How can I help my child stop a nervous habit?

[Bbgrizzle]

My DD 9 has very recently (past 2 weeks) developed a nervous habit of sniffing loudly. She has allergies and has had a runny nose a lot, but now even though she does not have a runny nose anymore, she keeps sniffing. It's a nervous habit and people are noticing it.

What can I do to help her quit?

 

[Tiggeroo]

treat her allergies as best as possible. Could a prescription nose spray help? When I was her age I had a terrible habit of clearing my throat. Dr said nothing was wrong. As an adult I found out I had allergies causing post nasal drip. Once I got the right treatment the need to clear my throat went away.
That said, my father made me miserable about this. He was always pointing it out and criticizing it. I don't know what would help but that didn't.

 

[jtnsami]

My DD5 had done the same thing. I went so far as to take her to the doctor who referred her to a pediatric neurologist for a sleep study. Thank heavens everything turned out okay. The neurologist said it was a "tick" and that she would grow out of it. I noticed her doing it more if she was tired or nervous about something. It kind of went it phases. She did the sniffing, on to shrugging her shoulders, to shaking and stiffening up. That's when I called the doctor. DD was a preemie, so she had more of a chance for neurological problems. Thank heaven she's healthy. The only thing she does now is wiggles her nose like Samantha on "Bewitched", which is kind of cute because that's her name.

 

[luvflorida]

When my oldest was around 6/7 years old, he developed a habit of pinching his nostrils closed and pulling on his nose. He also had this thing with his socks when he was in first grade. They HAD to be pulled up to his knees and they HAD to be perfectly even. It drove my husband and me crazy, but we tried to ignore it and not point it out to our son every time he did these things. He eventually grew out of it and is now a perfectly normal 25 year old.

Our youngest has a habit of constantly running her fingers through her hair when she has it pulled back in a bun or pony tail. It's like she's always tucking the stray hairs in. Sometimes we're driving somewhere in the car and she's reading a book or listening to music and the hair thing is nonstop. There have been a few times when I've asked her to stop. Only recently has she realized herself how often she does this and she is making the effort to stop.

I'm guessing most kids go through similar phases, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[CathrynRose]

The neurologist said it was a "tick" and that she would grow out of it. I noticed her doing it more if she was tired or nervous about something.

My son did the sniffing.

I started just reminding him, every time he did it - "youre not stuffy, dont do that" and he finally became aware he was doing it.

Now the nose twitching thing - he does that too - and I agree with the above poster and her doctor. Leave it alone - it'll go away.

And it does seem to be brought on by stress. When my Mom passed away in January - he was a twitching fool. I imagine he did it while he was sleeping too, for how much he was doing it. It started slowing down, and he eventually stopped doing it like crazy - but it will come up when he stressed out.

 

[Christine]

My friend's DD did this after a nasty sinus issue that lasted for months. She ended up going to an allergist and was diagnosed with allergies. Once they were properly treated, the sniffling stopped.

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

When I was younger I had a nervous habit of licking my lips. My lips were raw, very sore and red.....but eventually I grew out of it.