Nail Picking - Richardson,TX

Updated on September 02, 2008
L.G. asks from Richardson, TX
7 answers

I need help! My 3 yr. old keeps picking her finger nails and toe nails and won't stop no matter what. Does anyone have any suggestions? I have tried everything.

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M.G.

answers from Dallas on

L.,

First of all, please do NOT take Kim S.'s advice. Swatting her child every time he tried taking the tape off?? Hitting doesn't solve anything. It only teaches the child to hit. That is just awful.

What I just started doing with my 4 year old son is threatening to put some mustard on his nails. He doesn't like mustard. The second he saw me walk toward the refridgerator, he took his hand out of his mouth. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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C.P.

answers from Dallas on

Hello L.,

I think it's like a nervous tick...at sprouts (and whole foods) they have a line of products called Herbs 4 kids. The 'valerian calm' works pretty good. I give it to my son in his morning chocolate milk. although it can be administered 2 - 3 time daily. I only do it in the morning. this past school year I actually had to trim his nails! I was so excited. good luck! ~C.~

1 mom found this helpful
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S.H.

answers from Dallas on

My four year old was a nail picker too! I started painting her nails. We bought Princess nail polish- pink, blue and purple. I told her I would paint her nails once a week if they were unpicked. When it came time to repaint her nails I got all excited, got out all 3 nail polishes, let her choose a color and then we sat down to 'paint'...Only she had picked her nails. I didn't judge (make a sour face, scold, you know). I just said "We can try again next week!" I calmly put away the polish and went about some busy work. She cried, protested, promised not to pick them...I did not cave. I calmly said 'we'll try again next week.' Well, next week we got to paint her nails. Every once in a while she misses a salon date with me, but most of the time she has pretty purple nails! She always picks purple! Best!

1 mom found this helpful
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H.K.

answers from Dallas on

This might seem overprotective, but you might try taking her to the Dr. if she doesn't stop. It sounds like a nervous habit to me. I know a woman who's nephew also lived in a very loving environment, but picked his eyebrows until they were almost all gone. He ended up having a nervous habit. I hope this is not the case for you. Good luck and God Bless!

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C.C.

answers from Dallas on

Good luck! My 9 year old daughter was/is a nail biter and picker . . . both her hands and feet! She was at her worst a couple of years ago. I tried offering up the mani/pedi (3 years is probably too young for that to have any influence) but she still kept on doing it. Finally, this year, she took the initiative and made herself a chart and rewarded herself with a sticker for each day she didn't bite/pick. The visual seemed to do the trick! After she finished her chart, she found herself reverting back to her bad habit so she put up another chart. Good news is, we're planning to get mani/pedi this weekend because her nails are now long enough! So try a reward chart . . . although the reward you offer may need to be something nearer and dearer to her heart. You may want to do it in steps . . . like a small reward for every 4-5 days of no picking, then a larger reward after a month. And by large I don't mean over-the-top . . .

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W.E.

answers from Dallas on

I'm in the same boat with my almost two year old. She has eased up a bit lately but I think its because I have been trying to keep track of any new growth of nails and cutting them before she gets to them and also taking care of any cracked skin on her fingers around the nails. I haved also noticed that if I apply alot of hand lotion for dry skin around her nails and toes it makes it harder for her to pick. Hope this helps.

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K.S.

answers from Dallas on

What worked for us:
twice a day we wrapped J&J waterproof tape around my son's fingertips, and he would get a swat if he pulled it off. It took a couple months of being consistent.

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