I shared tricks my kids have learned recently. There are more to share but today I'm in need of help. Does anyone have a trick to stop nail biting? My daughter will be 4 in a few weeks and she has begun biting her nails. She did this once before and after a few dots of hot pepper she stopped. Then out of the blue - she's biting again!!
I tried hot pepper again but she continued to bite. I felt like she may get a tummy ache with too much pepper so now I don't know what to try. I've taken away her dresses, she LOVES dresses and ALWAYS wants to wear dresses. I thought this would do the trick - a large enough incentive in her world. No luck. I'm not going to send her to church in shorts!
I've told her it makes her fingers have 'owies' and look yucky if she bites them. Doesn't work. She promises she won't bite them again and that she will obey. She doesn't succeed.
I feel stumped because I know I do the same thing. No, I've never been a nail biter but I do have things I cannot stop doing. (Like being on the computer longer than I want!) It seems the little annoyances in our lives can have so much power over us.
Everytime she tells me 'I promise Mommy, I will NOT bite my fingers ever ever ever. Ok? Do you trust me Mommy?' My heart just breaks because I do the same thing to God. I have the same results - I cannot keep my promise. So this makes it difficult to correct her on this, but I know nail biting is a permanent bad habit. Many start this as kids and never stop! I don't want this to be her story!! I want her to get victory over this little battle.
12 comments:
So true....so VERY true!!!
This is so poigniant and true. Praying with her is the first step. My daughter bites her nails, too, and has a bad habit of chewing on her favorite blankie. It gets really gross. We've gotten small victories, but a stressful time will bring it back out. Have you tried a sticker chart with a big reward for a week or so of non-biting?
Love the sticker idea! I use stickers and reward for other things but didn't consider it for this! See it helps when you leave a comment!!! Thank you SingforHim!!
That picture of her is absolutely beautiful! Habits are a completely different thing to correct than behaviors. I would try not to let her promise not to bite her nails. She is setting herself up for sin (lying). Maybe you could try covering her fingernails with stickers or band-aids only for a day or two. Then when she tries to bite, give her words to say to herself when she finds the stickers or band-aids that will help her remember why she is not to bite. After a couple of days, take the band aids off and see if she can catch herself biting and can find the words you have taught her. The words should be simple, a short sentence or two for her age. Maybe something like, "Mommy says not to bite my nails. Mommy knows best." You could even teach her to then put her hands in her pockets until she has forgotten about her nails.
I have never had this problem, so I am grasping at straws and not speaking from experience. But I will say that a similar method could work for a nose-picker (without mentioning any child's name, of course. Try sticking a finger with a band-aid on it up your nose. It doesn't fit!) :) I hope you find success and maybe better advice from someone who has been there!
Thanks for that advice Good/Bad/Ugly! Very good point!! Habit are different from behavior. I will try your suggestions too - way better ideas than I was having.
I am ashamed that I first lean towards punishment (hot pepper or taking things away) rather than creative and positive solutions. Sometimes we are too close to the issue to see obvious better ways!
Thanks again for your idea!
Good post!
I heard about someone who traced their kids' hands on a piece of paper. They had to make it 10 days (one per finger) and if they did it, they got to color in one of the fingernails. Then on the 10th day, they got a manicure! That might be too long of a time (10 days) but something like that?
How about getting together with her to think of something else she could do with her hands when she feels like she needs to bite her nails. Or it may be an oral thing, so she may need something (safe)to put in her mouth until the urge passes. Or you make an agreement that when she feels like biting her nails, she comes and tells you and you sing a song or do something distracting until that passes.
Melissa
What a beautiful family. My boys are teenagers now, but I did have one who bit his nails occasionally. It seems that stressful situations brought out that bad habit. Try to pinpoint when she begins to do it and journal for a few days without pointing it out to her. Perhaps you can identify the source that leads to nail chewing. Just a thought! Your blog is precious.
Jan
aka quiltgirl
Great ideas Amanda and Melissa! I'm so glad I asked! You all have great ideas!!
Jan, great advice on the journal. That may help solve the mystery.
I am really thrilled with all the help you ladies are providing!!
The band-aid idea works great! I did that with my son and it only took a few days of "reminding" that his fingers didn't belong in the mouth. Good Luck!
I'm really behind on your posts. I'm so sorry my blogline didn't show you updated :(
I've always heard that biting nails does not need punishment, but rather another distraction. Her hands need to be busy with something else. The problem needs to be replaced with a substitution. Maybe a hand held toy like silly putty or something.
This is just a suggestion.
She is pretty young, but I quit biting my nails by having fake nails on for about a year. I bet it wouldn't take that long with her not having such a habit as I did.
I used to bite them til there was nothing left and I was biting the skin. I quit when I was 17.
Post a Comment