first it was the thumb....

[nuddle]

so my DD is a chronic thumbsucker, has been since she was 7 months old... I thought for sure eventually she would give it up. We tried the yucky stuff, but I found it didnt work... she now also bites her nails, bites the skin on her fingers, she constantly has her fingers in her mouth, wherever we are... I cringe, as I think how many germs she swallows.... then yesterday came the icing on the cake, I turned around in the car to see her with her big toe in her mouth biting her toenail....

How can I help her break this awful habit? I am sure once she is a teenager, she will want pretty nails....

[Jeclipse]

My sister used to have that problem and my parents got this special stuff from the chemist, "stop them grow" I think! but talk to ur pharmecist about it.
Its like nail polish but its non toxic and it tastes horrible.. so when they suck there fingers they wont anymore as it doesnt taste as nice

Hope that helps:)

[nuddle]

thats what we tried, it didnt stop her...

[punkbaby]

I used to dip ds fingers in lemon :) he hated it and at least i knew it was natural and safe it worked....funny part is now he loves lemons!!

[ButterflyMama]

I don't have any advice for you as sadly that was me when I was little and I still have issues with my fingers. When you find the solution let me know!

[nuddle]

I don't have any advice for you as sadly that was me when I was little and I still have issues with my fingers. When you find the solution let me know!you know thats what worries me, I have a few friends who are nail biters still into adult hood, and I really dont want her to have to battle it all her life.

[Jeclipse]

honestly it wouldn't bother me to much
she will out grow it:)

But I hope you find a cure for the nail biting if its bothering you

[EandN]

My 3 year old bites her finger nails and toes, it shocked me when she started doing it, i didnt know it was a habbit picked up so early, i used to bite my nails, now i have a germ phobia so i wont even put my fingers in my mouth lol.
The toe nail thing is just gross isnt it, im going out today to try the stop bite stuff. I hope it works for us. The proble with nail biting is most the time they don't notice they do it. I hope we all get it sorted out. How old is your daughter?
With the thumb sucking, thats another good one to try get rid off, my mum sucked her thumb for years and her parents spend allot of money have to get them fixed by a dentist.

[nuddle]

she will be 9 in Feb

[mim1]

Babies put everything in their mouths that they can, including hands, and feet. Chewing on those 'things' gives them an understanding of what different things feel like on their gums and what they taste like. I'd be worried if she wasn't doing this at her age. It is NOT a bad habit that needs breaking. If, however, at 2 she is still doing it all the time, then it's another matter altogether.

As for the germs aspect, if you are worried about foot germs, don't worry ... soon she'll just be eating dirt off the ground, and leaves and grass, etc. It's all normal and it does help build her immune system. It is not going to make her sick, quite the opposite.

Don't worry about her continuing to bite her toenails when she's a teenager ... I'm sure she'll struggle to get her feet in her mouth by then :)

[spoon]

Nuddle my step daughter had this problem too. We st her down and talked to her about how she was a big girl now and it was a bad habbit and that she had to stop. She agreed and we then just reminded her everytime we saw her put anything near her face.

It has worked because she does not do it anymore. She is 8

[EandN]

9 hmm, what about put fake finger nails on her for awhile, you can't really bite them easily, my mum did that for me, it souns odd but i didnt bite them, she maybe be ale to get over the habbit, and then bribery before she starts again. fake finger naisl might sound odd, but you ca get the little girl ons that just stick on easliy.
Bribe her with her thrumb too i reckon, 9 yeah olds nromally repsond to threats and bribery lol
goo luck though

[Chickadee]

Something like what eloranatalia said, I was thinking offering to get her nails done professionally, on the condition she doesn't bite them.

My nearly 4 year old started a nail biting habit. She loves having nail polish on her toes, so I told her I'd do her finger nails as well but only if she didn't bite or pick at them for 3 days. It worked, and I painted them a pale pale pink - barely visible. But she loved it and no longer chews them, or at least, not so much.

[nuddle]

thanks girls, great ideas, might start with the nail polish, I have some clear here with sparkles inside, she might like that... though not sure it will deter her, as she had nail polish on her toes when she put that in her mouth. but worth a try.

mim1, thanks for your advice, I should have clarified that she is almost 9 years old...