Stopping a Nervous Habit?

Hi J.,
I'm a teacher and can tell you... they all do this! They not only pull at their underwear but also put hands down pants to scratch too. This can go all the way through 3rd grade so she isn't alone.
While it might be driving you crazy, the more you bring attention and 'pick at her' about it, the more she will do this behavior. Your best course of action? Model appropriate behavior and ignore what she is doing.
She will eventually stop the behavior as socially in front of her peers it will become inappropriate to herself.

I hear you on this one - my daughter (who is now 4) also did this! She did it quite a long time ago though...maybe about a year ago? It drove me crazy and I used to tell her to "stop picking" all the time to no avail. She, however, ended up causing an irritation that made her red and caused some stinging once when she went to pee (we thought it was a UTI, but it was just surface irritation). We had to get a cream to reduce the irritation. After treatment It eventually stopped - plus I began ignoring it... but lately she's doing it again. Interestingly, she just started school (she loves it) - but it's a major change in her life. I, too, wonder if it's some sorta subconscious nervous habit. Sorry I don't have any specific advice for you!! More like a common experience so you know you aren't alone.

Often girls who start wearing underwear are not wiping quite correctly and leaving some urine on their skin, or wiping back-to-front. This can irritate the skin, sometimes without visible signs. My daughter would complain that urinating would "sting". It was not a UTI (bad urine going over good skin) but good urine going over bad skin. We were told to use a peri-bottle to rinse the area after going to the bathroom or taking a bath, and patting gently while at school.

hi J.

my niece had the same problem, and it turned out it was a yeast infection. there were no visible signs from the outside, but once the doctor prescribed a cream to treat the infection, she stopped picking at her underwear within a day. the poor kid was itchy and uncomfortable and hence scratching herself! also, it appears she is prone to yeast infections, so when her mom notices the scratching behavior returning, the cream clears things up.

hope this helps!

Hi J.,
Is it possible it is the laundry detergent? IT is just much more itchy there for her? Did she pick at her bathing suit this past summer? What if you tried dresses rather than pants/shorts?

Good luck with your solutions though!
Clare Willis
Helping Families Build Supplemental Income
www.WorkAtHomeUnited.com/Arizona