I’m not much of a nail biter myself. My bad habit as a kid was sucking my thumb, which I did every night until, at the ripe old age of 9, I became cognizant that it was very uncool and infantile to be sucking one’s thumb in order to get to sleep. I weaned myself off upon making this discovery, after all my mom’s repeated attempts to get me to quit by putting a bitterly vile substance called “Thumb” on it before I went to bed (I sucked it right off).
So, I need advice from the nail biters among you. Cody has been biting his nails since he was a tiny thing. They now look like this:
The nails are just about halfway gone and yet, he continues to bite them! We’ve had discussions about the necessity of him stopping, or he won’t have any nails left, but he still does it. When I see him biting, I remind him to stop, but my guess it that a lot of this goes on, without him even being aware, during school. Short of forcing him to wear gloves all day (I’m sure that wouldn’t create cause for ridicule by his classmates at all) or soaking his fingertips in vinegar (he hates the smell), what can I do? Will he chew away everything that’s left if given enough time?
Any advice, thoughts or help would be greatly appreciated!
Good luck.
Signed, a 34-year-old nail biter
Seriously, it’s a terrible habit, and equally hard to break. I don’t even know I’m doing it. I look down, and they’re gone. I’ll go through phases where I can grow them out, and it’s wonderful, and then something stressful happens or I’m concentrating hard at work or whatever, and I look down…gone.
Let me know if you figure something out. Sophia does it, too.
I know you’re a nail biter, but are yours close to halfway gone? Because Cody’s are and that’s why I’m concerned about it. I honestly don’t know what he’s even biting as the white nail part has been chewed away for ages. He just keeps chewing them further and further down.
I used to bite nails as a kid…eventually quit. Amanda’s nails looked like that as a kid; when she got a little older we put on fake nails and she chewed all those off as well…but we kept doing it ; on and off; till she got to the point where she realized what she was doing. And she quit. We did the yucky tasting stuff-and it failed. Once she wanted nails to paint she worked harder at stopping. Now, since Cody is not a girl….this is obviously of no help to you. Is there an incentive that would help him to want to stop? Like you said, he is not even realizing what he is doing. I think we wrapped her fingertips in bandaids once. Not sure if that helped or not..haha It would give him something else to chew on other than his nails!
Here’s what worked for me. I bit nails all my life until I broke my arm when I was 24. I had a cast on past my elbow and couldn’t reach my nails. I still felt the urge to bite. The nails were growing and looking all uneven so I used a file to clean them up a bit. For some reason, that took away the urge to bite. I tried this on the hand I could reach and noticed my nails were growing and I hadn’t had the urge to bite. It seems that when they’re uneven or there’s just a little nick in one, the urge to bite or even it out arises. Once I got the cast off, I just kept filing and shaping my new nails and the urge to bite went away. Now, when I break a nail the normal way, I tell myself, “Yay, I get to chew on this one.” If Cody can stop just long enough to let them grow a tad, you can start filing and see what happens. You can even file them now, as short as they are, and he might notice that he’s not biting. I don’t know. It’s worth a try.
Thanks, Marian! It’s certainly worth a try. At this point, I’m willing to try anything. I appreciate your input. =)
This may sound a little cruel but trust me, it’s not. If you’ve ruled out a nail bed fungal infection (happens in kids more than we’d like) and gotten the all-clear from his pediatrician that nothing is wrong and he’s not manifesting eaely signs of obsseive-compulsive disroder, forget the vinegar and buy some bitter apple cream from a pet store. It’s used to prevent dogs and cats from obsessively chewing or licking a heeling wound, hot spot, and itchy spots due to ring-worm infection ( a fungus common in the ground everywhere, not an actual worm. ) The Bitter apple cream needs only be dabbed very lightly on each finger tip, then rubbed in well early in the day. You should wear surgical or rubber gloves while you do this. I wouldn’t do it every day since a child has to pick up food if they eat sandwiches! Becuase the cream has a strong bitter flavor, most parents and pet owners only apply it at night or with kids, weekends and/or nights. It isn’t harmful but one taste is a mightily powerful deterrent. Make sure you give your child extra flavored water to drink when you’re doing this because they will have the urge to get that awful taste out of their mouth if they slip up and chew. sugar-free gum helps too.
I was a nail biter too and used the cream on myself because I did it without thinking or any real desire. I was a pen chewer as well when young. When I got my first dog as an adult I discovered Bitter Apple cream (stay away from the spray, inhaling that can cause you or your child to have a panic attack since the taste gets in your nostrils and down your throat). I saw how well it worked on my dog’s obsessive licking of a hot spot and so I tried lightly applying it to my nails. I broke the habit in less than a week. Whenever I felt the urge, I buffed or filed my nails. One last thought, take Cody for a professional manicure but purchase his own child-sized set of tools and files. You don’t want him getting a fungal infection there. Seeing a professional do their work might impress him as he sees how careful everyone there is about their nails. Best wishes!
My son bites his nails too. Rather than keep going on at him we let him do it in the hope he might stop in time. He started about age 8 and his nails are probably just under half they were. Has Cody bitten his any shorter now?