I have a two and a half year old son who just recently began picking his nose and EATING IT!! Needless to say, I am disgusted by this but can not get him to stop. I read you should tell him to stop and give a tissue, but that does not work, he just throws the tissue on the floor. I feel like the more I tell him to stop, the more he does it. I have also read to just ignore the behavior, but I get so embarrassed when he does this in public and I am afraid that if he continues this when he starts preschool in the Fall, other children will make fun of him. When I was in school, everyone picked on the "weird" kid who picked his nose and ate it! Any advice would be appreciated.
As disgusting as it may be, I had the same problem with 2 of my kids probably when they were the same age. I tried getting them to stop, but it didn't work. They grew out of it eventually. It's just one of the few disgusting phases.
My 2 1/2 year old does almost the same thing. He is disgusted, so when he picks his nose he will come running and hand it to me! Yuck!
My two and a half year old son does it too. He's obsessed with it, actually. I tried distracting him, limiting him to nose picking in the bathroom, using a tissue, you name it..no luck. I'm just waiting at this point and telling him about germs and that he'll get sick, blah..blah..blah.
Just take a picture of him doing it and theaten him with the photo later in life.
My grandson does the same thing. When you yell at him, he laughs. I think it is just a phase they go through. I know it is disgusting but maybe if someone other then yourself repremands him, he might stop. Anyway, like I said, it will pass. Good Luck.
my son (3 going on 4) does almost the same thing. He picks his nose til it bleeds.I've yelled at him to stop. I've brobed him then I just explained to him that your not supposed to do that & it seems to have worked. Good luck. I know it's disgusting, but be patienet. let me know how it goes.
my little sister ate her bugers for years!!!!!!!!!!!! ur son will grow out of it, the bigger deal u make out of it, the bigger it becomes.... juat try to ignore it, and im sure it will pass!
My daughter is the same age and does the same exact thing. I guess they are discovering that there is a hole on their face and stuff comes out of it, and just like everything else they see their world with taste first, so they have to taste it. I am hoping it gets better, I try to distract my daughter but it doesn't always work. Hopefully this stage ends quick!
M.
I can relate to the nose-picking problem. I think this is very common for kids, but can be hard to correct.
Instead of telling him stop picking your nose, maybe try saying, "Sweetie, lets try using a tissue." Also try showing him that you and other adults around him use tissues also instead of fingers. Maybe seeing this will make try to do it the grown up way.
Good Luck!
I think nose picking is common for youngsters. Your child is not the only one to ever pick their nose. What if you praised/reinforced him when you "caught" him not picking his nose. That might work. Good luck!
While it may gross you out, the more you make a big deal out of it the more he will want to do it. It's just the age! Trust me, once he starts preschool, he will stop. He may just need another authority figure to discourage him and if that doesn't work, surely the other kids will discourage him...good luck! In the meantime, try distracting him every time you notice him doing it, but don't call attention to it...he may just be bored.
I'd say pay no attention to it and it should vanish, but on the other hand, if that doesn't work and your kid develops a serious HABIT of doing it, he's totally going to be the butt of ridicule and he's going to have a HARD TIME as he grows up living that down should it continue for any length of time. I had a neighbor, a boy who was 12 and I remember his sister telling me his parents took him to a shrink because at his age he was STILL picking and eating! ICK! I quickly remember NOT being friends with him, not wanting to TOUCH his hands! You don't want all the cute girls dissing him because of a creepy habit, do whatever it takes! If he keeps it up, I would definitely talk to his pediatrician who may have a good suggestion for you. Don't let it go, that's for sure. He'll be taunted and miserable as I can assure you "John Doe" my neighbor was. He had NO social life in high school and I seriously think it was because he was constantly digging for gold!
Tell him he gets a special surprise every time he remembers to use a tissue. Reward systems work wonders. Buy a book of stickers and make a chart and give him one every time he remembers to use a tissue. You can also take a sticker from the chart if you catch him picking. Hope this helps.
Hi S.,
I had the same problem with my 3 year old! It started around 2 1/2 when he really bagan to develop his goofy sense of humor, and in the beginning we all thought it was funny behavior. But like you, i started getting emarrassed when he'd do it in public. He really liked the reaction he was getting from us, and all his aunts and uncles that would scrunch their noses at him.
But yes, the more we asked him to stop (and it was often) the more he seemed to do it. On some level I think it's just my son's way of exerting his independence and just a way of pushing the boundaries to see how much he can get away with. What was important for me was not to overreact to his nose picking/eating(after all he was just 2) and to try not to make a judgement call on his behavior (just because I'm insecure about what other people think, why should I make my son feel that way too?). I try not to say things like "that's gross" or "ewww" (even thought I think it in my head) because I think it produces feelings of shame and embarassment in a child and why do that? Instead what i've done is try to educate him in simple terms: when there isn't nose picking behavior going on and we've got a quiet moment, I talk to him about his body and what boogers are (or whatever you call it) and I liken it to being the garbage in our nose. My son understands what garbage is, he helps us take it out of the trash cans, and he knows what poop is (I also say this is the like the garbage from our bodies - I know, a little wierd, but they're terms he understands). So I tell him when we breathe in the air (we take deeps breaths) and I tell him that sometimes we breathe things in our body doesn't need, like gargbage and we have to use tissues to take them out. I practice using tissues with him, he thinks it's like a magic trick, wrapping your finger in tissue and sticking it in your nose to pull out, ta-da! boogers... then we toss them in the trash. Yes, of course he still picks his nose, but when I see him in the rear view mirror, I just remind him of what boogers are (garbage!) and instantly he reaches for a tissue. He just started preschool and I'm hoping that by seeing other kids NOT picking their noses and eating it, this will just reinforce what we've taught him. Hope these ideas help.
