Hello all,
I have a lovely almost 7 year old girl that will be going into 2nd grade in the fall. She has recently (last 6 weeks) started to chew her nails and now it is an obsessive habit. Her fingers hurt and she is all consumed by this activity. She said she even wanted to chew my nails??? We have lots of power struggles over the TV etc. and I don't want one more thing for her to roll her eyes at or distance herself from me. Any advice would be appreciated. Not sure this is related but she is young for her grade and is stressed about 2nd grade already. The teacher she was hoping to have, went to another grade to teach. She doesn't like to talk about it but I sometimes think this might be part of it. But likely I am over thinking it.
Once other thing- is there an easy way to search topics (by keyword) in Mamasource? I know you can scan the lists but I find this time consuming. Thanks!
I'm 35 and have been a nail biter off and on for most of my life. I tried Hypnotherapy a few years agoa nd it worked. I just need to take the time to do the self-hypnosis. If she isn't self motivated, I don't know what would help. Teach her how to file off rough edges, that is what has helped me too. My mom bought some bad tasting stuff to paint on the fingers which helped as I didn't mind eating regular polish. Good luck.
Hi, K..
I am a nail bitter, and I am almost 30 years old. I notice that I am worse when I am under a lot of stress. It is a nervous habit and a way to expend energy and frustrations. I have tried for years to stop. I cant give you any suggestions that have worked for me. I one time tried fake nails before a wedding near my in laws and by the time we got there I had chewed those off too. As far as habits, nail biting isnt that bad. I know you may not want to hear it, but it may be better to let it go. I learned not to bite down to the quick, and it is my own responsibility when I do. Dont baby her when she bites down that far...she has to live with the concequences. You can try what my mom did...give an incentive to not bite. For me it was that I couldnt get my ears pierced until I could take good care of my nails. It is a good idea in theory, but I was fourteen and still nail biting when she finally gave in. Maybe it will work for your daughter. Good luck!
Hi K.,
My husband is a hypnotherapist and he deals with nail biting a great deal. He will hypnotize anyone above the age of 3. It is a great option and is very successful. If you are interested, call ###-###-#### and ask for James.
Thanks,
J.
the hypnotherapy thing sounds great to me. you might help lower her stress with lots of massage and physical touch. yoga might help her focus on her whole body rather than fixating on her nails. just a thought though, I haven't tested these out.
I can't help u with the search thing but I was a nail biter and so was my mother. She helped me get a job in a kitchen when I was old enough to work and that cured me. Yes I bit my nails that long. Now people ask how I get them so long. Since she is only 7 get her to help u in the kitchen and help her notice the gross stuff that she touches and that she will put it in her mouth if she bites her nails. Good Luck even my mother was call chain saw masacre.
I myself was a MAJOR nail biter as a child. I bit them down to the nubs, and it was constant.
Everything was tried on me- the bitter stuff, the hot stuff, etc.
The only thing that won out and WORKED to make me stop, was when I was 14 and wanted SO BADLY to get my ears pierced.. my dad said he would let me get them pierced if I let my nails grow out. I did!
The only thing that keeps me now from not obsessing over every little uneven spot or messing with my cuticles, etc is to go every few weeks and have my nails done by a professional. You can't "chew" acrylic nails either. Plus the polish they put on is cured with that UVA light and stays on so they look nice for a long time.
Hope that helps!
K. - I was and still am a nail biter, especially when stressed. Your daughter's nails are something she has control over, when it sounds like she is worried about other areas over which she has no control. I'm not so sure about the hypnotherapy option. My suggestion is to take some time with her and share some of your stressful situations to help her understand that being worried about something is absolutely normal. Your sharing may also bring the two of you closer and allow her to open up more about exactly what is stressing her about 2nd grade. (I don't think that you are over-thinking this aspect at all.) Above all, let her know that you care deeply about how she is feeling and how the nail-biting is hurting her fingers and you want to help her.
The nail painting idea sounds like another great opportunity to help her and have some bonding time for the two of you. You could do it yourself, or, as a special treat, go to a nail salon. They can do all kinds of cute things on her nails.
Sympathy, I think, is the best way to approach this situation with your daughter. Making it a power struggle only ends in both of you losing, with her more stressed and you stressed as well.
I wish you well in helping your daughter overcome this situation!
I was a nail biter for most of my life. It gets to the point where you're not even thinking about it and you're doing it. To be honest, nothing my mother did worked to get me to stop. It was when I got older and more aware of how my fingers looked that helped me. I still bite my nails occassionally, but I don't bite them to the quick. I grow my nails and when it's time to trim them, I bite them a little bit and then file them to make sure they look nice.
I was a nail biter, and still will sometimes catch myself when I am stressed or bored. Unfortunately it was my own decision ( mainly because my fingers hurt and bled a lot) What helped me was that my sister painted my nails. I liked keeping them pretty, but more so, I hated the taste of nail polish. So maybe have her pick out her own special color and spend an afternoon making both your nails pretty. Plus keeping any jagged edges filed might help ( all it takes is a jagged edge to tempt me ) They also make a nail polish with something in it to discourage nail biters and thumb suckers. I haven't tried it yet for my daughter ( she is a thumb sucker which was my gateway drug to nail biting) but you can get it at Walmart behind the counter. Also I dont know if your daughter is ready, but I remember when I got older my mom would let me chew gum and that helped a lot. If your little girl is like my daughter, the thumb sucker, it will become a power play so try not to force the issue, if it is stress related it could make it worse too. Good luck with your daughter.
I was a horrible nail biter as a child. Then one day I saw someone else doing it and was totally repulsed. I never did it again. Maybe if you talk about how dirty mails are she might stop. Maybe if you take her to get manicures, she might find that incentive to stop.
Regarding the search functionality, I asked them about it a year ago and the response was "that's not an option right now". There was nothing mentioned about it being in the process. I think this site would be much more useful if busy moms didn't have to browse through every topic.
My daughter also had this problem at this age. She also began picking her lip. For some reason this seems to be a stressful age for them! For some reason it helped her to have me repeatedly read the Bernstein Bears Bad Habit book - about Sister biting her nails. I jut substituted lip picking with the other habit.....Then again she is 15 now and those books were popular way back then but your little girl would not even know who they are! Good Luck!
