Does anyone have any ideas for helping my 7 year old daughter to stop popping her knuckles. It's a new (4-6 months) habit but it is getting obsessive and making her beautiful fingers swell a little. I don't think it has anything to do with anxiety or any other issue like that. She wants to stop but doesn't seem to be able to with our reminders.
This may sound a little "out there", but have you ever considered she may have a mild case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder? Are there other things that she does repetitively or obsessively? Just a thought.... My husband has a mild case where only a few things he is truly O/C about. I am also a knuckle popper, but only a few times a week....
Buy her a set of drums and let her start her music career now-if she wants to hear some popping and clicking this is the thing for her. It will not hurt her hands as far as the insides goes but she seems to be looking for something to do with those little hands so help her out. Piano lessons are good too but don't be surprised if she does not practice as much as you think she should-they never really do. Make sure you find a music teacher she really likes and can instill the love of music in her and it will be a lifetime pleasure for all of you. 7 is not too young to start music and it is a wonderful way to face the world. And "bang" out what bothers "you" Go for it!
Good Morning K., I did the same thing when I was younger though my teen years into early adult years. Know idea why I did it but am sure paying for it now. People used to say popping your knuckles won't hurt anything, won't make them bigger etc. Phooey ;) I used to have very nice looking hands, long slender fingers, jewerly looked great on my hands.
Part of it may be my age now, 57 in Aug. but now my knuckles look like mountains and my thumbs ache constantly. Yes I even popped my thumb joints. ;) I could really get them going.
What happens when you pop them is the shiv-no-v-el ( phonic's worked fur me) fluid in the joint is displaced, causing a little release of pressure and it feels good sometimes. If enough pressure is released over the years it can be one cause of arthritis developing or bone spurs. Your joints become dry and painful.
Keep reminding her, it may not hurt her now but it certainly will as she gets older. Maybe get a pair of little white gloves as a reminder not to pop her knuckles. Write on the backs of them if need be. Don't Pop your Knuckles honey. It takes ( or so they say ) 21 days to break a habit, see if the gloves might work.
God Bless and best of everything to you and yours
K.
Hi K., I have the same problem with my just turned 10 step-daughter. She not only does that but she walks around everywhere constantly doing this,just walking from room to room doing this. It started a few months ago and it drove me nuts because she never put her arms down and tripped one time and wouldn't even drop her arms to catch herself and she also developed a "heat rash" because the insides of her elbow/arms were always damp. She kind of has some issues with keeping focused on her tasks and always seems to be in everybody's business and this just developed on top of it, probably out of boredem and lack of somthing "exciting" going on. The thing that has helped the most is constant reminders to walk with her arms at her sides and the teasing from siblings made her pretty self conscious has helped. Sounds mean but it was starting to affect her ability to walk safely and she had developed a hunched over appearance from the constant playing with her hands. Also, the heat rash made her feel uncomfortable enough that she was really aware of what she was doing and made an effort on her part to stop. It hasn't completely gone away but it did get better.
Hope this gives you some hope, good luck and hang in there.
M.
I hate to tell you this, but I am a life-long knuckle popper. Drove my mom crazy. She said my wedding ring wouldn't fit me. It did. My chiropractor told me there is no harm in it. I don't think there is any reason for it - it's not anxiety or anything like that. Basically it feels good. Once you start popping your knuckles or other joints, there seems to be a need built up to pop them, and it's very satisfying. Socially, it's not so good. Many people find popping knuckes or other body parts revolting, and understandably so. My husband used to crack his neck and it grossed me out even though I pop plenty of other joints in my body!
As far as habits go, knuckle cracking is extremely difficult to stop. It's often happens subconsciously. It's probably harder to stop than smoking (can't say for sure - I've never smoked.) But with smokers, their body starts craving the nicotene but they have to consciously go get a cigarette and a light. And, they have to go to the store to get the cigarettes. With knuckle popping, your body tells you your knuckles want to be popped and even though in the moment you can decide not to, you can't take off your fingers and put them someplace where you can't get to them. Because they are always with you, once your mind gets to something else, your subconscious goes - ha ha - I'm going to pop them anyway. And the next thing you know, you have just popped all your knuckles without realizng it.
But, if your daughter really wants to stop - and she won't be able to unless she does really want to, the sooner the better. If she is popping the middle joints of her fingers, maybe putting 1/2" wide masking tape around those knuckes would help. It would be really unsatisfying and kind of painful to pop knuckles with tape around them. If it's the joints that connect to the hand, I'm not sure tape would work so well but it might. At the very least, the tape would tighten as she's starting to pop them and that would serve as a reminder at least.
I've probably popped my knuckles 20 times while writing this. I'm hopeless!
Give her something in place of popping her knuckes like play doh to hold and squish or have her sit on her hands till the urge subsides.
Maybe you could tie a string on her finger or something to remind her not to do it. Good luck
I'm a life long knuckle popper too. Frankly, I don't care what anyone thinks. It takes all of a couple seconds to pop them and it's over. It feels good. My knuckles might be slightly larger than they would be, but they don't look bigger. My hands are fine except for looking a bit older these days. Big sigh...
Suzi
Briana has a good observation about Obsessive/Compulsive Disorders. People will develop them at about this age, I had a cousin who picked at her skin constantly, if there was a sore. She had a type of O.C.D.
I also knew a boy in highschool that pulled out his hair when he was stressed, before tests and such. It is also an O.C.D.
There are treatments for it, but it's always a problem.
If hers isn't linked to anxiety it may be easier. Maybe check this out just in case.
