Whether you’re looking for some nail ideas for kids (or just big kids at heart) this list is a roundup of the best designs and there’s sure to be at least one that will put a smile on your kid’s face.
And it’s absolutely an excuse to try something fun and unique yourself. I’ve tried to cover a whole range of different styles so whether it’s something you want to do yourself with some polish or you’re looking for some inspiration for your nail tech we’ve got you covered.
I don’t want to overlap the lists but you should absolutely check out the Disney nail designs as well. Almost always an easy choice for any kid and probably some of my favorite designs.
Waaaah! So this amazingly cute nail set was done for a 6-year-old? My nails never looked that good when I was that young. A fun mix of unicorns, rainbows, clouds and they’re kept short. They’re so cute, I just had to start the list here. We have a tiger version of this a little later as well, but I just couldn’t wait. Look at the little fox nail art! Some simple (but fun) orange polish on most of the nails and a few simple lines gives this incredibly unique design of a little fox at your fingertips.Little hands!! 🥲 When they sit on the chair and do a little happy dance and a little tappity tap on the table before starting… it’s so cute! 🥰 These Among Us nails (inspired from a popular game) are so cute and are bound to be the talk of the playground. Cute little characters and are relatively simple to do. The trend is dying down a bit at the moment though.What do you get when you combine a mermaid and a lot of glitter on a nail design? This incredibly cute set. The mermaids were done with stickers and the other nails are just a few tones of polish. No need for a nail tech for this, just need her to sit still for a few minutes!This trend for Bratz nail designs was all over TikTok. For at least a week straight it’s all I saw. There’s a load of different designs and styles you could do with this if they’re a fan of the show.Of course, kids’ nail art doesn’t need to be based on a show or a game. This mix of rainbows and hearts is incredibly cute! Vibrant and simple colors and short enough nails so they won’t become a problem. So cute!Disney is a timeless and iconic choice so this kind of style could work on all sorts of ages. Red, Minnie & Micky Mouse Set with some tiny black Rhinestones added for good measure. I don’t want to do too many Disney-themed ones since we’ve already covered a lot of these in the past but this set was too cute. I’m a soft touch for fluffy cloud nail designs. I’m a full-grown adult and I still love them but (if I’m honest) they’re probably meant for kids really. I’ve linked our full list if you want to see 50+ different variations and styles you can do. Some have simple stickers you can apply others (like this example) need some steady hand and a light blue background can really set them apart!I love this playful and colorful style. Again, with this kind of style there’s so much you can do with it and I’ve covered a whole lot of Watermelon nails for the bigger kids at heart. They’re fun, playful and the watermelon style can be surprisingly easy to do.I’m in love with this set. I love vivid color French tips so that would be good enough but some of these nails have this cool horizontal Ombre style to them, fading from one color to the next. Fantastic idea.Cute! Short, colorful roses and little hearts.Alright, I know I said no more Disney but I just wanted to highlight how easily this idea could work. The Mickey and Minnie mouse stamps are easy to apply so all you need is a little polish of your kids favorite color on the other nails and you have a fantastic look that they’re going to love!A butterfly nail design like this is another easy winner for kids. There are loads of foils and stickers you can use for detailed butterflies but you don’t even need that much detail for a super cute look. This set would be fantastic enough but I love the contrasting blue and pink colorway.Here we have a fairly simple but still incredibly extra look. A pink and purple gel bottle with just a little bit of glitter to it and a few rhinestones just to really set them apart. Incredibly cute results with relative ease.I mean, it’s a Frozen-themed nail set. Even after the 150th time you’ve seen the movie, it’s still cute. You can get the character stickers and the other fingers could be white or just any kind of winter/snow style.Ooooooh look at the little tiger face! A little similar to the fox one we had earlier but some extra detail to this one. I’m a big sucker for the matte white background and I love how the tiger design is split over multiple nails like this. Too cute!A different take on how a little bit of simple polish and a few little rhinestones can create a cool and unique flowery pattern.So kids can be a relative term and while I love slightly longer gel sets like this I wouldn’t suggest them for kids that are too young. They can be a little sharp, just keep that in mind. The little love heart balloons are just cute though.Another take on the butterfly design. There’s more detail here and there are plenty of foils (or nail techs with steady hands) that can replicate this look. Against a normal nude nail background, a single bit of color like this can really make them pop.A different take on the rainbows and clouds style. This time with some polka dot design for good measure. I’ve not been a kid for a while and I’d still love these.Hard to go wrong with some pink hearts against a lighter pink background.Ooft! I’m loving the zebra print style and that one feature glitter gel nail in the middle. I don’t think I recognize the characters here but there are loads of dinosaur and unicorn nail stamps out there, in fact, you can get a specific character they enjoy and make any ordinary everyday style something great like this.These cute little pressons give me that winter vibe with the snowflake and the glitter style. I generally have a rule against nail sets that haven’t been fixed but A) I also had a rule about not too much Disney in this list and B) they’re cute little ice-creams. Who can blame me? They look good enough to eat… so maybe not one for the younger kids.And if we are breaking the rule for a sec, how about a quick break for these handpainted aquatic nails? I can’t get enough of the eyes on the little octopus.🐼 Can my new year’s resolution be I want panda nails every single day of the week? Such a minimalist style with some simple lines for something so incredibly cute!I know, I know I said not too much Disney. But can you blame me on this one? Again, relatively easy to do yourself and they just look so cute!I don’t know if this photo makes me more inspired for a new nail design or… hungry.Oh, I should have said this earlier. Sometimes (especially if this is a daily thing) a little bit of vivid color polish is all you need. Huge bonus points for the mum and daughter matching colors here.Another take on the incredibly cute cloud design.This one is interesting (and can be a timesaver). We’ve had a few combinations of clouds and rainbows but if we put that on a single nail and use some bright colors on the other fingers you save a bit of time and still get this incredibly unique style to them. Sometimes less is more.Lego Ninjago nails. Just too cute.I love a little asymmetry to my nail art. One hand of polka-dots and one hand full of swirls. Fab.You don’t need to go bright vivid colors or characters all the time either. Some lighter shades and simple patterns can give this fantastic effect.A few little golden stars foils against a light pink background.Oooh the cow nail design! I love the black and white pattern and that would be fantastic even without the cute little cow face on the thumb.Yeah, I know these haven’t been fixed but there’s just such a range of stunning detail on cartoon nails like this.If you (or your child) can’t pick a single style? Who cares. Go for a bit of everything.Another take on the panda nail design. There’s a little more artistry to this example but they’re still minimalist lines using the whitespace of just a white background to create this cute little panda face.Play dough inspired nails for kids. Such a fun and unique idea.These are cute! Some flames, some stars, some hearts and some smiley faces?! I’ve covered all of these separately but kids can get away with doing a little bit of everything.Action shot here of a kid in a nail salon getting these cute facial expression nail art.Some more press-ons created for kids. This birthday girl had cupcakes and this fantastic golden balloon on her nail design. This might be my favorite so far.Another detailed variation of the butterfly style. The colorway really works and it’s a great Springtime vibe.I need to do a full list of graffiti-style nail art like this. A great choice if your kid wants something specific and nobody knows how to do it (often the case). Just get the words out in this cool graffiti style.
I do hope this has given you some ideas for kid’s nail If you give this a go – I want to see it! Send me a photo of your finished design and we’ll feature them here.
Our inspiration photos come from user submissions and open sources and we’ll always give credit. All of the fantastic styles belong to their respective owners. If we’ve got a credit wrong or you’d rather we don’t feature you – just drop us an email.
