Son Biting Nails

Updated on May 10, 2007
A.E. asks from Eden Prairie, MN
6 answers

I was wondering if any of the moms out there have kids that bite their nails, and if so, what should i do to try to get him to stop doing it. He is only two years old, so I am a little worried about this becoming a life long habit.

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H.L.

answers from Minneapolis on

My daughter is 9 and started biting her nails (including toe nails) at age 2. I don't know what started it and the doctors (unsettlingly) aren't worried. I told her about all the nasty stuff that lives under your fingernails...while that stopped her for about a week, she is back at it. Thank God she stopped biting her toe nails!!! I paint those and she knows if she chews her nails she can't get them painted anymore.
There is a Sally Hansen nail biter "polish" that tastes NASTY, my mom used that on me...it worked because even hand washing didn't make the taste go away. I stopped using it when I got pregnant because the smell bothered me, and once she was born, I didn't want to accidentally get any near her mouth...
Tobasco also works, but if your child rubs his eyes, that's not a good idea. The Sally Hansen didn't bother my eyes on any occasion I had to rub them.

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R.W.

answers from St. Cloud on

I bit my nails until I was 23 years old (I'm only 26). My parents tried EVERYTHING. I finally quit when I started being treated with homeopathy, a practice that treats a WHOLE person (including bad habits).

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J.W.

answers from Appleton on

there is a product call Nail Bitter that you can use to put on his nails, but the down side of it is it will get onto his fingers therefore if he eats food with his fingers some of his food will taste like it. ( i only know this because i used to bite my own nails and had to use this to help myself stop)

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E.L.

answers from Minneapolis on

Boy, none of us are very helpful, we have the same problem! My son is 7 and bites his nails. He started when he was about 3.5 and bit them for a year, and we thought it was related to stress because we had a lot of changes. Then he stopped for about a year when things settled in, then he started up again and still does. He still sucks his thumb too and he has no motivation to stop either behavior. His dad is a nail-biter too, whereas I carry a nail-clipper everywhere.

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C.A.

answers from Minneapolis on

My son is almost 5 and he bites his nails. I noticed that he started when I wasn't cutting his nails as often as I should. Now he gets to them before I can. I talk to him about it, but it doesn't work. I chewed my nails until after college. Then I learned to carry a nail clipper with me. My problem was nerves, it was that they were brittle and I hated having nails snag on things. I hope you get good advice. I know I could use some for my guy as well.

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M.F.

answers from Minneapolis on

My son is 4 and is also a nail bitter. He was biting his nails for a little under a year. He would chew them down until he could not chew anymore and would cry because it became painful for him. I have noticed just in the past 2 weeks that he stopped bitting his nails. I do not know what changed for him. I praised him and was very happy to cut his nails with the clipper. I told him that if he keeps it up I will let him go to the store to pick up a amall gift. I thought for sure it would be a lifetime habit, but hopefully, he wont start again. Good luck with your little guy!!

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