S.D. asks from Perry, IA on October 10, 2006
Help! My Son Chews on His Nails!
My son is about 3 1/2 years old and he chews on his finger nails and his toe nails. I've tried talking to him about why it's bad, time-outs and taking toys and privleges away when i catch him in the act. He keeps complaining that his toes and his fingers hurt but he can't seem to connect that result with the chewing or something. I try to keep his nails short so that he can't tear them off (which he's done before and had a cuticle get infected on a finger... antibiotic ointment and a bandaid healed it though so no trip to the doctor was needed thankfully) but he still continues to chew on them. He's a smart kid and i know that he knows it's a bad thing to do since he hides while he's doing his "chewing" but it's become a really bad habbit. I've heard about some stuff called "no bite" or something like that but i hesitate to do something as drastic as that. Plus, he's really good at washing his hadns by himself now so i think he'd probably just wash it right off after the first taste.
Anyone have any ideas for other things i can try or are we going to have to keep going as we are and hope that he outgrows this nasty habbit?
So What Happened?™
Thanks for the ideas! He chews on his toes out of boredom it seems. i caught him chewing on his toes in his room one morning last week and it appeared that he'd been up for a while. There aren't any toys in his room... he'd play rather than go to bed at night... and we still have a gate up in his doorway so there's no way for him to get out of his room to get to any of his toys in the morning. We're working on not needing to use the gate any more (having issues at bed time but we're slowly making progress) and if his gate is in when he wakes up, he's now supposed to make sure that we know he's awake. (Although the "it's morning!" at about 5/5:30am is getting a wee bit old since we don't usually get up and moving until about 7am!) I've come to suspect that the finger nail chewing is something he does without realizing it, especially when he's watching TV in the afternoons. As soon as i bring his attention to what he's doing, he usually stops. If he doesn't stop, then his TV watching is over with and we find something else for him to do. (He LOVES the PBS shows that are on in the afternoon after we get home... Curious George is his favorite of the moment!) So far the reminders have been working and i've asked his daycare to make sure they keep an eye out for the chewing there as well. As long as the reminding/redirection keep working, i won't resort to the "no bite" type of stuff. Hopefully, this is something he'll grow out of soon, as some of you have suggested. Thanks again!
Featured Answers
A.P. answers from Evansville on October 11, 2006
I would try using the "no bite" or "thum"...it's about the same. I used "thum" on my oldest boy and it worked really well. My youngest one didn't bite his nails, so I never had to try anything else.
Good luck.
More Answers
K.G. answers from South Bend on October 11, 2006
One thing you might want to check into is to see if he has ingrown toenails. I just had some removed and the doctor I saw said that they do have to remove the ingrown toenails from infants at times so I know that young children can get them.
If his toes keep hurting maybe seeing the peditrician or a podiatrist may be in order. If it's not that, then soap under the nails, vinegar, no bite - I've heard good things from all those remedies.
One bright point of this - he must be pretty limber if he can reach his toes to bite them!
Best wishes!
A.L. answers from Indianapolis on October 11, 2006
S.,
I would make time every morning to cut his nails...even when they don't need cutting. I would cut them as short as possible. Then, EVERYTIME you see his chewing or hand in mouth throughout the day, say "oh...time to cut again?" and start to pretend to cut or a snip if you can find it. Soon, maybe the habbit will change to when he sees something that makes him want to start, he can just come to you asking for a cut....then it will go away completely. As far as the toes, do the same thing...and keep socks or shoes on him as often as possible so it will not enter his mind as frequently..give it a try.
C.N. answers from Davenport on October 10, 2006
While your son may be young, he also may have been shown this act of biting his nails/toes from another person. Children seem to mimick what they are shown. Hopefully that is not the case. Although, if it isn't the case, you may just have to direct his attention (while biting his nails) to coloring, or drawing, etc. I have noticed my son does this at times too, and when I fuss over it, is when he seems to be more determined to continue to do it. Therefore, I just distract his attention elsewhere and that usually gets his mind off the biting. While distracting him, I would also remind him 'gently' that "biting nails is not appropriate".
My daughter began this at a young age but I managed to get that under control by explaining to her that if her nails are short, I will not be able to take her in for a manicure on her birthday every year (which she absolutely loves) and now she has nails longer than mine! :)
I hope this helps....
M.L. answers from Fort Wayne on October 11, 2006
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I was him 20+ years ago. I always bit my nails when I was a kid. My mom did EVERYTHING to get me to stop. She used "no bite", told me she would get me new nail polish, tried punishing me, etc. None of it worked.
Most of the time I didn't even notice I was doing it, but if I did notice it, I hid. It did not matter how short my nails were, I would still bite them. I did not like the way it felt when they became too short, but that didn't stop me from doing it anyway. (I still bite my nails if I don't watch myself.)
I was not given the "no bite" solution to try until I got much older. I would try it on him now and maybe you can curb his habbit before he gets much older. No bite is not at all harsh. It leaves an undesirable taste in your mouth that makes it easier to stop biting. You have to apply it frequently though.
A.P. answers from Evansville on October 11, 2006
I would try using the "no bite" or "thum"...it's about the same. I used "thum" on my oldest boy and it worked really well. My youngest one didn't bite his nails, so I never had to try anything else.
Good luck.
K.G. answers from Des Moines on October 11, 2006
I have never heard of the no bite but there is a finger nail polish that might come in clear. That would dry fast enough for him to wash it off. Although you don't want him to think boys wear polish. You could tell him this will help make his finger nails heal better? I would also tell him how messed up his teeth will get.
Good luck! K. in Des Moines Ia.
N.J. answers from South Bend on October 11, 2006
Hello there. My daughter is 4 years old and has been chewing her finger nails and toe nails since she was almost 2. I have tried everything from no bite to tabasco sauce (yes I know that sounds harsh but she licked the sauce right off and it didn't even bother her. Plus I didn't put too much on her.) to no avail. I have asked her pediatrician about it and he said that it is a nervous habit that she will break on her own and punishing her wouldn't do anything but make her hide to do it. I wish I could give you a magical cure but I'm still looking myself!!!
K. answers from Lexington on October 11, 2006
I used to bite my fingernails when I was little - I think I was about 7 or 8. The no-bite cured me of it. It's like a fingernail polish so it doesn't wash off. It does make eating with your hands difficult - since you taste the no-bite if you accidently get your finger in your mouth with the food!
K.
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