Teach Your Child to Blow Their Nose (Easy)

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Teach your child to blow their nose the easy way. Your toddler can quickly, easily, and enjoyably learn to blow his nose with little effort. Teaching your child to blow his nose can seem tricky, but it doesn’t have to be. Let’s break it down to practical steps. Follow these steps and try these tricks to get your child blowing her nose in no(se) time.

Teach the Concept of Blowing

Before understanding how to blow her nose your child needs to understand the concept of blowing. Here are a few ways to teach the concept of blowing:

• blow an object across the dinner table (feather, leaves, a tissue)
• look for dandelions in a field and blow them away
• light a candle and have your child try to blow it out
• get some bubbles and teach them to blow the bubbles

Once your child knows how to blow with her mouth you can explain how you can also blow with your nose.

Isolate the Nose

Show your child that he can close his mouth and blow air out of his nose. You can do this first and let your child listen and feel the air come out. Now have your child try to do it. If your child is able to blow air out of his nose it is a great sign he is ready to practice blowing his nose.

Practice Nose Blowing

Set the Example

While you may blow your nose everyday or every other day you might not even notice. During this season of teaching your child to nose blow, bring attention to when you clear your nose. Call your child over and let him see you blowing your nose.

Try you best to explain what you are doing:

“First I am going to put this tissue over my nose so I don’t get boogers everywhere. Next I am going to push one nostril down and blow. Then I will switch. After I am done I am going to throw this tissue away because it is yucky. Finally I will wash my hands just to make sure no boogers or spit got on them.”

Once you are done ask him if he wants to try.

It is easy to forget to explain the reasoning behind each step, but it is important for children to know exactly why we use a tissue and why we wash our hands. It helps for them to have a reasoning for each step so try to explain the purpose of each one.

Let Your Child Try to Blow Her Nose

1. Grab a tissue or hanker-chief to blow your child’s nose into.
2. Explain how you want your child to blow her nose like you practiced.
3. Allow you child to blow air through both nostrils.
4. Explain how you will now push down one nostril to help get more air through.
5. Instruct child to blow.
6. Switch nostrils.
7. Throw the tissue away.
8. Wash hands.

Helpful Tips for Successful Nose Blowing

• Pick up a few library books on the topic of hygiene
  • Rose Doesn’t Want to Blow Her Nose, My First Book of Personal Hygiene: Healthy Habits for Kids, Connoisseur Kids
  • More Books on Personal Hygiene for kids here.
• Plan to teach your child while he is healthy
• Utilize bath time as a place to practice so you can wash right up if it becomes messy
• Make it fun, race to the tissue box or see who can wash their hands the best.
• Don’t stress.

Questions You May Have:

What Age Can I Teach My Child to Blow His Nose?

Most children are capable of blowing their own nose around age two or three. This will vary depending on your child’s ability to communicate, tolerance for touching their face, and desire to learn. If your child is a having a hard time getting the concept, don’t worry, it will come with time.

When Should I Teach My Child to Blow Her Nose?

The best time to teach your child to blow her nose is when she is healthy. If your child is already having a hard time breathing the last thing you want to be doing is trying to learn a new skill. Try to practice while your child is healthy and capable of understanding the concept of blowing.

When Should I Start Being Concerned That My Child Can’t Blow His Nose?

Talk with your child’s doctor about developmental milestones. But, as long as you have a system for tackling congestion in your little one. Don’t stress it!

Be sure to leave a comment if you have any helpful advice for other mamas.

If you thought this post was helpful be sure to checkout my other posts about parenting here.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.