Stop Nail Bitting

C.,

You can try tobasco sauce. However, nail biting is a sign of stress. You may try to find out what he is stressed about and work on that.

L. :)

I had the same problem with my son at the same age. What I realized was that was his way of dealing with stress. It is hard to sallow to imagine your child stressed, but that could be the reason. My husband and I were going through a rough patch and that is how my son dealt with it. My son has sinced stopped biting his nails and coincidentally, all is well in our family. Best of luck to you.

Tabasco Sauce, I have never tried it, but my friend said it worked on her daughter.

try something that is spicy or very bitter just something yucky I have heard tabasco but with a 3 year old that might not work as he might touch his face, so I would say go with the very sour something

I don't know if this is *good* advice--in fact, it seems pretty mean, but I've heard of parents putting Tabasco on the kid's fingernails.

Also, why is it so important that he *not* bite his nails? It's not the worst stress response... maybe you should look into what is difficult for him instead of bothering about his hands.

My daughter did ever since she could bring her fingers to her mouth! For the first nearly 3 years of her life, I never once cut her nails. I told her several times that biting your nails is icky. I just kind of let it go and she quit on her own. One day, I notice her nails were long and I needed to cut them! Wow, I said! :-) I was told it was just a nervous habit and that they'd get over it and sure enough she did. NOW - she picks her nose. Ewww. I sure hope that passes too - then what? Don't know if this post will be ANY help, but you're not alone anyway.

I would love to know also because I have a 2 year old (almost 3) who's been biting her nails and I don't think I've cut them for the past year. Wasn't sure if she would outgrow it or not.

My daughter was a nail biter, and she stopped with positive reinforcement and an incentive. Her bribe wouldn't work for a boy. I told her I would paint her finger nails after I needed to clip all her nails. Then when I saw a nail was growing I complimented her and told her how proud I was that she had stopped chewing that nail. It seemed like she quit one finger at a time. After about a month she didn't chew her nails at all. I still tell her every time I clip her nails that she should be proud that she quit a bad habit, because it's something difficult to do.

I think it is also important to identify why the chewing is happening. Is there something making your son nervous? You need to address the problem before trying to change the habit that developed as a result. My daughter started chewing her nails while my dad was seriously ill. I didn't call any attention to the chewing until we had passed through that trauma and then I addressed the habit. I also explained to her why I wanted her not to chew her nails. I didn't want to control her I just didn't want her getting dirt and germs in her mouth from under her nails. One more thing...I didn't nag her, because then I knew we'd be in a power struggle that I would lose.

OK, this will sound strange, but just hear me out. My son is an intense little guy who needs to keep his hands busy. He started biting his nails at 2 and then for a while started pulling out his hair (GROSS, I know!). So I immediately started to look into ways to stop the behavior. The best advise I found was this:

Tell your child that there is one spot in the house that they can bite their nails (or whatever behavior is troubling)...and obviously don't make it a comfortable spot...pick the basement or bathroom or something. And then when you see your child biting their nails, you say, "It's okay to do that in the basement, but not here. You'll have to go downstairs if you want to bite your nails."

It's hard to give them permission for something like that, but just keep to it. Because after only a few times, it will stop. But they will feel in control, which is key. At least it worked for us very quickly!

It's so hard to watch your child hurt themselves...even in a small way! I wish you the best!

Take it from a life-long nail biter: kids bite their nails to spite their parents, and then it becomes such a hard habit to break that they feel ashamed of themselves their entire lives. The more you focus on it, and shame him for it (Thumb stuff? They put that on my thumb when I was a toddler in 1961...) the worse it will get.

Both of my girls bit their nails. I didn't give it any energy and they both have quit. Eventually, the need to have nice-looking hands trumped the need to bite nails.

Hundreds of studies have been done on nail biting, all pointing to the fact that the habit is about tactile needs and worry/stress. Look up these studies and start to relax. Your focusing on it is impacting him negatively AND you.

Take care ~ we only have one chance to have children in our lives... why spend that time focusing on something so small a nails when the big things lie within the heart and soul.

My daughter used to do that at that age. I just told her how gross it was and showed her all of the dirt under her brother's fingernails, since she didn't have any. I told her that her nails would be that dirty too but she had eaten it all, yuk. I also told her that she can get really sick from the germs and end up in the hospital with needles and everything, because it's true. My Grandma almost died from ecoli because of biting her nails.
She never did it again.
Hope this helps,
J.
Mom to 4 and soon one more through another adoption.

HI C.,

I am a mother of a 4 year old boy. Though I am not an expert on parenting, nail biting may be a result of insecurity the child could be experiencing. I suggest that you discuss the problem with his Paediatrician (ie if you have not done so already !) and thereafter a child counsellor for further advise.

C., the old method was to put tobasco on their fingers, this worked, but if they rubbed their eyes it also worked there too, so caution is exercised, the hot flavor was too much, but they too can get used to this, sometimes ive heard they are lacking something in diet when they do this ? dont know if its true, could be wives tale, or you can buy him some finger nail clippers of his own, every time he bites them hand him the clippers , unfortunately by the time you hand them to him the nail is bit off, its a bad habit, and usually bad habits are hard to break, well alot of good this advice was all about nothing, hahaaha just be patient, and when hes doing it maybe just gently pull hand away , and say let mom give you some clippers and show you how she does it, ? dont know, good luck, D. s

Hi
I practice natural healing so my answers are usually based on this. You may want to try some homeopathic parasite detox drops,they say 95% of people have parasites and dont know it. kids are always in dirt and things like that,it can also come from food. It wouldnt hurt to do this,its all natural. My 4 year old used to bite his nails,also has athsma ocassionally and itching. I got the drops for him. He has parasites,I will let you know if it helps. If you research it though,this is one of the symptoms. Unless you think a 3 year old has cause to feel nervous over something? or a change in his life or yours? Also if you know some one who bites their nails,he can just be immitating what he see's.

Theres this stuff that they use for thumbsuckres that works great for nailbiters too, its called THUMB its very nasty tasting. But honestly I havent seen it on the market in a yr so they might have pulled it. Try cider vinegar too, paint it on in the am or before he really starts biting and reapply several times a day like after washing hands, eating, napping. And if those dont work try these:

Stay focused in your goal. Now, this is not as easy as it may seem, but in the way of doing it you'll also learn how to control yourself in every situation.

Use a disgusting cream on your nails. From all the ways to stop nail biting, this must be the most direct one. Now, I'm not saying you should put garbage or things like that in your fingers. There are products out there, like Control-It for example that you apply on your nail, and when you put your fingers in your mouth you'll feel a terrible taste.

Also check out the website on this link its to get more ideas on how to help your lil guy stop his nailbiting.
http://www.stopnailbiting.net/nail-biting-treatments.html

I was a nail biter until I decided that I wanted to have nice nails. Putting nasty stuff on my fingernails didn't stop it, and neither did being scolded. Bribing him might work, but I'm not so sure it's really worth worrying about.