yes you do need to file!!!! cuz they get SHARP!!!!
JUST never never use a TOE nail clipper on a baby!! my sister did once and BOY OH BOY!!!!
Always use the infant.. they make a great one with a big white thing on the end.. USE that one.. easer to hold...

I always used scissors to cut their nails, because the clipper do pinch their skin. I actually have sharp surgical scissors with rounded tips that I use. Try to find something close to that.

I used a nail file for the first month or so. Be careful though, I did find that once I kind of skinned the finger with the back side of the file. I actually use the clippers I got in the Little Tummies gas drops. They are tiny and I can see his fingers better.