Have you noticed that your child is constantly pulling his hands to his mouth and biting his nails? Most parents, unfortunately, do not pay due attention to this problem. All measures of struggle are limited to screaming and clapping, and only a few wonder why the child is doing this. To understand how to wean children from biting their nails, first of all, you need to understand the true reasons for this.
The pernicious habit of biting nails or the skin around them in children is usually one of the ways to adapt to stressful situations, a reaction to strong experiences. Moreover, the child himself may not be aware of what is happening to him. A new difficult task in kindergarten, a feeling of embarrassment surrounded by unfamiliar children on the playground or at a party - if you find that the baby bites his nails in such unusual situations, then the reason lies precisely in stress.
Should wean?
Some parents believe that this habit will disappear by itself with age. But in the subconscious, it takes root veryfirmly - most adults who bite their nails have been doing it since childhood. If you do not pay attention to the problem in time and do not find a way to wean children from biting their nails, you can face many unpleasant consequences:
- defects in the shape of nails and fingers;
- damage to the cuticle and skin near the nails, bleeding and bruising;
- delayed nail growth;
- problems with teeth and gums;
- risk of infection of the periungual surface;
- the body will be constantly attacked by viral and microbial infections, as dirt and microorganisms accumulated under the nails will penetrate into the saliva.
How can I help my child?
So, you need to wean your child from biting his nails. But how to do it right? First of all, give up the idea of scolding him every time you notice the manifestation of a bad habit. This will not only not help, but will even aggravate the situation: fear of punishment, irritability and anxiety will only “reinforce the soil.”
It is important to understand the psychological reasons for this behavior. Find out what is bothering the child, why he is worried or too excited. With the help of an unobtrusive conversation, you can not only find out what is happening to him, but also help him find the right solution in a given situation.
It is believed that in how to wean children from biting their nails, an important point is learning techniques to relieve stress (which, by the way, will be useful to your child in adulthood). For example, some people calm down when theythey clench and unclench their fists, while others are helped by measured deep breaths and exhalations. While you are still struggling with the habit, try to divert your baby's attention and keep his hands busy with something else every time they reach for his mouth.
Nail biting in children is quite common (about 30% of children from 7 to 10 years old experience this), so keep calm yourself, even if you don’t immediately wean your child from it. You can speed up this process by buying a special cream or a colorless varnish with a bitter taste in a pharmacy - having felt it several times, the child will no longer be so willing to put his fingers in his mouth. For older girls, you can solve this problem even more effectively: for example, give your daughter a beautiful manicure. It is unlikely that she would want to spoil such a beauty!
When looking for ways to stop your kids from biting their nails, don't forget to let your little one know that you love them no matter what their hands look like.
Try to make sure that he made the decision to end the bad habit himself. It is necessary to tell why it is harmful to bite your nails. In any case, if the child makes this important decision himself, it will be much easier to deal with the problem.
