Booger-Eater

My 3 year old was doing this as well and this is how we broke her of it. Everybody responds better to positive reinforcement than negative reinforcement right? When I worked in a daycare they taught us to put a positive spin on things, to get kids to stop doing what you want them to. So when telling her to stop doing it didn't work, I started carrying around a handkerchief and whenever I saw her picking her nose I made a game out of getting her to wipe it on that and made it very fun and funny to do so, and it worked! Even if I don't happen to have a handkerchief now, I catch her wiping it on other things. Which is still kind of gross, but at least she isn't eating it anymore lol.
good luck :)

T.

People do disgusting things. It is part of what makes us human. AND we don't do disgusting things where other human beings have to watch--that's why bathrooms have doors. Rather than trying to make her stop, let her know that nose picking is a private thing--like pooping, and that it is only permissible to do this in the bathroom. You can say that we don't put things back into our bodies once they have come out--because bodies only send things out that don't belong there--like urine, poop, barf, runny nose. You can say, "you wouldn't eat your barf, would you? EWWWWW!!" If she sees that connection to things leaving the body don't go back in, then she may transition away from eating her tasty buggers sooner. At her age the word 'germs' doesn't mean anything. However the imagery of barf will connect.

Also, once she starts school, her peers will let her know how gross this is if she is still a 'public picker and eater.'

On a personal note, if we could just get people in cars to remember that we can SEE THEM, I would be happier as well.

It's a discovery thing. It can happen at the most embarassing moments. My little 3 yr old cousin was my flower girl at my wedding, and in the middle of the mass I hear my grandfather, who decided to talk loudly, comment on how Britt was picking her nose and eating it... so if no one had been paying attention, they were now. I didn't see it because they were off to the side and behind me. She outgrew it. What else do you do with the booger when it's stuck to your finger and you're three yrs old? Bite it off. It might taste a little salty, it might not... It's not a hunger issue, it's what do I do with it now? Get her a nice handkerchief and explain that's where her boogers can go when she gets them out. Show her how she can blow them out. Maybe her nose is so dry that they itch or are irritating, saline nose spray and a quick blow with dislodge them in that hanky. Rite of passage, discovering body parts and crevices. It's normal and a teaching moment for you.

i don't know if you can but social pressure will. it's probably not for attention and she probably does actually like it, as disgusting as that sounds. kids are funny and things aren't gross when you're little. (boogers, ABC gum, spit..)

altho it's unbelievably gross now, i remember doing this at your daughter's age. i did try to hide that i was doing it before giving it up. when i quit eating them (even writing that makes me gag) i would sneak picking my nose and put them in our gold shag carpet (b/c they matched the carpet color, my poor mom....). anyway, i quit when i went kindergarden b/c i was embarrased to do it anymore. your daughter probably will too.

good luck and when she does stop eating them, be sure to vacuum the edges of your carpet! ;-)

:) I had a seventh grade student who publicly did it. When I told him that it wasn't socially acceptable and he should save it for private--he balked. He literally went online and found research stating that German researchers discovered it was an immunity booster. His classmates were disgusted, but he didn't care. He's a junior in HS now, and from what I hear, still muching away!! He also had perfect attendance for what it's worth ;)

I have had a great many students with that habit, BUT the vast majority of them were very private about it. I think what it might take for her is instead of "time outs" you tell her she needs to go to the bathroom and do it in private, just like going potty. The inconvenience might turn her off, or she will at least start to get that it's not socially acceptable.

We recently started teaching our two-year old the fine art of using a tissue and putting it in the garbage. I think it might be easier to discourage from becoming a habit rather than breaking it as a habit though.

It also sounds like she may be enjoying the (negative) attention she gets. That's why I suggest sending her to the bathroom and she can come out when she's done.

Good luck! Nobody wants their kid to be the "nosepicker/booger-eater"!

I have five kids and they all do it. Although the older ones not so much any more. I have told my two year old to wipe it on her clothes. Maybe that sounds gross, but it's better than putting it in her mouth, and how often do they have a tissue at hand? So that has helped her to not have a habbit of putting them in her mouth. Sometimes she gets her own toilet paper now to wipe her nose.
Hope this helps

You are not alone! My son does it to and he's 4 as well. The advice below this one is spot on....ignore her behavior. Once her peers tell her it's gross, she'll listen.

Getting angry and/or punishing her will not work. She's doing a normal thing for her age. Ignoring it doesn't make it go away either. You've received several good suggestions.

I'll add to those by saying she may be picking her nose because it's dry, itchy, or just stuffy because of buggers. And as one mother said, "what does a 3 yo do when there's a bugger on their finger?" So I believe it's a matter of education and prevention in a calm matter of fact way. A few "that's gross" comments in an offhand or funny way may be included.

I still have to put vaseline in my nose during the winter because my nose dries out and buggers build up. I often dig them out, because it's faster, in the morning after using vaseline. Of course I don't eat them. tehe But I did as a kid.

I suggest putting vaseline in her nose or she can do it herself. A part of baby hygiene is to wipe their noses out with a Q-tip. You can use vaseline in the nose of a baby also. So you are just teaching her how to do her own hygienic care.

I would not say that eating buggers could make her ill. They won't. The bug is already in her stomach if the buggars are caused by a bug. If she doesn't have a cold or respiratory infection the buggers are just dried out mucous. However, she can get an eye infection, if her buggers contain a germ, and she touches her eyes. I get frequent eye infections now because my aging eyes are very dry. I didn't get infections as a child in part because the tears wash the germs out. If she hasn't had an eye infection up until now I wouldn't worry about it nor would I suggest it to her.

So.....eating buggers is primarily an etiquette issue. My grandchildren eat buggers at home. I don't think they try to hide it. Their mother and I just don't pay attention to it very often. They don't pick their nose away from home which is better than I can say for myself. If I have a dry, itchy, plugged up nose I sometimes find myself scratching inside of it while holding a tissue in front of it because I cannot leave the area. Yes, that's gross! even with a tissue. I cannot stand an itchy, dry, plugged up nose. It will distract me from whatever I need to be focused upon. :):) if adults still do it, be gentle while teaching children to not do it. At least the adults know better.

I have a booger-eater, too! Only he's almost six! I thought it would just pass as he got older, so I didn't do much about it. He hasn't stopped and now, of course, others have started to notice and comment. It's embarrassing. I don't really have any good ideas for stopping it. Everytime I see him do I just remind him that boogers go in a tissue and ask him if he needs one. Now, he just picks his nose when he thinks I'm not looking. At this point, I figure he'll stop when he gets made fun of at school. I was so hoping to avoid that. My husband takes the "boogers have germs and will make you sick approach," but I still haven't noticed much improvement. :(

I made a game out of putting your boggies in the trash. I get her to blow on her own by playing a little game out of it... it doesn't always work but its a start.

My husband always told my daughter "flick it don't lick it", I tried to encourage her to use a tissue :-) after awhile it worked

Well, you can explain that eating bodily waste can make you sick. And also that people don't like to see other people doing something like that - doing it in public is offensive to people. Help prepare her that way.
Then take heart because the ridicule she'll get at school will cure her pretty quickly!
(I'm not trying to be snarky, but, this seems to be advise that i've read about a lot of similar behaviors.)

Hi,
In kid terms explain germs.. and not wanting to get sick.. b/c if she gets sick than she can't play ect.. (whatever her favorite thing is) I keep teaching over and over again about germs and washing hands.. not touching her eyes ect.. b/c there have been pink eye ect.. in her preschool. Also, maybe take her to target and let her pick out her favorite kids hand soap one that foams so it washes off easy..
Best of luck,
Lenc

Ignore her completely. Turn your back to her. No verbal or emotional response. This is attention getting behavior--big time. Tell the rest of your family to do the same. Do not change this, if you do it will just make her behavior worse.

At first she will try to make you look at you, do anything to make you look at her. Then she will get mad and throw temper tantrums. Do not respond. Eventually the behavior will be extinguished. It might occasionally come back but ignore it to the best of your ability.

Do this on a long weekend when you don't have to go out in public. The first time you go out in public it might come back.

You could pack up and return home, without saying a word. You could just turn your back on her. It depends on the interaction between you and your daughter, and the severity of attention getting behavior.