How can I stop him biting?

[jaz007]

Hi all

My 5 year old son has become a really bad nail biter.I can't even remember when it started but i'm always catching him with his fingers in his mouth!!

Is there anything you can recommend to help him stop? it's got to the point where he doesn't even know he's doing it and i'm worried about him getting infections etc.

Obviously i can't put an overlay on his nails so was wondering if there is anything any of you geeks can recommend?

 

[wendy malley]

When i was training my tutor said biting your nails was worse than licking the toilet seat all our stomachs turned at the thought of it.Maybe that would do it.Sorry if anyone was about to eat after reading this lol.

 

[salpep]

There is a anti-biting treatment in the chemists for kids that bite thier nails. You paint in on like a varnish and when they go to bite it leaves a bitter taste in thier mouths.

x

 

[An*Gel]

Mmmmm how to stop a 5 year old from biting his nails

:idea::idea: Bribery of course :lol::lol:

I would promise to buy him something really nice if he stops biting.

Maybe do up a little star chart and give him one star for each day he doesn't bite and when he has, say 10 stars he gets a new toy.... nothing too expensive of course.

I used to bite my nails as a kid and even though I hated the taste of that stop and grow stuff, I still bit my nails and eventually got used to the taste of it.... yep that's kids for you

For some reason the star chart works and kids just LOVE getting praise when they've done something good.

I think it's great that you are doing something about this now and are trying to nip it in the bud.

Best of luck :hug:

 

[julesgems]

Keep his hands busy!

If he bites while watching tv, get him to rub some cuticle oil on his nails and buff them over instead of sticking them in his mouth. This will also help his nails grow quicker.

Often when little children see their hands/nails looking nice and shiny, that's enough incentive to stop. If he were a girl, I would also say paint them.:hug:

 

[kylieb]

My 8 year old is the same. I cut them so short that he has nothing to bite. You could try nail the habit? It is disgusting to think they are eating whats under their nails esp at their age eeew xxx

 

[ejreiss]

i put bandaids on my sons fingers and yes that is a lot of bandaids but buy them from the dollar store and he didnt like it so i said that if i catch them on your mouth they get put back on. Worked for me, good luck

 

[Martin Duffy]

Jessica do a product called "Nibble No More", which many of my persistant nail-biter clients have successfully used. Many of them have tried others that they "got used to the taste of", but this one is absolutely revolting (the cactus extract it uses tastes of bile), needs only be applied once in the morning & also coats the cuticles to stop them biting the skin as well. It lasts all day, and won't wash off, so is particularly effective in treating unconscious nail biting.

 

[sachi]

My 8 year old is the same. I cut them so short that he has nothing to bite. You could try nail the habit? It is disgusting to think they are eating whats under their nails esp at their age eeew xxx

I am a biter and nothing stopped me and have not been able to brake my daughter of it yet. When I would cut them so short she could not bite them, she did anyway and just made them bleed.

 

[tigi]

ok, you need to treat the trigger. you need to look at the situations when he is biting, is there a pattern?

Boredom? anxious? tired? in front of tele? sad? cross? hungry? thirsty? in the car? fighting with siblings?

write all of these and any more you can think of and tick it off every time you see him doing it and a pattern WILL emerge over a week or two.

Once you can pinpoint his specific triggers , you can address his issues. then you can try a physical stopping mechanism (those awful tasting things) AND try to address what is making him do it. also gently tell him hs is biting his nails and ask him tell you what he is feeling at the time. (many serious biters often dont even realise they are doing it).

I run a nail programme at the salon, its hugely successful, you need to pinpoint his triggers first.

hth

tigi
xxxx

 

[jaz007]

Thankyou so much for all your suggestions.

I'm really loving the star chart idea and think i will try that first before moving onto anything else.Am a bit reluctant to use the foul tasting treatments as my sister used to bite and that didn't deter her in the slightest,i will look into the jessica one though if i can't nip this in the bud.

It just makes my stomach turn to think what he is ingesting from underneath his nails.I get him to wash his hands a lot throughout the day but you still never know what's under there!!

Had a chat with him earlier as i caught him with his fingers in his mouth again whilst watching the tv and he says it's boredom so i think i'm going to be a very busy bunny keeping him occupied.

Thanks again for all your suggestions