Drooling is a fact of life if you’re a parent, but excessive drool can be a pain for both parents and their little ones. Too much drooling can cause ruined shirts and make it hard for your baby to swallow their drool without coughing or choking. Thankfully, there are a number of ways you can reduce drooling in your baby. Let’s take a closer look at the top 5 ways to reduce drooling in babies.
Use “drool” Toys:
This method will help prevent drool for a short time, though it won’t stop it completely. “Drool” toys are toys designed to be chewed on. They are especially ideal for reducing drooling that is being brought on by teething, but they can be used even if your baby is not currently teething or experiencing teething pain. Giving your baby something to chew on will stop the drool for a while, resulting in less overall drool during the day. Be sure to only pick toys designed for chewing to ensure maximum safety.
Use a Straw Cup Instead of a Sippy Cup:
This method will help stop excessive drool right in its tracks by encouraging your baby to swallow drool. If your baby is using sippy cups, replace those with a straw cup with a spill-proof design. Using a straw will help your baby increase the strength in their tongue, which will make it much easier for them to swallow drool. This will result in less overflowed drool over time.
Put Petroleum Jelly on their Chin:
This method doesn’t stop the drool, but it does stop the drool’s negative effects! This method may seem strange, but you can actually “trap” the baby drool with a smear of petroleum jelly on your baby’s chin. The petroleum jelly will soak up the drool as it flows down, so that it won’t travel down your baby’s neck and onto their clothing. It can also help prevent your baby’s skin from getting irritated by excessive or evaporated drool as an added bonus!
Limit (or eliminate) Pacifier Time:
This method reduces drooling by removing one of the causes for excessive drool. Pacifiers can be a great soother, especially in babies that tend to be fussy, but they also cause an increase in drool production; unfortunately, this means they are one of the reasons behind excessive drool in some babies. To use this method, reduce your baby’s pacifier time or eliminate it all together if possible.
Teach Them a New Habit:
This method teaches your baby to take care of their own drool. If you want your baby to take charge of their own drool, the best method is to teach them to take care of it on their own. To do this, help your baby learn to wipe their mouth when drool comes out and ‘suck’ it back into their mouth to be swallowed. It will take some repetition and may feel silly at first, but this method works—and gives your baby some newfound independence as well!