8 Year Old Habitual Nail Biter

i recommend "the berenstain bears and the bad habit" http://www.amazon.com/Berenstain-Bears-Habit-First-Chapte...

good luck!

Try video taping it and letting him watch it. He may decide that it doesn't look acceptable for someone of his age to do this. I hear that this works to end tantrums too.

When my son (now 31) was this age, he bit his nails too. I tried everything. I thought about his interests. He was really into "He-man" toys at that time. He had the castle and a couple of the characters, but wanted them all... really badly. I told him that if he went a whole week without biting, I'd buy him one... each week that he didn't bite. It worked. He got all the characters! And by that time, he was out of the habit. (There were a lot of characters!) After I offered him the option, he never bit his nails again! So, even thought I'm not a 'bribe your kids' person, this worked this time.

My son did the same. I challenged him to grow them until we saw "white" nail on each finger. When that occurred, we rewarded him. It actually did work. The other thing I found was keeping them well groomed, lotion, not jagged, helped because he wasn't feeling the roughness of the nails from being torn. He still bites them, but he's 16 and its not nearly as bad as it used to be when he was younger. Good Luck. L.

Hi P. - as a nail biter myself (37 years old now) my parents tried everything when I was little - bribing, etc and nothing worked. I go through phases as I have gotten older and let my nails grow out and for some unexplicable reason I'll start chewing again. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that it is a really tough habit to break as your fingers are always there and it's something that I decided to do once I got bigger. (I never have chewed my nails to bleeding or to the quick like some children). I know this isn't a lot of help other than it's a normal thing for a child to do and tough to break. Good luck...

I think replacing this habit with another is probably what you'll have to do - the suggestion about chewing sugarless gum is good. Also, maybe try taking small steps to achieve the goal. I used to bite my nails, too, so when I got to jr. high/high school and wanted to stop, I couldn't go cold turkey. I did it gradually - first I stopped biting my right pinky nail. Then my right ring finger nail, etc. til I was down to one. The rest of my nails were all so pretty, I finally gave up the last one. But a boy probably won't have that same motivation. I do find that when I'm stressed I pick at my hangnails, sort of as a regression, but I haven't bitten my nails in years. Good luck!

My parents tried just about everything. I had to stop on my own. (I wanted my own nails on my wedding day and stopped by sheer will!)

It does feel really weird when the nail grows out - the skin that would usually be under the nail is calloused. Invest in some good lotion for him. Not fruity - but nice - maybe let him pick it out.

Also - the thing that still keeps me from biting is keeping chewing gum accessable ALL THE TIME. It's an oral habit. Just make sure it's sugar free - let him pick that out too.

I also made everyone around me accountable to tell me to stop. Usually I didn't even know when I was doing it!

Hope that helps! Hang in there!
T.

I used to bite my nails all the time. My mom sent me an article that stated many psychological reasons associated with nail biting and skin picking (the two behaviors are closely related/linked). Among them: obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), depression, stress, bordeom, etc. It suggested that when the behavior begins (when you put the fingers in the mouth), ask yourself why you are doing this. This is likely harder for children to do, since they are probably unconciously doing this out of habit, and an 8YO may not be able to articulate what he is feeling. Counceling might help. I wish I could find the article! If I run across it, I will send your way. It helped me, and I do not bite my nails anymore!

I too am a habitual nail biter. I started biting my nails when I was a very young toddler. I have memories of being 3ish and biting away, when my nails were gone, I go for my cuticles, when they were sore, I'd start biting on the skin on my fingers. My parents tried almost everything.

I've always wanted to quit and when I started looking deeper into the issue, I found that it's more of an obssessive compulsive problem or a perfectionist thing. I found that there is a drug that can treat the nail biting if it's associated with OCD or being a perfectionist, but I elected that the drug could cause some other problems and the nail biting, while it looks bad, isn't so dangerous.

Even (IF) your 8 year old is a bit of a slob when it comes to cleaning his room, or always in a rush to turn in his school work to his teacher no matter how terrible or wrong the answers are, he still could be a perfectionist......it just shows up differently in everyone.....So think of it as he finds a snag, or rough edge on his nail and he wants to nibble on it to smooth it out because it drives him nuts that it's not all even and perfect.....If this is the case, maybe you can buy him a nail file so that he can file his nails at home, maybe you can even give him weekly manicures....I know it's not 'manly' but it could help.

I'm now 30ish and have never been able to quit.

P., I am 39 yrs. old now and had a serious nail biting habit also growing up. My parents used that bad tasting nail polish but after a couple of bits it did not really bother me, talked about germs and how bad my hands looked. There is no rhyme or reason it's true, I use to do it without even realizing I had my finger in my mouth. I know it sounds crazy. I did not stop until I reached Jr. High and kids start noticing my hands. To this day I still have episodes of nail biting and it does increase when I'm streesed, nervous, locate a hang nail, or cleaning my nails. I have a 5 yr old and he's a nail bitter and I understand, but I try to keep his nails trimmed before he can get to them. I stretch the truth a little and tell him that bugs and germs can enter the area after he bits. Constantly reminding him not to bite and making him aware when he's biting is I think the only way to help him break his HABIT.

Hi you could try horse raddish mixed with alum ( it's a spice that dries out the mouth & tastes bitter). My 9 year old still bites her nails and we are working on stopping her. This trick worked the best for my mom. After 3 weeks of using this daily we all stopped because our mouths were dry and the horse raddish sauce was spicy. This is an old wives trick that I have threatened to use and when I threaten her she stops for about a week. Hope this helps. :)

This is a subconcious coping method or soothing technique for many individuals. Try something that can be used to replace the habit only in a positive manner.

My four year-old is a bad nail biter, as well. I have realized it only in the last year or so, and I feel that it may stem from insecurity and us moving here away from family and friends in Wisconsin which happened about the time this started. So we are working on this, too.

I was also a nail biter growing up. My grandma would make me sit on my hands when she caught me chewing. This did help some. Partially for the obvious reason I couldn't chew if I was sitting on them, but also because I didn't realize that I was doing it, to begin with.

When I got a little older, I started carying a nail clipper, with a file, with me at all times. I found that part of the issue for me was I didn't like it when they were at a certain length because they click on items. I also don't like it when they get jagged edges or when they chip, etc. So, now that they are kept trimmed down, I find that I do not bite them except when I am really anxious about something. When I find myself on the verge, I redirect the energy.

Hope that helps you!

I wish I could help. I am 26 and my parents tried all of the things you are trying. I still bite my nails. I have tried to quit on my own, but it becomes an unconscious behavior. Your son, at times, may not even realize that he is doing it. Good luck, it is a very bad habit.

I feel for you! I have a 3yr old who does that same thing...he has had several infections from too much biting one so bad that he had to be on a really strong antibiotic for two courses. Needless to say I have talked with his Dr. and he recommended that I take him to a dentist, not so much for his teeth, but they have a device called a "bite blocker" that they can fit your child with. It makes it physically impossible for him to put his fingers in his mouth and bite down. He won't be able to use it all the time, but even if you only use it at home, eventually it will help him break the habit. The downside is they are expensive, and not all insurance ( medical or dental) cover them, but if your son has a documented history of infections caused by biteing, they will almost always cover a good part of it. We got one for our son and our insurance companies split up the coverage, since it was part dental, part medical issue. We were left paying out of pocket about 40% of the cost. WORTH EVERY PENNY! After about 4 months my son hardly bites at all and if you remind him that if he keeps chewing he will have to wear it he stops immediatly.

Best of Luck!

When we were kids, my sister had that habit too. The doctor told her she could get worms in her stomach from biting her nails (maybe he meant from the stuff under the nails). It scared her enough to quit cold turkey.

Hi P.! I'm sorry to say, but I too was a horrid nail biter. I also remember chewing my pencils in school. I'm sure there were other things to that I just don't remember. By third grade the only thing I was doing was biting my nails (till they bled, unfortunately) In Junior High (6-8) I was teased about it & tried the paint on stuff, but it didn't bother me, yeah it was gross & almost made me sick to my stomach, but I eventually acquired a tolerance for it! I think I did it alot out of nerves & boredom in the beginning & it turned into a terrible habit. I have conquered my nail biting, but it took me telling myself everytime my fingers went to my mouth that this was gross & not to do it & it didn't get completely fixed until I was probably 20. Sorry, I don't have any real advice, other than teaching him a stress / nervous coping technique - something else he can do when he catches himself biting his nails.

PS I have beautiful nails, now! People always told me I would never be able to grow nails because I bit them, but that's not true!

I have the same problem with my son, also eight. He also chews erasers off his pencils, paper in his mouth, string, you name it. He used to chew on the collar of his shirt, when playing the computer, or something that he was concentrating on. He did not seem to notice when he was doing it. This has mostly stopped thankfully, on rare occasion he still does it. It is very frustrating and I have no answer for you all I can tell you is I researched it until I was exhaustede and the most commen answer I found was that they are called "chewers" and it should fade away between 10 and 12. Not the best news I know, but with constant reminders hopefully they will stop. I stopped focusing on it after one night when my son started crying and saying he felt stupid because he didn't know why he did it and he couldn't stop. At that point I felt like a horrible mother for putting too much pressure on him and now I just say stuff about it in passing. I also praise him when I go to the pencil jar and see that most of them still have their erasers! As far as his fingernails go, I am sure the will be the last habit to break but hopefully we will.

All I can say is good luck. I'm not trying to sound smug/cynical, it's just that I tried all of those things, and more, myself - on myself - and none of them worked. It wasn't until I was 35-years old that I finally got the habit under control (don't ask me how/why, I'm truly not sure why I was able to - mostly - keep from biting my nails).

I, too, wasn't able to explain why I did it. It was just something that I did. Most of the time I would find myself biting my nails when I wasn't conciously thinking about it (reading, waiting in line, driving). The problem is that once I started biting a nail I couldn't stop because I kept trying to "smooth out this corner" or that bump. One of the things that did help me (some) was to have a nail file near by so that as soon as I did bite a nail I could smooth out the rough edges with the file instead of my teeth - at least it kept me from biting the nail so far down.

Good luck!
C.

One other method I've heard of is to put rubber bands on his wrists. That can become the thing that he fiddles with when he is bored or nervous, and if you want to, it can be used as a consequence too. Whenever you find him biting his nails, you can gently snap the rubber band. The only thing that worked for me unfortunately, was getting my braces! Good luck!

My son is 14 and has always been a "chewer" (collar of shirts, pencils, pens, and his nails). He was diagnosed with anxiety at age 8 and has been on Prozac for a few years. Although he is not on the Prozac for the chewing, it has helped with it. I do think people who chew on things are more anxiety prone than others. It is a bad habit, but it seems impossible to stop unless the person really wants to, like some of the other moms who have said they didn't stop until they were older. We can't be with our kids all the time, so it is difficult for them to stop biting their nails when we are not with them all the time to remind them. After a lot of nagging, my son now just does it when I'm not looking!

I have a seven year old foster son that does the same thing we tried everything. I will tell you if you ignore the bad behavior and go with good ones it works. we ignored his nail biting and straching and it has gone away. I will say that if you are really concerned and have tried everything you might want to talk to his doctor or seek the advice from some professional in a mental health facility. I know that with out the help of our mental health center we could have never broken this habit. he has a disorder that was causing him to bite his nails. just an idea. but I know that mental health helped us get our foster sons issue taken care of.

Hi P.,

My daughter is 8 too and had a period in where she used to bit her nails all the time, it turned out that it was that her teacher in Kindergarten didn't understand her and put her in a very nervous situation (she was 5/6 when she did it) Since her teachers are great she stopped it completely. Look for things that can bother him, either something that he doesn't understand at school, problems with other classmates... teachers... someone that he doesn't like.... difficulty reading or math? New division problems?... you never know... Ask questions and try to find out, but don't ask him what is related with the nail biting because he doesn't know the real cause, my daughter never new that her strict K teacher was the cause. We are bilingual and speak Spanish at home, her teacher didn't like that and kept pushing her to know all the vocabulary and to read as fast as the others kids did, my daughter now can speak and read both languages without any accent or mistakes, and not because of her K teacher.
Look for signs, when he does it more often, did he had a test or they explained a new subject regarding something that he doesn't like? I don't know, that was the case with my daughter.
One thing that I used to stop her from putting fingers in mouth was tea tree oil or melaleuca oil (I am a customer of Melaleuca but you can find it in other stores I guess) it tastes disgusting and is not toxic like nail polish or other things.
My aunt bit her nails all her life! She still does and she is about 70! Hope your son stops before then:)

Mariana Abadie
www.MaiaCreations.ecrater.com
www.MyKidsFirst.com

my step-son does the same. shirts, pencils, fingers, all that.when he comes here i make sure he has things to chew on that are "appropriate"- sugarless gum, crunchy things like raw green beans, carrots, trail mix, etc. also give him things for his hands pla-doh, those little stress balls. it helps a lot. hansn't "fixed" it but, has made it more tollerable. he's not eating his pecils and shirts anymore. (and i mean he was actually ingesting the shirts and pencils!good luck!

Band aids work well. Also, as strange as it sounds try teaching him some sort of needle work like cross stitch or knitting. I think I heard it takes 8 weeks to kick the habit. I am also a nail biter and have tried MANY different techniques. Things that keep my hands busy with something else is the best. One more idea is cuticle cream. I was successful when I rubbed the cream into my nails and cuticles whenever I felt like biting.

GOOD LUCK! This is such a tough habit to break!