How to Deal With Eczema in Toddlers

Eczema in toddlers is a serious problem faced by many parents. Doctors do not really have a good answer for why eczema affects children mostly when they are young. Research suggests that it might be linked in some way to maturation or establishing biological processes.

This often means that your child is worst affected by eczema while still a toddler. In some ways this is very fortunate, because young children are less self-conscious and they are less likely to become embarrassed by their eczema. However, it also means that you have to manage all the normal developmental processes that occur in this age group as well as managing the eczema treatment.

Temper tantrums, difficulties with sleeping and eating problems are all very common in this age group. Language and cognitive skills are all still developing and it is much harder to reason and negotiate with a 1- or 2-year-old than a 9-year-old.

Toddlers vary a lot in how they react to having moisturizers applied. It is possible for this to be a very soothing experience for a child and certainly it can feel very pleasant, like a massage. However, if the child's skin is already itchy and uncomfortable, then undressing to apply the cream and the actual contact of the cream on the skin can feel uncomfortable and actually lead to scratching as the cream is applied, or just after.

Also, like all of us, toddlers have good days and bad days – there are almost certain to be times when they are due to have their cream put on. Remember that treating eczema may involve thousands of occasions on which you have to apply moisturizer.

Even if you only do it three times a day, that is more than one thousand times over one whole year. It is not easy for anyone to keep up their motivation and their child's cooperation over all these repeated episodes.

If possible allow your toddler some choice and control over the routine. Allow them to do some patting in cream, let them choose which tape they want to have on while you do the cream. Let them choose what toys they want to bring in with them while you put the cream on.

Think about how to manage your own reaction as well as your child's reaction. If you become cross very easily, or if you become very upset when carrying out the treatment, then it may be that it is you that that has the difficulty with the treatment rather than your child.

Make a real effort to praise your child when she does something good or something you like. It is very easy to forget that all toddlers, even ones who have frequent tantrums, do manage to do something well every day and it is important for you to notice this and praise your child for this.

Otherwise it is too easy to get spoken in a negative spiral with your child, so that you spend all your time feeling cross with her, and she spends the whole day either being ignored or being told off. Noticing the positive things your child does helps to repair your relationship and helps the child to find a way out of the negative spiral.