[firocali]

DD4 has started biting her nails ( and on occasion her toenails too...eeew). She is biting them so much that they have been very sore and bleeding.

Any ideas on how to get her to stop. The only time she seems to have her fingers out of her mouth is when she is putting the fingers on the other hand in her mouth.

It is an awful habit. Any help would be appreciated

[KarenBubMachine]

Firstly Id be trying to figure out why all of a sudden she has started biting her nails, ds (soon 6yo) started biting his nail when he started kindy (when he turned 4) and its a nervous thing for him, bites when hes uncomfortable and then talk to her about it.

There is also a product you can buy from the chemist that you paint on the nails like nail polish, its clear and dries leavinf a yucky tasing residue. Only prob with that is that you need to reapply after every hand wash.

Good luck, ds is still biting now (he tipped product down the sink and I refused to buy any more. It was not the first bathroom product he has tipped down the sink )

[Bek+3]

I am 34 and have been biting my nails for 30 years now. Funny enough I remember the very day I started. I was 4 years old and standing in my lounge room. I can even remember the colours on the walls!! There was a thing on Sesame Street about nail biting and how the little girl shouldn't do it... I looked down at my nails and literally started chewing them there and then!! Probably not the message they were trying to get across!! My parents tried everything including bandaging my fingers up, rubbing them in chilli and using that stuff at the chemist. Nothing worked. I actually like biting my nails. I've never had the urge to quit!!

Sorry, no help.

[foxgirls]

We are doing really well with 'Sally Hansen' nail biter it's in a yellow pack from woolies. dd is four also and had just started. Had to laugh the first time she tasted the nail stuff, she did a big raspberry,shuddered sll over and rolled her eyes. So it's working for us.

[TherophosaBlondi]

Firstly Id be trying to figure out why all of a sudden she has started biting her nails, ds (soon 6yo) started biting his nail when he started kindy (when he turned 4) and its a nervous thing for him, bites when hes uncomfortable and then talk to her about it

This is exactly why DS was doing it. It was a reaction to the stress of being bullied. We had very strong words with the teacher and Principal with regards to the bullying and managed to remove one of the causes.

We did talk about it and gave him some other ways of dealing with it but in the end we resorted to bribery to encourage him to stop. We told him that for every two days he didn't bite we would buy him a Lego Minifig and if he could get to the end of two weeks we would buy him one of the sets he was after. That, and other coping strategies, seemed to work.

It gave him something to focus on rather than his nails which were really quite sore at one stage.

[axiomae]

I've been a nail biter since I was about that age. I bite my nails when I'm deep in thought and don't realise I'm doing it until afterwards. At school/uni I had awful nails! Now I'm a SAHM they're quite nice, ha! Nothing worked for my parents either sorry to say

[EmandZac]

We stopped the biting but DS now picks his nails. It is worse when he is nervous! We have tried pretty much everythingL

[Funwith3]

DD1 started biting her nails when DD2 was born - obviously a nervous thing. We got on to it immediately and I think that is the most important thing (so it doesn't become a real habit). We just kept telling her to stop and she did. I've been biting my nails for 30 odd years and I try so hard notto. Try yyour best to stop her - I'd give anything to not do it!!

[2littledarlings]

I was a chronic nail biter for years, only stopped when I turned 30.

I have notice our DD also 4, having a little nibble when watching tv and what worked for us was me making a big deal out of painting our nails pretty each week together. She has a soak in a little bowl then a hand massage then paint in sparkly polish.

She was not as bad your dd and not everyone likes polish on a 4 year old, but it is what worked for us. So might help?!

[NotBitzerMaloney]

As PP's have said, try to work out why it has started and PLEASE try to make her stop becore it bevomes an unconscious habit.
I'm about to turn 40 and while my parents tried to make me stop, they didn't succeed. It is the bane of my existance...