Hi mamas, hoping you can give me some advice with my oldest son's newests habit - biting his nails and skin pads on his thumbs. He is almost 4 1/2 and recently started doing both. He does not seem to have a pattern (i.e does only when nervous, new settings etc), just does all the time. I tried asking him to stop and when I point it out he does, but then goes right back to doing it soon after that. He is not so bad that he bites them far down or breaks skin, but I am afraid it will lead to that. I am not sure what to do.... any advice?
They sell a product that you can brush on his nails. It is non-toxic and tastes like lemon. This works for some children, especially if the behavior is habitual and not resulting from anxiety. Otherwise, continue to gently bring it to his attention or give him something else to chew!
One of my boys is a nail bitter too, he quit for awhile and is back at it again...I just remind, remind, remind...I also suggest that he put his hands in his pockets....I've tried to reason with him and I have told him he wil get sick if he chews on his nails(he hates to vomit and this logic seems to work with him sometimes)...although like your son he isn't really aware he's doing it...I just try to keep him busy, I'm not a big fan of tv and I've noticed that's when he tends to chew, so we just try to keep them busy with things(especially outside, less likely to chew on dirt)...sorry if I'm not much help, I tried lotion but I didn't like the idea of him sucking on it so I guess I've resorted to being a nag...better luck to you!
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All good advice with putting bitter or bad tasting stuff on his hands. Might also try some counciling to see what he is so anxious about. could be something underlying. Teaching him to cope with changes will be the best solution.
Good luck.
You should look at the anxiety as the problem, not the nail biting. Try some yoga videos, there are child centered ones and perhaps some homeopathic things, supplements, talk to him at a calm time about what he is anxious about.
Try putting lemon rind, orange rind, onion or carmax lip balm on them so when he bites on them he gets the bitter taste and it will detur him from doing it. The citrus rind is bitter, the onion is yucky and the carmax is just perfumy tasting. YUK! Give one of them a try while he is sleeping. Good luck.
My son is going through this, and according to our pediatrician...don't say a word...reminding them to stop won't work. You can buy that yucky tasting stuff, my parents used that on me when I bit my nails...only I got used to the taste.
Actually, with our 5 year old, she was a (sorry ladies) nose picker...it DROVE ME CRAZY!!! I couldnt' stop telling her to stop...but once I did, she outgrew the phase. Thank God.
I think you have to give your son the time to outgrow this stage...Our daughter bit her nails and once she turned 5, she stopped...
HTH,
J.
