chewing on nails

SallyAnneS · June 2014

Ds has gotten into a habit of chewing on his finger nails. Do you think i should try and break the habit right away or will he grow out of it? He is 3. If I should break the habit, how? The only thing i can think to do is the no bite nail polish.

hayleydeee · June 2014

DD did that for about a year. I was worried it would be a lifelong thing because I know some adults who really struggle with it. We did end up using a (small) about of that bite nail polish and got a book about nail bitting (The Bernstein Bears). Also every time we'd catch her in the act we'd say "no bitting please". Start off with just a little nail polish on the tips, that stuff is STRONG and will make any food they touch taste bad too. Read amazon reviews, some brands are better than others.

It took a couple of months but eventually she stopped. I'm still not sure if she just grew out of it or if it was our efforts.

barnwife · June 2014

I bite my nails. I hate the fact that I do, but I am in my 30s and it's a habit.

I started when young and my mom thought I would grow out of it. Then, when I didn't, she declared war. As in, she would stop at nothing to get me to stop.

Unfortunately for her, she chose to begin that war at an age where I realized that my biting my nails bothered her...a lot. And I liked knowing that I could irk my mom. And I also knew that in the end, there really wasn't anything she could do to make me stop. I wanted that power over my mom.

So I resisted all her efforts (trust me, she tried it all). And it became a completely ingrained habit.

I firmly believe that if she had just waited a little longer, I would have stopped as a tween/teen. She could have suggested I start polishing my nails and I would have loved it and that would have been that. Problem solved.

But war she declared and war she got. And it was one she never had a chance of winning.

Long story short, there wasn't much she could have done.

If you use the no bite polish, you must use it religiously. It wears off. (I know, I'd just wait for it to wear off/pick it off and then bite them.)

dizzycooks · June 2014

Yep break it if you can. I chew my nails constantly. For a while I stopped but it's gotten bad again. If I polish them (rare!) I just pick it off and start chewing. It's gross.

lala5507 · June 2014

nowababy said:

Break it you all say big how??? DD1 has been doing it for months and I feel like I'm making it worse by telling her not to.

Yeah breaking the habit isn't that easy. My daughter has been doing it since we took the binky away. I haven't trimmed her finger nails in over a year. I have no idea how to break the habit. I think she does it when she is in her bed at nap and bed time, so short of duct taping mittens on her hands, I don't really think I can do much to stop it.

zbeesma86 · June 2014

nail bitter here- horrible habit. I pick them. Chew them. I HATE IT. I can't stop though.

The only time I was successful in not biting them was when I got my wisdom teeth out and my mouth hurt so bad I couldn't even bite my nails.

My mom used to tell me weird stuff to get me to quit biting- but it never worked. Tried hot sauce on my fingers, socks, gloves, told me I'd have to get shots (I hated needles), told me I'd damage my nail bed, told me I couldn't paint them or get a manicure (paint them sometimes, and only do pedis because I'm not wasting money for someone to paint my nubs).

It's super hard to break once you start. I've never been a smoker but people relate it to that because it's the hand to mouth motion and act of biting that is addictive. I'm no help

Sorry

barnwife · June 2014

Yeah, the moral of my story is break the habit early. But I have no idea how to do it!

I'd probably start with the no bite polish and just make sure to apply it often. Really, really often. At least once a day.

dizzycooks · June 2014

I chewed a nail sitting here reading this...hopeless!

rachie1019 · June 2014

Put that yucky (but safe) OTC clear polish stuff on her nails that tastes awful? It's made to break the nail biting habit.

fancynewbeesly · June 2014

Reese picks at her nails. It was a habit she started during the doctors visits/hospital stays. It drives me crazy--especially since I still pick at mine!

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