I don't know why she has picked up this habit. No one else in our family does it. Sometimes she even gets bloody hangnails!
Please don't suggest hot sauce. Haha!
Look at nutrition. Behavior is directly related to nutrition.
Read "What's eating my child?" it will shed some light on many other behavioral issues.
When you figure it out can you call my parents and tell them the secret? I'm 34 and they couldn't stop me and I'd really like to have nice nails that don't involve acrylic and a trip to the nail salon.
Take her to get her nails done (once or twice a month)...NO bright nail polish for a three year old....just maintenance and clear polish. Go talk to the salon before you bring her in. Many times the advice of a professional will have a stronger effect then mom or dad saying "STOP BITING your nails, or please don't bite your nails". OR actually removing her fingers from her mouth.
In my area there are many salons that will do a manicure for 10 bucks...if you talk to the salon manager and explain the situation, they may do it for less. While you are there (if you can afford)...get one for yourself. This could become a mom/daughter ritual that will help her become more confident and enjoy her beautiful hands and nails.
If you can't afford a salon, start doing home manicures on your daughter and yourself.
As a child, I had an aunt that I absolutely adored. She had her fingers in her mouth all the time. She bit her nails on the phone, driving, in fancy restaurants. I spent a week with her and my uncle and cousins, (I had a blast, by the way!), and came back chomping on my fingernails. My mother was not at all happy about it. I'd never done it before.
She said, "Next time you are around Aunt E, I want you to take a close look at her hands and her fingernails and what she has done to them by biting them all the time. Then, I want you to decide if you want your hands to look like that".
Sure enough, next time I was around my aunt, I took a very close look. She had chewed her nails down to the point that she really didn't have any nail beds left, and they were cracked up and jacked up and quite frankly, ugly.
I never bit my nails again. I didn't love my aunt any less, but my mother was right. I didn't want my hands to look like hers. The men in my family had prettier hands.
To this day, I am known for my healthy fingernails. They grow naturally and evenly and I've had many, many health issues, but always healthy fingernails. I attribute that to my mom telling me to look closely at the consequences of a possible habit and letting me make my choice. I was a very young girl, but it made a lifelong impact on me.
No hot sauce. No yelling. No shaming. My mom gave me an example and left the choice to me.
Your daughter is only 3, so she doesn't have the concept of certain types of reasoning. But, you can show her pictures of pretty hands and help her make a connection. You can gently remind her to take her fingers out of her mouth if she is chewing and chomping to the point she's bleeding. That has to sting and not be a very happy thing she's doing to herself.
If she continues, talk to the pediatrician about it just in case is a sign of anxiety or nervousness. As young as she is, I think you should find a way of helping her break what could become a lifelong habit.
Just my opinion.
Best wishes.
My daughter started up the same thing. Not sure why. We have been able to stop it (or slow it) by getting her manicures. If her nails are painted, there are chemicals in the paint and she can't put it in her mouth. She's 4 now.
I did that as a kid, but my parents put nail biter stuff on it, so I stopped putting them in my mouth and just started peeling them.
I use this clear nail polish, called No Bite. It hardens the nails a little to make it more difficult to do it, and it tastes gross (but doesn't hurt). That's how I stopped my son. He was good for half a year, then right before school started, he started peeling them and picking them. So, now I just keep his nails short and paint them with clear coat hardener, and then top it with No Bite. (I think that's the name of it). The combination of having short nails hard to get at, and them being hard, and tasting yucky, has broken the habit again. But we also figured he was obviously a little nervous about school and we worked on building him up and how much fun school will be, all that stuff. It helped...
When I was older than that, but still a child (elementary school age) my mom cut my nails and then put them in the microscope to look at, and that helped me stop. Pretty gross and weird to think about eating, but interesting to stare at.
The other issue is that it is a nervous or stress habit. So maybe figure out what the problem is and go at it from that angle ALSO?
Gently take her fingers out of her mouth and give her something to do with her hands. Remind her often to take fingers out of mouth and then don't say anymore about it. Keep nails clean, manicured and hangnails gone. Many kids bite at the hangnails and then start it as a habit. She should stop if you just stay on it and do it without a big deal. Keep her busy when you see her biting them. It's a very bad habit to have later on in life too so you are doing good to stop it now.
I'm with Nicole; nearly 42 and still can't seem to kick the habit if I'm at home. I've become able to mostly curb it out in public.
My son also does this. We are both often washing our hands, for the obvious reasons. He's five, poor kid. Other than sending him to wash up, I'm not going to bug or shame him. From my experience, that only makes it worse.
Also, one thing that does work is cute/fancy band-aids for those hangnails. I sometimes use these when I'm aware that I'm picking at them without thinking about it. Band-aids are a very good, yucky-tasting deterrent for kids. As an adult, they're just a reminder.
