How to wean a child to bite his nails

Why does a child start biting his nails

The habit of biting nails, or onychophagia, is a fairly common phenomenon that affectsP. Haltech, R. K. Scher, S. R. Lipner. Treatments Onychophagia: A nail‑biting conundrum for physicians / Journal of Dermatological Treatment 20-30% of people. She can ariseA. Ghanizadeh. Nail Biting; Etiology, Consequences and Management / Iran Journal of Medical Science at the age of 3-4 years and accompany the child until puberty and even beyond.

Scientists do not know exactly what this habit is connected with. Alone considerM. Baghchech, J. L. Pelletier, S. E.Jacob. Art of Prevention: The importance of tackling the nail biting habit / International Journal of Women’s Dermatologythat it can arise from stress, for example, due to problems in the family. Others find no connection with anxiety and claimT. I. Williams, R. Rose, S. Chisholm. What is the function of nail biting: an analog assessment study / Behavior research and therapythat it's a matter of boredom and frustration.

In one researchA. Ghanizadeh. Association of nail biting and psychiatric disorders in children and their parents in a psychiatrically referred sample of children / Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health also found a link between bad habit and hyperactivity: 74% of children with this disorder periodically bit their nails.

Of course, this does not indicate a disorder, but if other signs of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are present, it can become cluethat it is time to visit a child psychotherapist.

At the same time, onychophagia may not have any connection with disorders, increased anxiety, or an unhealthy climate in the family. Often this is just a compulsive action that a person performs unconsciously.

Is it necessary to wean a child to bite his nails

Without a doubt, this habit is worth fighting. Onychophagia maybeM. Baghchech, J. L. Pelletier, S. E.Jacob. Art of Prevention: The importance of tackling the nail biting habit / International Journal of Women’s Dermatology lead to the following problems:

• Progressive shortening of the nail plate and damage to the nail bed.
• Paronychia is inflammation of the soft tissues around the nail.
• Periungual warts from virus transmission papillomas.
• An increase in the number of enterobacteria in the mouth, the risk of carrying pathogens such as E. coli and salmonella.
• Problems with the oral cavity: notches on the teeth, resorption (reduction) of the tooth root, gingivitis (inflammation of the gums), the formation of malocclusion.

Moreover, nail biting can cause disapproval and ridicule from adults and peers, which will negatively affect the child's self-esteem.

What Methods Should You Try?

There are several ways to wean a child from a bad habit.

Covering the nails with a bitter substance

This method is quite popular and, according to researchK. P. Silver, C. E. Haynes. Treating nailbiting: a comparative analysis of mild aversion and competing response therapies / Behavior research and therapy, gives good results.

Try using olive oil - it will provide not the most pleasant sensation when trying to bite your nails and at the same time will not harm the health of the child.

Special products are also sold, for example, with bitter cactus extract, which will stay on the nails for a long time, do not stain clothes and provide a bitter unpleasant taste.

When using this method, it is very important not to expose it as a punishment. Before smearing nails any substance, talk to the child:

• Discuss how harmful this habit is. Tell us about the possible harm to nails and teeth, the risk of harmful bacteria getting into your mouth.
• Explain that the method will help to cope with automatic actions and will not harm.
• Promise a reward if the child can last 1-2 weeks without a bad habit.

Comprehensive work on the habit

This method is suitable for older children from school age. It will require much more time and effort, but in the long run provide1. A. Ghanizadeh A. Bazrafshan A. Firoozabadi. Habit Reversal versus Object Manipulation Training for Treating Nail Biting: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial / Iranian journal of psychiatry
2. K. P. Silver, C. E. Haynes. Treating nailbiting: a comparative analysis of mild aversion and competing response therapies / Behavior research and therapy better results than simply smearing the nails with a bitter remedy.

The method includes three types of intervention:

1. Development of awareness. Explain to your child the importance of noticing when he starts biting his nails. If he is old enough to take notes, ask him to keep a habit diary and write down all the times: when and under what circumstances did he find himself doing it again, what happened before and after, what emotions did he have at that moment. This way you can track what is the trigger of the habit and help your child get rid of automatic unconscious actions.

2. Replacement. Come up with an action that can replace nail biting. For example, this might be squeezing a small toy or twisting a pencil in your fingers. Explain to the child that this will need to be done every time he notices that he bites his nails or feels the urge to do so.

3. Social support. Praise child for success, support his desire to get rid of a bad habit.

You should immediately tune in to long-term work and warn everyone involved about it. It may take weeks to change a habit, but the skills acquired in the process can be useful to the child later in life.

Developing Positive Skills

This method fits well with the previous one and is more about the general condition of the child than the specific impact on the habit.

Since onychophagia can be caused by lack of physical activity and psychological stress, adviseM. Baghchech, J. L. Pelletier, S. E.Jacob. Art of Prevention: The importance of tackling the nail biting habit / International Journal of Women’s Dermatology accustom the child to useful activities.

Try enrolling him in a sports or dance class. This will make up for the lack of activity, help develop self-confidence and improve communication with peers.

Alternatively, suggest doing drawing or modeling, to master some musical instrument. This will help to keep your hands busy and relieve stress, open up opportunities for self-expression.

positive reinforcement

You can turn breaking a bad habit into an exciting game with a prize at the end. To begin with, be sure to explain to the child why it is necessary to stop biting nails, and promise to help him with this.

Then set the rules: how many days he will need to stay without a bad habit to get the coveted prize. For each successful day, you can give out colored stickers or stickers, make notes on the wall calendar.

You can come up with several levels of difficulty - three days, a week, two weeks, a month - and distribute rewards with increasing value. As a prize, you can use goodies, small gifts or some events like visiting a trampoline center, an amusement park.

If the child could not stand it, do not scold him or shame him. On the contrary, console and support his desire to last as long as necessary next time.

What methods cannot be used

Authors of all scientific papers convergeA. Ghanizadeh. Nail Biting; Etiology, Consequences and Management / Iran Journal of Medical Science in one thing: punishments, screams, attempts to shame and ridicule a child for a bad habit do not work. Such psychological attacks provide additional stress, can cause feelings of helplessness, anxiety and hopelessness, and reduce self-esteem.

Try not to scold the child and not be ashamed of his bad habit in front of other people. Explain to other relatives, including siblings, the importance of avoiding judgment and ridicule.