My daughter is 3 years old and is constantly biting or picking at her fingernails to the point that I haven't had to clip them in weeks. Anyone experience this? Isn't she kind of young to start that? Any ideas how to stop it? I try just not saying anything and pulling her hands away from her mouth to distract her. By the way, my husband also does this!
get her to stop now. It will only get worse!!! I'm 45 and still bite 3 finger nails.. and just can't give up those 3. My daughter is 10 and has started biting her nails.. so I always tell her to stop. I put nail polish on her nails.. so she can pick at that. good luck
Dear K.,
Have you tried polishing her nails with pretty flower decals and maybe she won't want to bite them. I am not sure how much she will be into it, but I used to do this with my daughter and remind her not to bite her pretty nails. Some moms are against nail polish so I am not sure where you stand, but I was a hairdresser for many years so it kind of came with the territory. I am sure it is just a habit(like hair twirling) that if you just continue what you are doing she will eventually stop. Good luck!!
Say to her nice a calmly, "We don't do that honey, if you like I will trim your nails for you." And try to make your husband aware that she is picking up on it.
I just went thru this wuth my daughter last summer, who is a bit older though (7)Her father also does it!! ughh
She is a girly girl so I told her she could not paint her nails until she stoped b/c I didnt want her to eat the polish. After about three months she stopped.With a little reminder help from me of course... I say find something your daughter loves and use that as your weapon of reward for her stopping the nail biting/picking. You should try to have dad not do it in front of her too. That was the biggest hurdle for me. Good luck!
Both of my girls do this, of course they see my husband pick at his and mine go in my mouth at times from an old habit but I dont bite them. I have tried several times in many idfferent ways to help them stop, it takes alot of time and energy, works for awhile and then starts up again. It has been an ongoing issue since they were 5 and they are now 10 and 11. For some people it's just a nrevous habit. I try to reward and also point out all the germs it spreads.
Hi K.: I had the same problem with my son who just turned 3 on the 11th of October. He was a bad nail biter.... When I was a kid, I used to bite my nails as well and when I did my mom would tell me that a fingernail tree would grow in my tummy and I would have to go to the doctor and they would have to take it out. Well, I know that we all don't agree with things that our own parents have told us but I tried the same thing except I added to it... I kept telling my son that biting his nails was yucky because he had germs under his nails that could make him sick. I then told him about the finger nail tree and that it would even start to come out of his ears and nose and the only way to get rid of it was to have an operation on his tummy. He would ask me a whole bunch of questions about it. It took a bit and his stopped. I would also go weeks without having to cut his nails and that is why I told him the story that I did. I now cut his nails once a week, and since they grow so fast, sometimes twice a week. He looks at me now and says "Mommy, I'm not biting my nails because it is yucky!" It's worth a shot. I know that all parents have different things they come up with to try and solve a problem and for me it worked as a kid and worked on my son as well.
Good Luck. My son is pretty stubborn so if it worked on him it should work on any little one. :)
L. P
My daughter is almost three and has started biting and picking at her nails and cuticles as well. This started a while ago but was occasional and then we found a house and ever since we started packing and now we are in the new house she does it daily. It could be because of the nervousness of moving to a place she doesn'tknow. My mother bites her nails all the time so it could be hereditary??? I just let my daughter know when bites that it isn't good for her little fingers. I would try telling her I would polish them but I don't like putting polish on her fingernails yet because her fingers end up in her mouth, sucking her thumb or finger.
My daughter is 4 and does the same thing! My husband does as well. I have tried everything to get her to stop,and no luck. A couple people have suggested some polish that has a nasty taste, so that if she puts her fingers in her mouth, she'll get a bad taste, but I feel really bad doing this. Don't know if its something your interested in, but I figured I'd mention it. Good Luck and Take Care
My 6 year old son bites his nails and I have found it bothers me more than it does him. He espeically does this when he watches TV or is concentrating. I give him a straw to chew on while he is watching TV now and that seems to help. I have had his doctor tell him that he needs to stop biting his nails so they don't get infected. This is his comfort zone and as long as they aren't bleeding and you make sure to wash their hands often, it is just a bad habit.
I haven't cut the nails on his hand in 3 years.
