4 Year Old Biting Nails to Bleeding

Our son does too, and I notice he puts his hands in his mouth when he is nervous. The stuff to put on his nails doesn't work. Just curious if you or your husband are nail biters. My sister and I think it is a learned habit. Both my husband and I bite our nails, although silly as it sounds I know at what point to stop (mine don't look horrible or bleed). my husbands however look bad. I swear if he bites anymore he won't have nails. I'm curious if anyone (older) has tried hypnosis.

I am 25 and STILL bite my nails. Its a horrible habit that I hope you can break him of. There are things you can put on his nails that make them taste bad, but Im not sure that is safe for a four year old. A friend of mine suggested vanilla extract. Alone it has a very unpleasant taste, but is really harmless and inexpensive.

There are polishes and such things you can buy over the counter to put on his nails that taste bad , they are supposed to break the habit of thumbsucking and such, if you are on him about it a lot, try to let up on your response to it a bit, and see if he lets up some, sometimes if a child has a habit that is prsented as an issue too much, they can become nervous about it, and then it will tend to make the habit worse. You may want to search the internet on nail biting though, i have heard that it is a nervous habit, and even if you think he may not have anything to have anxiety about, something medical could be causing it... I have 2 children with adhd that have been biting their nails since about 5 or so, and they are teens now, and still do it. Not saying that there could be something wrong, just suggesting that you do some research because he is so young.... It never hurts to so some checking into it.

Good luck, and god bless,

R.

There is a clear polish called Stopzit and it tastes HORRIBLE. I am a nail biter and having that on your hands at a young age will sometimes stop it. I was too old once I used it and it didn't work.

My daughter, now 25, bit her nails to bleeding constantly as a child. She has continued to do it into adulthood. She has now ruined her nail beds and her fingers look pitiful. She used to constantly wear Band-Aids on her fingers so people couldn't see what she'd done to herself. I took her to counseling and that didn't help. I would buy the nail polish and creams that taste awful, and that didn't help. When she got old enough to work, she started getting acrylic nails done. The time and money it cost her to do this seemed to be somewhat of a deterrent and she quit biting for awhile. She can no longer afford it, so the nails are off and she's back to biting. I hope you can find a cure for your child, because this is a real problem.

And then...I met the nicest man about 2 1/2 years ago. He is now my fiance'. He is also a nail biter. He bites the skin around his nails just like my daughter does. From what I have noticed, both of them do it when thinking about or talking about anything which is out of their control. My fiance worries (somewhat needlessly) about finances ALL the time. He is consumed with where the money goes. His fingers are in his mouth the minute he starts thinking about this. My daughter is an actress in Hollywood. She is constantly auditioning and worrying about money also. There is so much stress associated with her line of work, and her fingers show it. She and I always say she will never work as a "hand model". If and when she lands a big movie, she will need a hand stand-in for those close-up shots.

Good luck with this. I know it's a real problem. We have tried everything to no avail. I don't mean to be so negative, but this has been my reality. Let us know what you decided to do!