Daughter Bites Her Nails and Can't Stop!

This is not a habit, it is obsessive compulsive disorder. She truly cannot help it. Medication may help.

Not that this is great advice or anything, but braces stopped me also.. LOL

I just called my Mother in law, and (she has a great "natural" remedy for eveyrthing) she said to put Aloe Vera (straight from the plant--they are inexpensive) on it. It is natural, will NOT hurt her, will stay on there (once it soaks in) through handwashing even, adn tastes HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Make sure you get it up under what little nails she has, and around cuticles good too.

BEST OF LUCK!

Maybe if they are cut super-short, then there won't be enough there to get a tooth on. Maybe try trimming them as close to the quick as you safely can once or twice a week. (After a bath, when they are softest.)

If she can work a pair of nail trimmers herself, give her one of her own that she can keep with her. (Make sure her school won't consider this a "weapon" - I recall one little girl getting in trouble because the small metal file on it was considered a knife.) I guess no one would have a problem if she carried an emery board, and they make such cool-looking fancy ones these days!

Since she wants to stop herself, I think you're 90% there.

Make sure any of those foul-tasting alternative won't hurt her eyes. Not sure if I'd be comfortable with whatever chemicals they put in the polishes. I like the idea of using aloe - it DOES taste horrible, but it may wash off too easily.

The pretty, painted nails might be an incentive, but it may just give her something else to chew off. I did that as a kid.

I don't know of any real remedy, but I just wanted to say that I bite my nails or nibble the skin off my lips without realizing I'm doing it any time that I am nervous or tense. I never do it any other time, and I don't even notice how tense I am until I suddenly realize that I've bitten one of my nails down to the quick. I even do this during intense movies. I did it last week when my hubby and I watched Transformers! Anyway, could she be doing it because she is tense, and if so, can something be done to help? Some children find school very intimidating, especially if there are other children being unkind. I had problems with being tense in school merely because I was bored. My mom always taught us very well before Kindergarten, so I had already learned everything they were teaching us. Don't know if this is the case for your daughter, but it might be worth looking into!

This is sad but true the only want I stop bitting my nails. Was to get a set of diamond dust nails put on and I love them. I works of me. Oh I'm now in my forties. I know sad but true.

Get "No Bite" - it's this nasty nail polish you put on your fingers that tastes awful - it worked for me! :o)

I just used a product with my daughter who sucked her fingers. It is called Mavala STOP and can be ordered online. It is marketed first for nail biting then thumb sucking. It worked in one day for my daughter because it tastes yucky. It is not hot or bad for your child. I am a dental hygienist and we recommend this product. Hope this helps.
J.

also check to make certain her mineral levels are ok--sometimes pica can cause the urge to chew...

another thing to be mindful of...parasites. I know, gross. However, it happens...often! And parasites (ie, pinworms) can cause the chewing also..

Just a few ideas that are "out of the box."

Peace~ Jenn

S.,

My daughter also bites her nails. She is now 10 years old and we have tried everything but hypnosis! She would even bite the yucky tasteing nail stuff off. The only thing that works with us is nail polish. She loves pink and pretty so we bought a few colors and I even got a kid for kids that is more like paint and peels off so it's safe. Also, you can paint the thumb nail with a pretty flower or something else. It's a kit you can buy at Michaels and other stores have them...they are like craft kids. Get the kind of nail polish that does not contain Formaldahyde and Toulene (spelling may not be correct on last name). I was also a nail biter but also bit my nails in front of her when she was little, it's not hereditary but learned. Also, one of my twins used to bite his nails when he was a little one but now at age 7 has stopped. You have to maintain their nails and push back cuticles after baths when they are soft. Also taking her on a special occasion and having her fingernails and toenails done at a salon will make her feel proud and want to grown them. Don't keep telling her not to bite, our doctor told us the more we nag the worse it will get and they will hide to do it. I fretted with this for years and finally she has tapered off and we keep her nails groomed with cute soft nail files and buffers and keep nail polish on all week but take it off on the weekend.

Good Luck!! S. :)

Hey S.,
My son had a nail biting problem when he was really little. Like when he was two. Of course you know how "easy" it is to get through to them at that age. I don't remember where I read it or heard about it but "they" say that in most cases, nail biting is a cause of some distress in the individuals life. Unfortunately it can be anything. It took a long time but it took me sitting down and talking to my son and finally figuring out that it had something to do with upsetting me and my husband. He was one of those children that wanted to make mommy and daddy proud and would get very upset if we got onto him about something. With him, it just took allot of reassuring and explaining how bad it was to do the nail biting. If it's not about your daughter getting nervous at school about something... like reading out loud or something she's wearing gets the kids picking on her, etc. Then I suggest maybe taking her out to get her nails done professionally. No, not the fake nails but get a manicure and a very light colored nail polish. Oh, just in case you're saying well the school thing doesn't explain why she does it at home, well she's probably seeing something that is triggering what it is that makes her bite her nails. You might want to pay attention to what it is. You can also get her something else she can hold all the time... I use to have a little smooth rock that had a surface on it that I would stoke with my thumb whenever I was frustrated. I've also heard another parent on mamasource say that their daughter had a thumb sucking problem at age 10 and they put bandaid on the tip of the thumb so that when she would go to suck her thumb she would feel the bandaid and stop herself from doing it. Of course I wouldn't recommend sending her to school with them on but maybe trying it out at home. I'm sorry if my comments have you worried...

My mother put the stuff on my fingers that made them bitter, but I tried that with my daughter and it didn't work (although I really wasn't that faithful about doing it). She is now 21 and still does it. Her pediatrician said that she got herself to stop by carrying a fingernail file around and filing her nails whenever she wanted to bite. Tell her there are all kinds of dirt and little worms under there and see if that helps. I didn't work on it too hard because I thought there were much worse things she could do so I just decided to ignore it. Like I said, she still does it. So i'm no help. I tried promising manicures and that would stop her for awhile but not for long.

hey S.,
my friend had a prob. w/her nails, too - she decided that she owed it to her 8 y/o daughter to let her see now nice mommy's hands can look, so every time she wants to bite, pick or whatever, she takes a deep breath, and gets cuticle cream to rub on them - i saw her the other day, and she had painted her own nails and they looked great!

maybe rewarding her w/polish of her choice when she refrains from biting ? or give her an m & m or a small treat to keep her mouth occupied. my niece used to pluck out her eyelashes, and my sis in law bought her a kooshie ball with all those soft floppy tentacles, and she would pull on those instead of her eyelashes.

or - i know this sounds awful, but putting bitters on her fingers, so they have no appeal >.< whatsoever. i think you can get it at a bottle shop or something.

anyway, hope this helps !
take care -
A.

There is a product called Mavala Stop that my daughter's dentist recommended to me. It goes on like a polish and has an awful taste. You can order it on-line and they recommend that you taste it first before using it on your child. Hope this helps. It is helping my daughter with her nail biting.

I'm 45 and quit biting my nails about 4 years ago....I used that horrible tasting stuff you use like nail polish...I don't remember what it was called, but I got it from Walgreens....I used it for about a month. Honest to God, I don't bite my nails anymore...I really wish I would have tried it much much sooner, it really worked for me and I had the habit a lot longer than your daughter.