How to Clip Your Baby's Nails

Video Transcript

"My name is Windy St. George, and this is how to cut nails for a baby. You can get safety clippers like this that will help you cut the very paper thin nails that new born's have. Now this is kind of a nerve wracking experience for new parents when they cut their babies nails for the first time, but it's very necessary because otherwise they'll scratch their face up. The safety scissors help in not cutting the skin of your baby, but you'll probably do it at least once. You'll feel worse than the baby does, trust me. It's best to do it when they're asleep or they're breast feeding, or bottle feeding, because then they're relaxed and you can get their hands, get to their hands with out them curling them up. When they're first new born, you have to open their hands too, because they're curled. I'm going to show you on my two-year-old here. It's harder once they get older because you won't be able to sneak up on them when they're asleep. It's best to distract them with a television show they like or wait until they're very calm. So place the clipper's under the nails and push down firmly. They're safety clippers, so it won't hurt your child, you need to push them down really hard to cut through the nail. And just go along and cut them. Don't cut them too short, just so that they nail doesn't go over the finger tips so that they don't scratch themselves. You should cut straight across, make sure you get the corners, don't leave them sticking out or they'll have hang nails. You should also cut their toe nails. You won't need to cut their toe nails as often as their finger nails because they grow slower, but it's still important to make sure they don't get too long or get caught on their shoes or socks and break. And that causes a painful problem."