My 2 year old bites her nails off!!! HELP!

renchr wrote: My 2 and 1/2 year old started biting her nails about a year ago. She doesn't just bite them; she practically bites the whole entire nail off! She doesn't just bite her fingers but her toe nails too! I always put socks on her when she sleeps but she sometimes takes them off (like this morning) and bites her toes too. Both of her big toe nails are about to fall off completely. I don't know what to do. I bought this nail polish stuff that is supposed to have an awful taste when they put their nails in their mouth and that didn't work. I have even tried to bribe her and tell her if she stops biting her nails she will get a swingset! The worst time seems to be when she is in bed.... and she must be awake if she is biting her toenails too! Any suggestions? Our doctor was no help.

renchr replied: Anyone have any experience with a child biting their nails a lot?

luvmykids replied: Welcome to PC!

My 4yo son bites his nails here and there, it gets bad and then goes away, comes back with a vengeance, goes away ....

According to our ped, it can be over-stimulation or boredom in the most common cases. It can be anxiety, anything that may be upsetting to your daughter going on? Mostly we've tried very little TV, lots of activities that keep his hands busy, and a long and slow bedtime routine to allow him to relax. Seems to work. Also, ignore, ignore, ignore. Making a deal out of it means she's getting attention for doing it.

Good luck and hope you stick around.

ZandersMama replied: My boy does that too, just his finger nails though. I wish I had some advice but I dont, nothing we have tried has worked. We got one suggestion of putting tabasco sauce on his finger tip but didnt want to try it seemed to mean.

For her toes at night, maybe footed pjs then she cant get at them.

Boo&BugsMom replied: They make a substance called Thumb that can be found at Walgreens and other various stores. Many people use it to get their kids to stop sucking their thumbs, but it would also work for this situation possibly. It's not toxic, but it's similar to something you would buy for animals to get them to not chew on things, only this is for humans, obviously. It's worth a try. It's got a HORRIBLE taste, which is why it works.

groovy_mommy replied: My cousin had done the same thing when she was your kid's age. My uncle took her to a psychologist and fount out that it was her way to get rid of her nerve.

Just find out the real reason, starting from there I believe you can make her mouth forget the yummy taste of thumb.



cheers,

redchief replied: Your daughter is, in my opinion, too young for that behavior to be so pronounced. I would definitely discuss it with your pediatrician.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
I agree. All kids are different too, thus, there will always be different reasons for why kids do things like this. Could be out of nerves, or it could be something completely different. Going with the pediatrician you really can't go wrong. Better safe than sorry.

Ashlynn's Mommy replied:
I would discuss this with your ped. If they are no help then take the next step, and talk with a chil phsyc. something could be bothering her, and that could be her way of letting it out.

renchr replied: Thank you for the posts! We moved across country about 10 months ago and that is when the nail biting started.. could be anxiety. I tried that Thumb product months ago and it didn't help. The past couple of weeks has gotten better... I painted her nails a light pink and made a big deal about making her nails "pretty". I got out the files and all that and she really enjoyed having her nails "prettied" all up. Every couple days I redo them and she really likes it and does not appear to be biting them anymore! (I can even see some of the white part on her fingers! ) She did tend to bite the nails in her sleep, in the car, watching tv, or any other time where she is not busy. Now instead of biting nails I keep finding her picking her nose! I think it is normal around this age though when they are discovering all their parts! Thanks again!

Boo&BugsMom replied: Maybe she is just a tactile child? I have a daycare girl who is like that with her feet. She doesn't bite her toenails, but she always has to be playing with her feet...and she's 4 1/2. She always has to be busy with them. Could be she just needs to always be doing something, and biting her nails keeps her busy? Just another thought.

renchr replied: Ok... I take back what I posted yesterday-- how my daughter hasn't bitten her nails in a couple week since I started putting nail polish on them and making them "pretty". She woke up today with the ends of all her fingernails bit off. Her socks were still on though so her toenails are still in tacked! Darn it! I thought she had stopped the nibbling finally!!