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Name: Tee Tan

I have a daughter who was nail biting since she was 4 years old. I discouraged her from not doing it since then. Over the years she has not kicked off this bad habit and now even at 9 years old, she is still doing it. I never have the chance to cut her fingernails because whenever I would, I would be surprised to see that all of her nails are so short and crooked from her nail biting. What is worse is that she has started biting even her toenails. I do not know for how long this has been going on. I never see her do it actually. I really would want to discourage her from nailbiting because it is bad habit. I do not know how to react. I've scolded her each time I discover her badly crooked nails but she still does it behind my back. Asking her if she did it again encourages her to tell a lie to me. I do not want to just pretend to ignore her nail biting because I think she would think that it's okay. I do not know where to stand. As a mother I would like to see her off from this behavior. Otherwise, my daughter is alright. She is sweet, mild mannered and all, except for this nail biting. Please help me.

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