Staying with my nieces the following invention popped into my head.
When toddlers have colds it’s miserable. Their little noses stream all day which makes breathing difficult and parents are constantly wiping or smearing snot from their face. Usually ends in screams and tears.
Toddlers can’t hold tissues or blow their own nose. The best they can do is wipe a sleeve across across their face. All this really does is make their face red.
How about special toddler tissue bands which go around their wrist. Sort of like sweat bands made from tissue. The tissue could either stick onto their clothes or hold around the wrist. It could keep their clothes a little cleaner. When the toddler wipes their nose, they would be wiping it with a soft tissue rather than their clothes. The bands could be removed or tear away to leave a fresh new one below. They could even be wet wipes to help sore noses.
Not sure if this is the solution but it’s certainly a problem worth solving.
What do you think? Please let me know below.
Tom
It is certainly a practical solution. I can see a few things that you need to think about. Will toddlers wear it? Will parents think that you’re training the children to wipe their noses on their cuffs? Is it the best solution from an environmental perspective?
My little one just loves standing there and shreading the tissues you give her. A slightly soggy wristband probably wouldn’t help, even if you could stop it falling apart when damp.
Great idea, could even have their favourite characters printed on them, not sure about wet wipes though, my 13month old hates me wiping him with a baby wipe, much prefers a soft tissue i.e kleenex balsam
I think that sounds like a great idea I have a niece who always has a cold and I’m constantly wiping her nose she usually wipes it on her sleeve but the only problem I could see her taking it off and playing with her tissue arm band or keep pulling off the tissues
Just had another thought pop into my head! If they have breathing problems and are all stuffed up, how about making some tissues to fix on which are soaked in something like the children’s olbas oil type liquid? I use that for my son (a few drops on a tissue popped under the pillow at night) and it really helps so if they’re stuffed up rather than runny snot these type could be used as an alternative? Also thinking about my earlier comment which is children’s wrists are very, very small so would the band be big enough to hold a decent sized tissue for wiping (don’t like the idea of tissues on their clothes by the way)?
Tom, a great idea, however I would have to say not practical from the sense that a toddler would end up working out how to pull one tissue off then get excited and pull next one and so on leaving tissues everywhere around the house. Also have you thought about the child possibly eating at it? Look forward to your response.
I like the basic idea, and have a three year old daughter how gets very snotty sleeves if left to her own devices!
Perhaps have a strip of tissue, with an elastic strap around either end, and of course some kind of novelty characters printed on it so they want to wear it (dinosaurs, stars etc)…need to have multiple layers so you wouldn’t have to remove it too often? Perhaps thicker like a paper towel material?
Non runner
I remember tying cotton hankerchiefs round my childrens sleeves when they were small ( hence the song “Greensleeves”!) It was quite effective, but only when they were about two plus years old. I think you could be onto something big here, Good Luck.
If you could teach a toddler to use these you could teach them to use a hankie. Tying a set on whenever a child had a cold would end up being forgotten by most parents and would spoil the look of the child’s outfit more than a few snail trails of snot which you’d expect from a small sniffly child. Especially as Any child whose parents were of the sort to care about such things would also be changing their clothes daily (and more often while they’re in nappies or in process of toilet training). I’m not sure that they’d end up being any kinder on the nose than wiping on sleeves either. Doesn’t of course mean that you couldn’t sell them successfully into retailers or even get decent sales, particularly from first time parents who’ll generally buy pretty much anything that taps into a perceived need for their darling. I know my wife and I had to resist falling into this trap ( although perhaps I’m a bit hard line here as we decided neither to use stair gates nor baby monitors).
I think this sounds like a great idea! My 2 year old had a cold on and off from Nov - Feb and it isn’t pleasant!! So instead of torturing them with the tissues I think this would be a good solution. The only problem I can see is the bands would need to be quite wide as they tend to wipe quite a way up their sleeves!!!
The idea is good to give toddlers some control but they will inevitably use the wrong part if given the choice.
Hey Tom,
Great idea but I don’t think the toddlers with keep it on their arm for long enough. They will only pull it off or realising that they can tear them off will be great fun for them and they will more than likely rip every tissue out making mess for mum and dads to clean up.
Just my thoughts
Gavin
Like the idea, snot ridden toddlers always a problem… beware of the wet wipes though, this would probably make their face sore with constant use. Perhaps a soft washable option?
brilliant idea. wish it’d been around 18yrs ago when mine were small. The wet wipes is good too. they could clean their own faces after meals that way - turn it into a game rather than a fight
It sounds like a good idea and a prototype might be worth creating!!
I think this could have potential with some development, consider making it fashionable such as the bandana bids that are around
Inventor Tom I think this is a great idea! And not only for kids, I know plenty of adults who still use their sleeves or just sniff all day because they can’t be bothered to get a tissue! Yes ok it probably wouldn’t be the height of fashion but let’s face it when we’re ill what is?! How about making it so tissues have to be replaced though because for a young child they may just see it as a kind of game and peel tissue after tissue off! Also I’m not sure how possible it would be but what about a soft towel material that could then be washed, for children’s delicate skin like you say gets so red and sore. But then again on the hygiene front tissues would be the best!
When my children use their sleeve they kind of start up at the elbow and wipe down to the wrist (disgusting I know!) To be honest its just easier to get a tissue….
I could see it working, maybe using colour change paper to make ‘pretty’ snot patterns(!?!?!) but for now i’ll stick with the mini corks for my kids.
Cheers
Mick.
I know my kids were quite happy to leave the streams coming from their noses. If they hose to wipe it away it would most often be the backs of their hands rather than sleeves. I guess a tissue wristband could work, with training. I don’t like the IDE of wet wipes though. Balsam enriched tissues maybe.
Re ‘Tissue Issue’
Rather than a band, could it not be more like a puttee for the lower arm? This could have other applications in regards to keeping a toddlers clothes clean e.g. when eating. The tricky bit seems to me in getting whatever material used, to be tough enough to be tear resistant, but soft enough for use as a tissue if it was to be a disposable item. If it was to be a washable item, I don’t think there’d be such a problem. Maybe you could have a lower arm covering which was washable to which ‘snot wiping’ material was attached.
I know a few snivelling adults who could use these…
It seems like there are a few downsides, but it may work. A wet we attached to your clothing would make your sleeve damp and your wrist cold. And what a horrid job to furtle with a snotty attachment, getting it removed, when you can just grab a tissue and put it straight in the bin… The tissue is as much to keep your hand snot-free as the toddler. Given the rate at which toddlers get every kind of substance down them, wouldn’t it be simpler to change the child’s clothing…
Maybe your niche for this would be whilst travelling… When your child is strapped out of reach in the back of the car and you want them to arrive at their party/grans/zoo in a fit state.
Who knows? They DO post-it notes in the shape of a wristwatch for attachment….
isn’t it considered bad manners to wipe your nose with your sleeve ?
Surely this would encourage bad behaviour ??
yes you could call it greensleeves !!!
I think you are on the right lines, just needs a bit more thought. Not sure about added products like Olbas oil, etc they can sting like hell on a sore nose.
Hi Tom
I like this idea a lot - I was always told off by my son’s teacher for not teaching my son how to blow his nose properly. I think these would work even better if they were in a cool fabric, so that the kids would like wearing them? You know like those bibs that are like a cute cravate? I work with a high profile stylist and I think she would like to get involved to make these a fashion accessory acceptable to kids and parents. Interested in a meeting??
CJ
The toddler might rip it. If it’s wet wipes it might dry out. Is it going to be a universal size? It might be tight for some or they might have sensitive skin so it might irritate them. If the child pulls it off does it become a choking hazard?
Children should be taught to blow/clear their nose from a very early age. This is important training to help prevent conditions like glue ear and blocked sinuses. Not taught to “cuff it”
Hi tom, I’m a nanny who has cared for several toddlers, the idea is good but the practicality of it isn’t, most toddlers would just spend the day pulling at the tissue to try and get it off and also it would encourage them to use their sleve as they would become used to having the tissue there (think pavlovs dogs and conditioning) that’s if you could get the kids to wear them
It’s a good idea. I think it’s correct to say that toddlers don’t use tissues to blow their noses, so putting something in place of a sleeve would be rather beneficial, especially since the product would reveal a new tissue when the other one is ready to be discarded. You could use tissues with character design of some sort, to encourage them to wear the bands. From an environmental perspective, there are plenty of brands creating tissues, so why should this be any different? It will certainly help a lot of parents, as well as keep germs to a minimum.
Great tool for spreading germs and bugs Tom! “Blow it and bin it” so the government tells us!
My little boy would probably start chewing on the wristband and I’m not sure he would actually wear it. Also, is it that hygienic? If I were inventing something for a parent of toddlers I would invent a fold up dustpan and brush/ handheld vacuum for mealtimes out and about as it’s a nightmare to try and scoop up food from coffee shop floors and high hairs.
Instead of tissue, you could use a soft washable fabric like fleece, I bought a “snot spot” for my boyfriend which is a similar concept, but for people doing winter sports (which will bring on a drippy nose even if you don’t have a cold) and it goes over the ski glove.
Can’t help thinking that colorful, re-usable, child-size handkerchiefs of cotton would do more for the child’s training and be better for the environment.