Nail Biting - La Junta,CO

This is a tough habit to break! I was a nail-biter and wasn't able to break the habit until I was 22! I tried everything: yucky tasting nail polish, gloves, a reminder bracelet, a rubber band on my wrist that people would flick when they caught me biting, prayers...you name it! I found that I bit more often when doing mindless/uninvolved things...i.e. watching tv, reading etc. I tried to always keep something in my hands to play with so I didn't put them in my mouth. For me, gentle reminders worked much better than any punishments or bribes. Have patience! Keep trying things until something works.

K., I am so glad you came looking for other opinions. Have you considered that something may be going on in her life that is upsetting her? Habits like this are a result of stress (children are just like adults in that regard). It could be as simple as something at home or a playmate or another change. Gently try to talk to her and she will open up up about things that are bothering her and maybe you can problem solve with her. Punishment will only make it worse. My darling niece was enduring her parents bitter divorce when she was under 2, and she would constantly twirl her hair on the right side of her head. It got to the point that she had very thin hair on that side of her head, but she couldn't stop--she was coping as best could. Once things finally calmed down, her hair started to grow back. Take a minute to reflect and then be gentle with your child--you'll be able to help her. Take care!

If you can't get the boys to do the nailpolish thing, try bitter apple. It is usually in the pet aisle of your store and is used to help dogs not chew things up. You could have them dip their hands in every time you see them bite (or they have bitten). If they forget and put their hands in their mouth, they'll remember pretty quick - The stuff lingers on your hands (although they could wash it off if they were really determined biters) and tastes terrible!!!! Probably the same stuff that's in the nailpolish! I know the problem, I've even caught my kids biting their toe nails!!! If that isn't the worst, I don't know what is! YUCK

I recommend a product called "Stop" by Mavala. It's a polish type product from Switzerland - got it online through Folica.com I think. Terrible, terrible taste and it doesn't wash off. Worked on my son - also worked to get him to stop sucking his thumb. Worked better than anything I found in the local drug stores.
Good luck.

There is a Barenstain (sp?) Bears book called The Nasty Habit that is about sister bear biting her nails due to "stress" in school. I don't like the stress/coping part of it because my little girl isn't yet in school and bites her nails because I did when she was an infant (I was scared that the clippers would cut her) and suggests that school IS a stressful place, but it does have a suggestion re: a reward system to encourage breaking the habit. It hasn't worked with my little girl yet, but we just don't make a super huge deal about it, and hope that peer pressure or vanity will kick in when she's a bit older.
Good Luck!

The best way to break a habit is to replace it with a better habit. So decide - what would you rather have them doing instead of biting. Doodling, gum chewing, or something else. It should be at least slightly related (so that either their mouth or hands or both are busy). Maybe they can pick it with you. Give everyone 2 weeks to switch - where you just redirect them. Then put out a jar. Any time anyone is caught biting their nails (by you, by someone else, by themself) they put a nickle (or a quarter or whatever) in the jar.

Get pretty nail polish for you and your daughter. Spend time giving both of you a 'manicure' - massage lotion or cutile oil into the cuticles, gently clip anything that is becoming a hang-nail, file the nails smooth with an emery board, and paint them. She may decide that she likes pretty nails like mommy more than biting like daddy and brother.

Hope this helps!

Hi K. - my 6yo son has a friend who is nailbiter and therefore he started doing it too - I knew I had to nip it in the bud right away. I tried logic and reason, pain helped but didnt fix it. I ended up diluting some alcohol and putting it on his fingers - it disinfected the one he had bit down too far and it made his fingers taste awful. The habit went away very quickly. There are some specific products on the market for this too.

You might consider getting your husband on board and making this a family affair :) He is afterall the one who is modeling this behavior for his kids. You could have a family dip every night Ha!

I had the same bad habit growing up. I stopped using a couple different ways. My mother would paint my nails with a special polish for nail bitters that tastes very bad. This worked well, but my dad also found pictures online, or somewhere, of the bacteria and germs that exist under peoples nails. If that doesn't freak you out, than nothing will. Sometimes I really still have the urge to bite my nails and when I do I only allow myself to bite my thumbs, that way 8 nails are nice and I can still bite if I need to. So share these ideas with your family and I hope it helps.

I also used to bit my nails, and my mom bought me this solution that you painted on your nails like nail polish, but it has a bitter nasty taste to it. It's good for nail biters of thumbsuckers. It was called stopsit when I had it, but it's not that anymore. I recently saw it at Walmart in the aisle for warts and all that kind of stuff. My daughter used to bite her nails, and I coudln't find it then, so I told her it was like licking a doorknob or toilet seat with all the germs under her nails. That seemed to do the trick!
The only thing with your daughter being two, it does get in your mouth while eating finger food, so she may hate that.
L.

Nail biting is a nervous habit, so nagging and punishments tend to INCREASE nail biting. Positive reinforcement is the way to go, set up rewards for unchewed fingernails such as candy, money, cheap toys, a trip to the park, etc. And be very consistent! Your husband needs to set a good example for the children by not biting his nails too, and I'm sure you could come up with some fun ways to motivate him to do so! Good luck!

We have thumb sucking issues here. We use THUMB from the pharmacy. Not sure if that would work but it tastes grose. I have also slathered Bert's Bees pepermint lip balm on in a inch and it helped to heal the sores too. Also, bandaids. Get those little ones that are 1/4 inch wide and thin as they are hard to pull off if you stick them well. My daughter had a girl biter in her preschool class the same time were were dealing with the thumb sucking....she came often with every finger in a bandaid. It was embarassing and she could work on crafts..so it worked pretty fast. Lastly, get your husband to quit for the sake of the children. it isn't ciarettes.....but....

I don't have anything to help with the older boys...sorry. But with your daughter, Make a beauty date with her. Do her nails, toes, hair etc. Tell her that you will only be able to do this more if she doesn't chew her nails. When you see her chewing, remind her. You might have to keep up the pretty nails to help remind her.

This worked with my oldest when she was this age and she has never chewed her nails since.

I am 46 and still bite my nails. All I know is that when I was young the more you bugged me about it the worse I was. I have stopped a few times but never stuck with it. It seems to have a lot to do with stress with me. The more stressed I am the worse I am. The other thing I noticed is that we live in a dry climate and I pick at my hands as much as bite my nails. Especially the cuticle. It is dry and rough and it is the rough edges that I pick at. When we visited my son who lives in a wetter climate I didn't bite so bad. Strange.

K.
I have had this problem for many years and last summer my brother bought me some No Bite polish from walmart and it works great for me he also has a 4 year old son that he uses it on and it has worked well for him too.

I don't know how much help i will be, but i wil try, I used to bite my nails really bad, just stopped about 6 months ago. yippee. anyway have you tried putting chili on the nails or there is a nail polish that you put on, don't know the name sorry, but it is really bitter. my kids have also started doing it and with my daughter i had found that if i let her paint her nails if she doesn't bite it it helps a bit. i have let both of them pick a toy, something they really really want and once their nails get long/er they can go and buy it. still working on it though. my son actually doesn't bite his, he peels it off and they are so short and gross. good luck on your search and i would love to see the other responses on what helps, so i can try it too, lol

There's also a product called Bite Free. I used it on my oldest DD and so far its worked. Although she was not happy with me at all!! it tastes nasty!!

Just look in your nailpolish section.
GL
J.

There is a product called Thum Stops. It not only stops thumb sucking but also nail biting. Walgreens sells it. Here is the page with product description. Good luck!

http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?CATID=100357&a...

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