I feel this blog post might be a work in progress! My daughter Jessica just won’t stop biting her nails and they are getting extremely sore. Please feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments
Things I’ve either tried or had suggested so far have been:
- Treat! Reward chart with nail polish as a treat at the end of the week
- Chewable jewellery.
- Nasty tasting nail polish
- Keep hands occupied while watching telly etc. Fidget tools are great for this.
- Squeezable ball, mini puzzle or similar
- Promise to paint their nails once they are beautiful or treat them to a manicure.
- Make sure school is aware and other caregivers
- Is it a learnt behaviour? Is someone else biting their nails around them? If yes this might need to be addressed first.
- Is anything causing the child to be anxious? Starting a new school?
- Buy books on keeping good hygiene to help educate young children. Children who bite their nails often get worms. Eggs get stuck under their nails.
- Hynoposis.
Why am I so worried about nail biting?
Nail and cuticle biting can damage the fingers and leave permanent scars. It can also leave the skin open to infections. I have personally known a friend of mine to got blood poisoning (septicaemia) and ended up on an antibiotic drip in hospital. I think it’s really important to try and stop your toddler/ children to stop doing this at a young age before the habit lies too deep.
Please feel free to comment on this blog with your own ideas.
Ways to stop biting nails
[amazon_link asins=’B00336WT3O,B017NQOYH8,B077ZT5TY4,B004220CMS,B000TBW0NA,B000MS07DA,B00JGO3VSE,B0081RK9A0,B007U4HX5Y,B019PNT54E’ template=’ProductGrid’ store=’httpwwwelizab-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’ffb8a6c1-11c9-11e8-89a0-4f06a07b9f7a’]
Live locally to Norwich and want to book in? Have a look at my price list and contact me by email.
