OT-How do I get my 3 YO to STOP biting her nails

[Love the Mouse]

My DD(3) started biting and picking at her nails several months ago. My DH is an avid nail biter and I wonder if it is possible that she picked it up from him? I tried calmly explaining why she shouldn't do it, I have yelled at her, nothing seems to help.

She says she's sorry and she won't do it again, but she goes right back to doing it. Her nails are so short and I am worried that she is going to bite them so far down that she will get an infection.

Have you had to deal with this? How do you stop it? Do they have something to put on their nails to prevent it? I am not a nail biter at all and I can't stand it. I just want to see if I can nip this in the bud before it becomes a serious problem. Please help.

 

[CEDmom]

It's not an unusual thing for a child to do. I wouldn't make too much of an issue about it. Explain to her that she could get a yucky boo-boo if she keeps doing it but try to avoid constantly nit picking about it. Also see if your DH could stop doing it when she's around.

Maybe offer up a reward like getting a manicure once her nails grow nicely.

 

[disneymomto5]

Well, as a nail biter for 20 years, nothing my parents could do to me, or say to me or put on my nails helped me quit. I could only quit when I was ready. On the flip side I know how you feel because I have a son and daughter who bite their nails. My son is 7 and quit because one got infected, had to go to the doctors, get medicine, etc, and that seemed to cure him-the doctor told him why it's a bad idea. My daughter is 4 and doesn't do it constantly but on occasion. The more you make a big deal out of it I think the worse it is- it just draws more attention to it. Just remind her to stop and hope that she does, if anyone has a better suggestion I'd love to hear it too.

 

[fofinia]

When my DD was 3 she started biting so bad that she bled and would cry because her nails were so short.

So I went and bought that polish that you put on that tastes bad. I felt awful. Mostly because she was so excited that I was painting her nails. She was acting like it was some fancy award. And then a few minutes later she went and ate a pretzel and tasted it and started crying because it tasted so bad! I started crying too! I felt like a terrible mother.

Now, she still bites and picks at her nails. But she has never bitten them so low again that they bleed. I just asked her yesterday to please try and not do that. She is 5 now. One good thing is I don't have to trim her nails hardly ever!

But you could try the polish or getting her some fancy dress up gloves and then encourage her to put them on all the time! All the research I found on nailbiting said it is a sign of anxiety a lot of times. I was pregnant when my DD started. And i was probably a wee bit grouchy!! Now she has been doing it more since school started, her first year. Just a thought to consider your situation for something. And family habits definitely rub off. My DH nibbles on his a little bit every now and then. He doesn't even realize he is doing it.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll get lots of helpful strategies!

 

[skw444]

My dd who is 5 is a nail biter too. I mentioned it to the pediatrician and he said a lot of kids do this out of nervousness and don't actually realize they are doing it. There are nail polishes that are supposed to taste bad that you can buy, however, the pedi said that unless she really is concious of doing it, it will be hard to get her to stop. He did say that a lot of times, it's a phase they are going through. When we see her, we tell her to take her fingers out of mouth, but that's as far as we go. I'm hoping she'll grow out of it on her own.

 

[LJRJR]

My son who is now 5 1/2 was a nail biter at 3 1/2. I talked to the pediatrician about how to get him to stop and he said that is should stop on its own, and that if I made a real issue of the nail biteing that he might stop that and pick up another bad habit So, I did my best to ignore his compulsion and he did stop on his own. If I just couldnt stand to watch him I may have gently gone over to him and put my hand on his and moved his hand away from his mouth, without even saying anything. But, for the most part I ignored it, and it went away, but it took months. Then about a year and a half later he started biteing the tips of his finger, his finger tips did get a few little scabs and of course it bugged me to death, but that too disappeared. Even though it is difficult just try to ignore it, even though for a little girl the manicure and nail polish idea is great.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Try painting them really pretty with her favorite color nail polish and add the sparkle stick ons and go on and on about how pretty they look. maybe even promise her a trip to have a kiddie maniqure after a week or two of no bitting. Praise not yelling will work much better.