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Thread: cause of nail biting in children

  1. #1
    Ishika Seth's Avatar Member
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    cause of nail biting in children

    My friend's son keeps on biting his nails. Whenever he is engrossed in something, I see him biting his nails. I tried to dissuade him but he says that he does it unknowingly. Even his parents have also tried to get rid of his habit of nail biting. Why do children bite their nails?

  2. #2
    neha francis's Avatar Member
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    Nail biting is a common nervous trait seen in many kids. Children may bite their nails due to stress, anxiety, boredom or insecurity. Your firend’s kid may be into this habit due to some of the reasons. Check this out so that he can get rid of his habit of nail biting.

  3. #3
    Fatima Shreen's Avatar Member
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    There are many reasons of nail biting in children. Ask your friend to observe, when the child bites his nails that is what are the trigger points. Once you friend has narrowed down the events when the child bites his nails, then let her discuss the issue with her child. Listen to his side of the story and together come up with a game plan.

  4. #4
    I have been biting nails since I was a kid. Now I am 30 yrs old but still I am unable to get rid of this habit. I tired sticky tapes, tying the fingers, putting horrible stuff on nails and what not but still I can not get rid of this habit. My nails are short and bleeding. they look disgusting but I cannot do anything.

  5. #5
    Hello, there can be a number of reasons why your child has a habit of biting his or her nails. Some of the reasons can be biting because of boredom or maybe out of curiosity, if he or she is nervous and stressed out or it might even be a regular habit of biting nails. Nail biting is quite a common habit in children as well as in adults. The reason nail biting habits develop are due to nervousness or if he or she is scared. Apart from biting nails children also have a habit of sucking their thumb, tugging, nose picking, tooth grinding and hair twisting.

  6. #6
    The most common nervous trait seen in children in nail biting. Some children are quite insecure and anxious due to which they start biting their nails. They feel relieved after biting their nails and it is often considered to be a way of reducing the nervousness and tensions of childhood. Every kid tends to get anxious and shy every time. If they learn something new in school or feel shy at a family function, these are some of the common triggers. There is no need to worry if he has a habit of primarily biting nails to overcome his stress and nervousness.

  7. #7
    Riya Jain's Avatar Member
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    Hi all, my daughter also had a habit of nail biting and she used to do it regularly and quite often. Whenever she went to school she felt shy, she was quite an introvert and due to this reason she used to eat her nails. Slowly and gradually I made her understand that eating nails in not a good habit. Eventually she stopped biting her nails on her own and till now she has never done that again. I think that is a phase of life when children have some habits but it passes gradually as time flows by.

  8. #8
    If your case is worse and your child doesn’t stop nail biting and has a continuous habit of biting his nails then maybe you can try these things which might help in getting rid of that habit. If your child is nervous or anxious ask him or her about her anxiety and make her comfortable. Carefully handle the underlying causes of her behaviour and also think if she has any stress or worries. If you feel something is making your child anxious and nervous make sure to help him or her and talk about his worries.

  9. #9
    Sneha Rathod's Avatar Member
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    Hello all, if your child has a habit of nail biting frequently and if you want to get rid of that habit you have to go slow. Being rough and hard on your child is not going to work, in spite it will make him more nervous and scared leading to the increase in the habit. Do not punish or nag your child, he might be doing it unknowingly and may not be knowing it also. If he or she does not even know what they are doing then punishing and nagging are pretty useless things. These are habit which will gradually go.

  10. #10
    Some children are over stressed and bite their nails badly and sometimes also bit off their finger skin which is quite hurting for them. To avoid all these things it is better that your keep a regular check on his or her nails and trim them whenever necessary, this way they won’t be able to bite the nails and gradually get rid of that habit. Trimming the nails may also keep them away from the germ filled finger. When they won’t have nails to bite they might try to focus on something else. Do not add pressure on them as they might again continue with the same habit under stress.

  11. #11
    Hi if at all your child is not ready to stop biting his nails then you can do these things which is did to my daughter so that she could stop biting her nails. When they don’t stop biting nails you can apply some bitter tasting solution to their fingertips, so as soon as they put their fingers in their mouth they taste the bitter solution and will hesitate before putting their fingers in the mouth next time. They will feel that they are punished, they will resist and get angry, create tantrums but this will make them stop.

  12. #12
    Hey, nail biting can sometimes become a serious problem in kids and getting rid of the habit is quite difficult. You can try some of these tips and hopefully they might be helpful for you. You can coat their nails with bitter nail polish and try for the clear ones so that they don’t realise it. Keep trimming their nails as soon as they grow. Try talking to them that if they eat their nails all the germs on their fingers may enter their stomach making them sick. Put a bandage or adhesive tap so that they are reminded constantly not to do it.

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