How to Stop Nail Biting?

My daughter did the same when she was around 2 years old. Following my mom in laws and her pediatrician's advice we just kept asking her not to do it gently for about 2-3 months( whenever she would do it we asked her not to do it) One day she suddenly stopped doing it.

Hi J.,
Nail biting is generally a coping activity for dealing with nervousness or anxiety. If you daughter has just started biting her nails, you may want to see what could be trigging this and resolve that first rather than the nail bitting. Could be something like expecting a new sibling, new house or meeting new friends.

Take Care...
D.

Would you please please also pass this information to me. My daughter is so bad at biting her fingernails and Toenails (gag) to the point of .. never mind.. you DON'T want to know.

Please email me at ____@____.com with any suggestions.

Thanks so much.

if you have internet access do a search for 'nail bite stop bitter' and you'll find lots of products that may help, even a couple that were developed by pediatricians ... good luck.

I might appeal to her probable girlish desire for nice looking hands. maybe paint her nails a pale pink if she'll grow out her nails? the nail polish might not taste good either, but she might like the way it looks and not bite her nails to keep from ruining the nail polish.

J.,

My 4yr old daughter sucks her thumb and my 5yr old son just started biting his nails about 3 months ago(why now?) Anyway, I've been dabbing white vinegar on their fingers and it's helping. It won't hurt them and it's not hot sauce(which some people use-not smart since they can rub it in their eyes). They hate the smell and the taste. This might help. Hope it works out!
E.

I used to be a nail biter, and I stopped when I was in college because I wanted long nails. I still do it from time to time from stress or habit. Does your daughter like nail polish? It may help if she can pick out a color that she likes to paint on her nails. It may helps her stop biting if she wants to keep the color on. Don't do tabasco sauce. It's not safe, and it will only cause more problems between you and her. Find out the reason she is doing it. Also, if you catch her doing it, maybe steer her towards something else she's more interested. It's time consuming, but it'll be better for her to break the habit now than later.

I have a 3 1/2 year old with the same problem. I bought the stuff to put on their nails, and she actually bites it off. It works wonderfully for my 10 year old, though. I have heard of putting tabasco sauce on their nails, but I haven't tried it. :)

My sister used everything. They have some really nasty tasting stuff I dont know if it is bad for kids but my oldest daughter started bitting her nails around the same age and I never bought anything she stoped on her own after seeing that her nails were short and stubby and painting them didnt look pretty like everyone else because I have two other girls. I never was negative about it I just explained GERMS & how it was a habbit that we were going to over come. Good Luck hope it helps a little bit.

Our 4 1/2 year old did the same thing! He started chewing when he turned 3. He chewed his nails down to the quick! I tried to keep him from doing this until about 4 months ago. I got on to him constantly. We applied "Thum" (You can get it at Walgreen's). Nothing seemed to work. When he turned 4, he started picking his nose and eating his little treasures...that is when I started focusing my energy on the newer (less acceptable) behavior! I noticed that 2 of the 3 physicians my Dad treats with also bite their nails! I thought, "If my son becomes a cardiologist, I will consider myself crazy to have obsessed about his nail-biting habit!" Just within the last two weeks, our son stopped biting his nails! I actually had to trim them two nights ago!

I hope this helps! Good luck!

J.

My 4 year old does this too and I would be interested in seeing the responses to your question.