my 20 month old bites her nails at bedtime. Either me or my husband cuddles with her for a few minutes before we put her to bed each night, and she bites her nails the entire time. This is the only time she does it, and it seems strange to me. Has anyone else experienced this with their children, and are there any suggestions for getting her to stop before it becomes a permanent habit?
Dear K.,
Believe it or not, it is pretty common for kids around 2 to start biting their nails. I have three children, ages 6, 4 and 2 and ALL of them bit their nails as a toddler. I thought my oldest would never stop, but eventually he did. I think you should just let her know not to bite them and then just wait it out. At least that is what my pediatrician told us to do. Good luck.
Nail biting is a sign of anxiety. If she only bites her nails at bed time, talk to her and ask her why (if she is old enough to talk). She may be suffering from separation anxiety or perhaps is afraid of the dark? Does she have bad dreams or talk in her sleep? If any of this is a concern mention it to your doctor.
Otherwise, tell her about biting being hurtful, and that she shouldn't bite anything, especially not herself. Kiss her fingers or treat them like any other "boo-boo" after she bites them. If she is just tired and notices her nails being long or something, then make nail clipping and grooming part of her night time bed routine. Cuddle with her on your lap and cut her nails and file them and use lotion on her hands then put her to bed. Lotion usually also tastes bad but its not toxic so that may discourage her from chewing.
Sounds like she is self=comforting. Probably find a substitute for it, and that will be trial and error I think.
K.,
This was also an issue with my daughter. I tried the "don't make a big deal of it, it will go away" advice and it only got worse. I tried reasoning with her at the age of 3-4, but by then it was such a habit she couldn't stop even when she wanted to. When she started biting to the point that she would cry about her fingers hurting, I knew I had to do something.
The stuff you paint on their fingers is called "Bite It" and it can be found at pharmacies, Walgreens and Walmarts. It isn't perfect - some kids actually like the smell and taste of the stuff. But it smells something awful and works well for my daughter.
Best of luck,
S.
It has been a very long time since my children were 20 months old but maybe give her a sippee cup of milk or juice to try to distract her from the nail biting. Does she seem scared of the dark, is there a night light in her room? Maybe that would help too. I was a nail biter and remember that I bit them if I was nervous. I will keep you in my prayers as well, prayer always helps. Please tell your husband how much we appreciate his service to our country.
My 3 year old is doing this, she is chewing them down to the quicks and she does it non stop. I have looked all over the place for the Nail biting stuff by Sally Henson, going to the pharmacy today to see if I can find it there. That is really the only thing I can suggest, I know I broke a friends child from sucking her fingers (she was 3) with it one weekend when I kept her.
Perhaps she knows the tension of your husband joining army? She's got something on her little mind. Does she go to Day care have you checked out her daily routine there? God forbid nothing horriffic is happening. Do play theropy with her and see if she can shed alittle light. I don't know how well she talks at 20 months but try to communicate on her level.
Mean while there is this stuff called thumbz suck. paint it on her nails and it tastes nasty. I have to do this with my 7 yr old. which is alittle older but it slows her down.
GOod luck I pray it is just a habbit she picked up and not nerves.
Jan
ok my 4 year old had the same problem to fix it paint her nails tell her if she bites the nail polish off you wont paint them anymore i swear it works just make sure it is a polish that has a little glitter in it and if she does bite it the taste of the nail polish will make her stop also
They have some stuff you can paint on the nails, it has probably allready become a habbit, went thru the same thing with my daughter and she still bites them and plugs at her eyelashes, she will be with out eyelashes and nail less I guess.
