Nail Biting - Northville, NY

Hi C., I do think that 2 years old is early for nail biting. I wonder if they still sell that ugly tasting stuff to put on her nails? I guess I don't have any advice. My daughter was a thumb sucker not a nail biter. A.

I used to bite my nails as a kid (my mom still does) but I broke myself of the habit in middle school when I wanted pretty nails =) My daughter started at the age of 2 also - and I figured it was just genetic. She hasn't seen me do it - or really anyone else. She puts her hands in her mouth just when she's relaxing - doesn't seem to be out of stress. Most of the time I ignore it, but sometimes I'll just remind her not to put anything in her mouth that's not food. I really couldn't do a whole lot about it until she was 3 - when I could reason with her a bit about germs, etc. But I still don't make a big deal out of it - and so it's not a big deal to her. Good luck.

There is a product called Mavala Stop! It costs between $7-11. I love this product - used it on my 3 y/o for thumb sucking and my 7 y/o for nail biting. Polish it onto her nails while she is sleeping and then have some water and crackers ready for her when she gets the awful taste in her mouth after biting.
I prepared my 3 y/o that it was coming by telling him that sometimes when we do something that isn't good for our body, our body has a way of telling us to stop. For nail biting (thumb sucking in our case), our body's tell us this is bad by making our nails taste really bad. If she doesn't stop, her nails are going to start to taste bad. Then for a few days, ask her if they have started to taste bad yet. She of course will say no. Then polish it on one night but be prepared in the morning to help her get the taste out of her mouth - the crackers & water will be fine for this. The Mavala will last for about 3 days, so just keep putting it on every few nights for a while until she has stopped. It won't take long.
Good luck.

I'd keep her nails closely-trimmed at first so there's nothing to nibble. If you're really worried about it becoming a habit, you might try dabbing some "thumb's off" or "bitter orange" onto her fingers to make the taste offensive to her. Both of those should be available in your local drugstore.

This may be an old wives thing, but it makes good sense, if she doesn't respond to your "no fingers in the mouth" commands: rub her nails and cuticles with something sour (lemon) or something she's repulsed by.
Good luck!
M.

I bite the skin on my fingers - and HATE it - have been doing so for 20 years! So - I know what you mean - it's a terrible habit. I do it b/c of stress and started at 12 yrs old. I don't know that it could be a stress reaction with a 2 yo, but I suppose you never know!

Are her nails long at all? Maybe trying to keep the cut a little shorter and filed if need be so she doesn't feel anything there. But - if she is biting her nails - what about telling her 'hands out of your mouth' and if she keeps doing it - redirect her hands into a game of some sort.

My dgtr (2 yrs) will put her fingers in her mouth (only now am I wondering if I am teaching this to her!! LOL - thick skull!) I tell her - hands out of your mouth and she's pretty good with it - but if she keeps doing it (usually just to test me), I'll say - can you put your hands on your........ and we go through a bunch of body parts, or I ask her to clap, or sing "If your happy and you know it".

Good luck - if you get some great advice for a quick deterrent - I may try it myself!

I know she's young for it, but using nail polish to make her nails pretty works. I did this with my girls at the ages of 4 and 5 and it helped. They started biting again when they were older and I tried to do the same thing, but it is hard. It's a nervous habit that I have gently tried to dissuade, but it really takes looking at their nails daily and disucssing it daily to help break the habit.

I also live in Phelps and my son had the same exact problem. He just turned 3 last week and started this nail biting habit probably about 6 months ago. I could not keep his hands out of his mouth, and his nails looked horrible and he was always doing. I tried to substitute by giving him something to have in his hands like a pretzel rod or something to stop it. I talked to his doctors, everything and nothing worked. It got to the point where my husband and I had to just ignore it and he eventually stopped doing it all on his own. It is discouraging because nothing really works, they just have to stop on their own. It took him a few months before he stopped.

she probably saw it - i had a two month stint with my 3 year old son who said in the midlddle of it "i just have a hangnail, like uncle tim"... clearly he picked it up. but he did it a lot when we was anxious. however, it went away and i think its because we didnt make a deal out of it. ie: ignore it as much as you possibly can, with the exception of if she scratches herself or someone esle you can point out the cause and effect. hope this helps. ~ Alex

Dont make an issue out of it. It is stress related and I am firmly convinced a genetic trait. My husband and brother are both nail biters and still are. Two of my 3 children are not. I know what my husband went through withhis parents and I know what my brother went through with mine. My brother and husband both have stress and anxiety issues.

You are going to return to work full time. More stress. No its not too young my daughter started at 18 months. We went through a lot in our lives so the nail biting was the least of our issues. She is almost 22 now. She is fine.

There is a "lesson plan" that teaches about how germs stick to hands by putting glitter on a table and having a child put their hands in it and see how they spread around. That might work when she is a bit older, with regards to "germs"

C.,

I think she may have just discovered that they are there - and they are there when she's bored.

Friends say it's great when they trim their nails themselves :) but I understand your concern.

Is she truly anxious or do you think this might be a phase?

My suggestion would be to gently pat her hands away from her mouth and saying 'no bite' might do something positive - and give her a toy instead.

Good Luck!
M.