Nail Biting - Houston, TX

Might try to put her fingers in some type of pepper juice. Yhat's what my mom did to me and it took only one time

My son bit his nails and I took him with me to get my nails done and the lady there told him how bad it was and how sick he would get and he just stopped. Not that you can't reason with her but if someone else is doing the talking then maybe she will listen.

When she bleeds or just to make her stop, don't put bandaids on the one finger, put bandaids on everysingle finger so she can't bite her nails. Leave them for about a week or so, that way she'll get the hint that this is what happens when I bite my nails and then take them off. When she starts biting her nails again, bandage each and every fingernail back up! She'll get annoyed with it sooner or later and hopefully stop, but be prepared to invest in some bandaids!

Try a little hot sauce or get a can of sardine/anchovy and dip her fingernails.

I bit my nails for the longest time, and then when I was in 8th grade or so I realized how long and beautiful my sisters nails were and I wanted my nails to be just like hers. I made myself not bite my nails for 30 days, and always kept them painted (even through a piano recital much to my teachers dislike) so that i had something to remind me to not bite my nails. I am 22 now, and have very nice healthy nails, every once in a while i go back to a nail bitting streak, and all my nails will get bit off in about a week, and then they grown back. it always seems to happen when they get to a certain length. You may never be able to completely break her of the habit, but you may be able to put a significant damper on it. Best of luck with it all

I am 36 years old and have been a nail biter for most of my life. I have tried all the topical treatments and none of them work for me. I would suggest giving your daugter a manicure every couple of weeks and using clear nail polish. If I manicure my hands, I tend not to bite my fingernails. Funny, I also used to be a hair twister when I was little. Does your daughter have a lot of energy? I was a hyper child (talked a lot, ran or cartwheeled through the house, got disciplined in school for not being able to sit still). I was not a bad kid, I just had a lot of unexpelled energy.

Hi Maragaret,
Have you tried telling her you and she could go for beauty day at the nail salon. And she could get her nails polished. Or bargain with her about just biting one nail instead of all of them. So far this has worked on my 8 year old and 6 year old.

My daughter picks her nails really short. I have no idea what to do about it. I know there is a device a dentist can put in to your childs mouth to keep them from sucking their thumb, which wouldn't work for me, but might work for you. I wish I had an answer, i just wanted you to know I understand and share your frustration!

whatever you do don't let it keep happening, you are right to be worried, i have bit my nails since that age, nothing ever worked, my smoking habit of 14 years was easier to break than that.

I was a nail biter and when I painted my fingernails I stoped biting them. I dont think you should go out and buy a manicure for her at this age save that for her teens(my opnion). Just paint her nails a color that she might want to pick out from your selection? The dried chiped up paint in the mouth is awful and thats what got me to stop. Just constantly reminde her and sooner or later she will have to stop. Try giving her gum or a hard pice of candy to suck on. Of course that wont work at school. Hopefully the painted nails will. Good luck.

Same here! My daughter has been biting her nails since around 5 years old and she's 10 now. I've tried putting vinegar or rubbing onion on her hands for an unpleasant taste/smell; also I've paid to get artificial nails! Nothing works and its very frustrating. I'm with you M. -- any suggestions anyone?

My son started biting his nails when he was 2. I don't know that "reasoning" with your daughter will ever happen. I tried everything (including bribery!) to no avail. However, several weeks ago (my son is 10 now) I looked at his hands and had to tell him to trim his nails. Somehow he managed to just stop. So there is hope.

As for her dirty hands always being in her mouth... she's a kid, and biting her nails or not, her hands will still be in her mouth. It's just what kids do (you did it, I did it, and so did every other adult out there, and we all survived okay). Unfortunately, there's not much you can do about it until she grows out of it.

I was a nail biter for a LONNNNNGGG time. And I too would bite them down so low they would bleed and throb. My parents tried to get me to stop and when I got older I would try things myself to stop but usually would only work for a little while. I would even wear glue on from the store to try and get them to grow long enough that I wouldn't bite them. What finally made me stop was getting my nails done at a salon. Granted I was 21 but I really liked the way they made them look and I found that I didn't want to mess them up. Maybe if you make trips to the salon for girls day out to get her nails done she'll want to stop. Since I started that I very rarely bite my nails. Every now and then I'll do it but I think that is because I did it for so many years before I stopped.

Gently ask her teacher if she ever notices your daughter biting her nails, to reinforce not to. She won't be able to all of the time, but it would be a good back up.

I was a nail-biter until 8th grade. What finally worked for me was the promise of a salon manicure if I had nails long enough to make it worth it. She's probably a little young for that promise, but maybe not if she really likes having her nails painted and such (like my 4-year-old, who is currently a hair twirler/thumb-sucker...I'm trying to prepare myself for what comes next!). For what it's worth, after I quit biting my nails, I started cracking my knuckles, and that's a habit I haven't been able to break. It seems that some of us just need something to do with our hands. Good luck.

I have had this problem myself on and off for years. I will tell you that I don't even realize I was doing it until they hurt so bad. What has broken me of the habit are those glue on nails from Walmart. Just the cheap ones. They say they stick on but not for me. I glue them on. I know she is only 5 yrs but after having them on and nothing to bite, I no longer bite my nails when I do not have these on. Every once in a while I will catch myself biting and then I put some fake ones on and get back on track. They have some just for kids that are their size. I even cut mine back so they are not so long and fake looking.They stay on for about 1 week for me. Might be worth a try......