How 2 STOP nail biting pleeeeeease

[emjay]

:banghead: DS 3yo can't stop biting finger and toe nails & been driving me crazy for 6 months now.
Apart from incessantly telling him no or temporarily taking away toys etc, I've tried small amounts of pepper, chilli, nailpolish and some yukky lotion from chemist on nails as deterrant but he just happily eats it off and keeps going. Also secured gloves on his hands for small time periods, but to no avail, just bites them later on.

All finger and toe nails are right down to the quick and some are even past that as he keeps ripping into them anytime of day. I can't seen any obvious 'trigger' to this behaviour. Now he's getting cheeky and tries hiding his actions as he knows its naughty and unhealthy.

DS is a happy, intelligent, mischevious and active toddler, not a worrier, not insecure and not bored, it just seems like a very bad habit that I can't break.

ANY, ANY, ANY SUGGESTIONS TO HELP FRAZZLED MUM PLS.

[BabyJoy]

I'd like to just say that as an official member of Nail-biters Anonymous (where's the smilie that shows "ashamed") that no amount of bad-tasting stuff on fingernails is going to work. I did it as a young child because I copied my mother doing it and now I find myself biting my nails without even realising it (usually when I'm deep in thought or watching TV). You know how most people's new year's resolution is "lose weight" or "stop smoking", well for the past 20 years, mine has been "stop biting my nails". I have tried every remedy known to man to stop this habit (including hypnotherapy!) and nothing has worked, so I'm afraid I have absolutely no idea how you can stop your son. If it was your daughter, I would suggest playing dress-up and painting her nails to make them pretty, something she might not want to ruin. But since it's your son, I guess you need to get your partner involved to continually stop him when you catch him in the act. Hopefully it will be something he will grow out of.
Good luck!

[veve]

hmmm I used to be a nail biter... till my mum pointed out to me that you wipe your bottom with your hands ... and there was probably poo under those nails :laughing: mmm tasty! :laughing: have you tried that kind of fact?? worked REALLY well on me !! :laughing:

good luck (I was never a toe biter though ?? eww :D )

xx

[alicesmum]

i feel your pain babyjoy!!!! i am a nailbiter from way back too. i hope my kids don't do it, but won't worry if they do. don't know where i learned it as my parents don't do it, though my mum did as a kid. my brother does it too. :confused:

i did a uni assignment on nailbiting in my undergrad psych degree (for a subject on behaviour change) and it's interesting that both psychopaths and really intelligent people seem to be significantly represented among nailbiters. :eek: nailbiters tend to be people prone to anxiety and restlessness, though of course, anxiety manifests itself in LOTS of ways, and nailbiting is one of the least harmful ways it can express itself (think: smoking, drinking, drugs, gambling, being obsessive about cleanliness, appearance, work etc etc). If it's gotta come out somewhere, this is probably the least problematic way!! ;)

and for some people, like me and you babyjoy, nothing works in the long term (i tried everything too, and some of them worked for a while). i finally decided that since it isn't threatening my health (I am a very clean and conscientious nailbiter!!!), there are more important things in life to worry about. :p

[shed]

I am an ex-nail biter, picked up the habit from my brother and sister who both still do it.

Can't remember why I stopped but I still have a bit of a chomp every now and then.

What about positive reinforcement? Whenever you see him NOT biting his nails a quick hug and a bit of a reward. Not sure what type of reward because I don't know what the child values, but you do! Whatever is of some value to him would be a reward.

This will wear you out for a couple of days but you might break the habit and once you have done that you can reward occasionally rather than all the time.

Don't bribe him with it, just catch him in the act of not doing it and don't expect instant results, patience is the key.

If all else fails, lots of people grow up to bite their nails and are still healthy happy and productive members of society!

Good luck.

[poshBecks]

I too am a nail biter, desperately want to stop, but have no idea how.

I tried the nyucky tasting nail polish a few years back but stopped coz the taste was getting on my sandwiches. :barf:
Though it did stop me biting my nails, so I should try it again. I'd give that a go if I were you.

I hope something works for you. Otherwise by not reacting to that behaviour he might hopefully forget about it coz he's not getting a reaction IYKWIM.

Good luck :hugs:

[emjay]

Thanks for your advice everyone.:thumbsup:

I'll try the positive reinforcement a bit more and see if its productive. It could be a subconscious/anxious "thing" too as DS does bite more when watching TV (which is limited) but kids programs do seem to transfix him nonetheless.

[ozzysmum]

bit my nails from birth (when i used to suck them, apparently) until about 25 when i got acrylics put on and kept them going for a year and the nice real nails grew up underneath and now i only bite one... it's a horrible habit to break but apparently i stopped for a couple of years when my mum would rub onions over my nails (i hate onions). it's cheaper than the nailbite stuff (which i udes to shew through!) and worked for a while. good luck!

[julietv8]

I have no idea how to stop him, I bit my nails (and toenails) from very young till i was about 16. The positive side effect was that my legs are still very flexible :laughing: I can touch both feet on the top of my head (even at 98kg )

I would try the positive reinforcement, and also try to keep the edges tidy with filing, if they have a daggy bit, they will nibble that first, if it hurts to file them, that might also work as a deterrent if you explain that if he stops biting, you wont have to file them

Good luck!

[Mumma2Jack]

Im guilty to....:o
Always have been...

I agree with the others though.Its a hard one to break.I gave up smoking so many years ago ,but cant break the nail biting...:confused:

Good luck with it..Not sure how to help..Sorry..
Wish you all the best with it though..

If you find a way that works,make sure you let us know..Im alwasy up to try something new..:laughing:

[lollydove]

my 8 year old dd started this about two years ago and they are REALLY bad. i am horrified when i look at them, she bites the skin, nails everything and they now have started to get 'crater' type things in them she does it so bad. dont know how to explain it but its scary. ive tried everything as well- putting something on them, continously getting everyone that sees her to tell her to stop, putting nailpolish on and yes i have bribed her plenty of times :o

this is what we are doing now and it seems to be working (16 days with no biting, yay!):

-for each day she doesnt bite we put a star up on the fridge with whiteboard marker so she can see how well she's doing. when she reaches 100 stars she gets a reward of her choice
-told her that they are so bad now that we will have to bandage her fingers (i truly was going to do this if she continued) and the thought scared her so much because she wont be able to play her nintendo ds or go on the computer with ehr fingers bandaged, not to mention the embarrasment she said she'll feel. some people might think this is wrong but i have to do what works for her before she does permanent damage
-we've been teaching her all about nail care i.e. how to push back her cuticles each night and rub cuticle oil on them before she goes to bed. it gives her a sense of pride now that she's seeing them look beautiful and hydrated again.
-positive reinforcement. every day we do nail inspection and she gets so much praise and lots of cuddles you can see how proud she is

Being that my dd is 8 some of these things might not work for you but you could try them in your own little way :confused:

Good luck hun :hugs: