Why Is My Older Child Still Drooling or Dribbling? A Parent’s Guide Drooling is completely normal in babies and young toddlers. But what if your child is four, five or older and still regularly has saliva on their chin, damp clothes or a wet pillow? Parents may wonder: “Are they producing too much saliva?” “Could their adenoids or tonsils be causing it?” “Is this something they should have grown out of?” Persistent drooling—also called dribbling or sialorrhoea —does not have one single cause. Interestingly, the problem is often not that a child produces an excessive amount of saliva . Instead, the child may be less aware of saliva collecting at the front of the mouth, may swallow less frequently, keep their mouth open because their nose is blocked, or have difficulty coordinating the movements involved in saliva control. A child-specific NHS guide published in January 2026 explains that drooling can be influenced by open-mouth posture, concentration, tiredness, nasal blo...
Why Are My Child’s Ears Itchy, Dry or Flaky? A Parent’s Guide Children frequently touch or rub their ears. Sometimes they are tired. Sometimes wax builds up near the entrance. But if your child repeatedly scratches inside or around the ear and you notice dry, flaky or scaly skin , there may be irritation of the ear canal skin itself. Parents often ask: “Is this earwax, eczema or an ear infection?” The answer can be surprisingly difficult to tell at home. The ear canal is lined by very delicate skin. Conditions that affect skin elsewhere on the body—including eczema—can affect this area too. Moisture, scratching, cotton buds, soap or shampoo can then further damage that skin and sometimes trigger otitis externa , which means inflammation or infection of the outer ear canal. Current NHS guidance lists itching, irritation and scaly skin amongst possible ear-infection symptoms, while Guy’s and St Thomas’ describes itching and dry flaky skin as characteristic features of otiti...