Clean Baby

Clean Teeth

*  No age is set to start brushing for a baby. Start whenever you see a teeth 😉 Start with a finger brush and then gradually move on to regular baby tooth brush.

*  Opt for favorite character moulded brushes for kids to make brushing more interesting. Duck brush in the pic is Nilaa’s fav and she fondly hold the legs of the duck daily and never said no to brushing and putting back the brush into its head is yet another bait to get back the brush!

*  Prefer baby tooth paste that is free of Fluorides.

*  Use baby drinking water in a glass for gargling as most of them would be swallowed and only some will be spit out 😉

*  I prefer adding a clove(Kraambu) to warm water(to be gargled) before half an hour(or overnight) of brushing and discard the clove before use. Needless to say the benefits offered by cloves to teeth !

*  Practice the habit of brushing twice daily.

Clean Nails

*  Weekly once or twice, cut nails just after a bath as the damp nails will be too soft & easy to cut.

*  Avoid cutting nails in the night. Choose a brightly lit area as the visibility will be more.

*  I personally prefer Scissors to cut as it will be easy to differentiate the nail from the muscles behind. I fear using nail cutters for the baby as I feel I would grab the skin/muscles too !

*  Pull the skin under the nail so that the nail is revealed for a perfect cut.

*  Nail cutting is recommended even before your baby turns 1 month of age depending upon the nail growth.

*  Please don’t apply nail polishes(& Lipsticks) to babies/kids. Children look beautiful on their own and they don’t need these harmful touch-ups!

Clean Ears & Nose

*  Buds are NOT advisable to clean ears/nose. Opt for soft cotton cloth.

*  Daily, clean the nostrils gently just after a bath. This is a very good and required habit for the kids to avoid finger-in-the-nose in public.

*  If you are using buds, hold the cleaning bud in the tip(as in the picture) as it will restrict the cleaning depth and ensures no harm.

*  Just clean the exposed parts of ears and nose with buds, holding the tip. Do not let the bud enter the ear/nose hole at any time.

*  If the baby dislikes the entry of buds, do not force as you might end up in hurting the baby. Substitute wet kerchief to clean.

*  After a bath, while pat drying the baby/kid with a towel, just let the small soft corner of the towel enter(just a shallow entry) the ear holes so that any water in the ear is absorbed by the towel.

*  Do not blow air into baby’s ears or nose as it might cause Pneumonia.

*  Never pour water or oil into ear. If any foreign body like insects/pulses entered ear or nostrils, rush to the doctor.

Clean Clothes

*  Have a separate laundry bag for the baby/kid. I bought the one in the pic in Poundland, Southampton. Yup, I started collecting baby items when I was still Mom-to-be !

*  Entertain the habit of dropping their clothes in their soil box before going for a bath. Nilaa started this habit at 1.5 years of age and thereafter if I drop her clothes unknowingly , she screams for the violation! She also has a toy box where she drop her toys before going to bed. These habits would inculcate discipline.

*  While washing too, put their clothes in a separate batch and I prefer using baby liquid detergents until 3 years.

*  Line dry the clothes in sun light as sun is a natural sanitizing and bleaching agent.

*  Always wash the new under wears for babies before wearing for the first time too, to wash away any dusts/dirts/tiny threads.

*  Do not use perfumes for babies/kids. Do not place perfumed balls in baby dresses cupboard.

*  We had an hour’s fun to make her pose(in the pic) for dropping her cloth in her laundry bag. As she drops very quickly, it was challenging for me to click 🙂