That button nose definitely helps make your little one irresistible (along with those big eyes, soft cheeks, and goofy grin). But it’s more than an adorable feature. Toddler noses may be relatively small, but they play a big role in how kids develop and thrive.
A toddler nose helps little learners explore. Smelling, like tasting and touching, is your toddler’s way of learning about his surroundings — and it’s been that way since his earliest days. A newborn finds his mom’s nipple by its scent and can distinguish the smell of her milk from a stranger’s. That sense of smell grows fastest during the first six months of life and peaks in early childhood, which is why little kids have a better sense of smell (“I smell cake!”) than their parents or grandparents. But your tot’s savvy sniffer isn’t totally reliable. It can’t characterize stinky scents, which can pose a danger: Very young children usually don’t realize that poisons or expired food smell “bad.” That will change when your critter turns two. Then he’ll recognize foul-smelling odors (like the contents of his poopy diaper).
A toddler nose can tempt your tot’s taste buds. Can you imagine eating chocolate or a cheeseburger without smelling it? The senses of smell and taste are linked closely together because they’re both part of something called the chemosensory system, which is made up of special sensory cells. So your toddler is just as attracted to the smell of a just-baked cookie as you are, even before he’s ever had one. Want to amp up the interest in your veggie casserole tonight? Point out how good it smells and see if that tempts him to take a bite.
A toddler nose helps your child form memories. Take a whiff of a box of crayons. What comes up for you? Images of lying on your belly and coloring in your childhood bedroom? The brain uses lots of data to imprint memories, including that collected by the nose — one reason why your little one is soothed by the scent of your scarf during preschool drop-off. The next time you want to help him remember an event, spend some time describing the smells (Grandma’s delicious turkey or the smell of the sea air).
A toddler nose helps your sweetie stay healthy. You think of filters as drab mechanical things, but that’s exactly what that sweet little sniffer is — a filter. As he breathes in, tiny hairs in the nose remove germs, dust, and other irritants from the air; then the nasal passage warms and moistens that air to keep the lungs healthy. Stuff up that cute nose (with a cold virus, say) and clogged breathing can make him miserable. So clear his nasal passages as best you can and prop up his head (with pillows under the crib mattress or extra pillows on his bed) to make breathing (and snoozing) easier.
A toddler nose is always changing. Fully formed adult features would look a little strange on your sweetie’s small head. The nose is a feature that continues to grow right through your tot’s teenage years.
Given the many important functions of a toddler’s nose, you’ll want to make sure you know how to keep it clean, react to injuries and nosebleeds, and manage even the tiny things that — right under your nose! — manage to get stuck in there.