3 tips to teach children how to blow their nose
26.1.2024
Translation: Eva Francis
Your little one’s full of snots and hasn’t mastered the art of blowing their nose yet? Here are three fun ways to show them how.
Walking, talking and cycling are all skills that children clearly need to be taught. But nose blowing? I never thought about this skill until I became a mother and realised it’s something kids have to practise, too. Ironically, they’re born world champions at sniffing up their snot.
But blowing their nose is a challenge. Not only for kids, but for parents, too. After all, how do you teach your child the difference between blowing, snorting and sniffing up? The answer’s learning by doing. With a few tricks, kids aged 3 to 4 can start to understand how their noses work and learn to blow their nose in a playful way.
1. Nose football
A small goal, a table and cotton wool – that’s all you need to play nose football. Form a small ball out of the cotton wool, place it on a table and you’re ready for kick-off! Blow air out of your nose to move the ball across the table and try to get it into the goal (or into a small box). To start off, hold one nostril shut to make it easier.
2. Blow the ghost
Twist a paper tissue into a little ghost and carefully stick it a few millimetres up one nostril. Hold the other nostril and blow the ghost out as far as you can. What’s really important is to make your child understand they must never put any other objects up their nose.
3. Trumpet like an elephant
Ever heard of a nose flute? It’s a relatively unknown, small and inexpensive musical instrument often used in speech therapy. You place it under your nose and against your mouth and then blow through your nose to produce a sound similar to an elephant. Hello, Dumbo! Unfortunately, we don’t sell nose flutes, but we do have lots of Dumbo products to get you in the mood.
Remember, practice makes perfect! Until then, just stay patient and keep wiping your kid’s runny nose – again and again. Your little one probably doesn’t mind having a snotty nose, but hey.
Alternatively, put up with your child sniffing up their bogies. This may be yucky, but it’s not dangerous. In fact, it may even be better than blowing their nose, as you’ll find out in this article:
Header image: Shutterstock/Sharomka
Katja Fischer
Senior Editor
Katja.Fischer@digitecgalaxus.chMom of Anna and Elsa, aperitif expert, group fitness fanatic, aspiring dancer and gossip lover. Often a multitasker and a person who wants it all, sometimes a chocolate chef and queen of the couch.