Normal Weird or Unusual Weird 3 Year Old Behavior?

Updated on March 31, 2008
E.T. asks from Carrollton, TX
5 answers

my 3 year old has been biting his fingernails for awhile now. We do our best to keep his fingers out of his mouth, but other than that, we haven't really worried about it. He tends to do it when he's bored or watching TV. Not when he's active.

2 new things have happened recently that make me pause and wonder...

He's started biting the skin on the tips of his fingers. He's done this to 3 of his fingers. He's not making himself bleed, but definitely biting off a layer of skin, leaving the under layer thin and prone to hurting, like when his fingers get spaghetti sauce of them. :)

Today, when I talked to his teacher about this, she said that she saw him bite himself once. he's never been a biter, never went through the biting others stage. I've never seen him bite himself nor have I seen bite marks on him on a regular basis. I vaguely remember seeing bite marks on his arm around the time the teacher said she saw him bite himself, but I thought it was someone else who bit him and forgot to ask about it.

So... what do you think??? normal weird or unsual weird? 3 year olds are quirky in general, so I don't want to over-react or under-react...

Thanks!

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H.D.

answers from Dallas on

I think this is normal weird :) I am 27 years old and still have a hard time keeping my fingers out of my mouth. My mom battled me with this as long as I can remember. She put finger nail polish remover on my fingers so it would taste bad but nothing worked. I even have a tendency to pick at the sides of my fingers to the point I make them bleed or sore. I know it's a gross habit but alot of the time I don't even know I'm doing it until my husband or mom tells me to stop. I think it's a brought on by anxiety for me. Bare with him. He night grow out of it.

1 mom found this helpful
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R.F.

answers from Dallas on

I think this is normal weird. My son mimics his dad and not only bites his nails off but then chews on the piece of nail. When I was younger I used to bite the skin off around my nail and still do sometimes when I'm bored. I wouldn't worry about. Though I don't know how to stop it. Hope this helps. if you get any good ideas, pass them along!

1 mom found this helpful
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J.H.

answers from Dallas on

My husband constantly has his fingers in his mouth biting the nail and cuticle around the nail. I believe its learned I use to bite my nails and so did my mother.
My children both bite their nails one worse than the other.
They use to have something to help stop it. It tasted NASTY.
Ask the pharmacy

1 mom found this helpful

T.C.

answers from Dallas on

Do either of you guys bite your nails? I ask because my husband nibbles on his finger tips and we notice that our daughter will copy him. Only when she does it, it ends up pulling some skin off and making them bleed. It's pretty clear that she's copying dad, so we've tried having him stop doing that to see if it will help.

It sounds kind of normal to me, but I would still be bothered by it if my child was biting himself. Maybe watch and see if he does it a whole lot of not. He might be learning about his mouth and what it can do.

1 mom found this helpful
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M.W.

answers from Dallas on

I would think that as long as he wasn't hurting himself he's fine.

My two year old picks her finger and toe nails. She also loves to have her nails painted so she can pick that off.

1 mom found this helpful
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