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Original poster

How can I stop DS biting his nails???

18 replies

shakeapoo · 03/04/2019 20:30

It's driving me crazy, they are bitten so far down but still always in his mouth and hands are normally filthy too!! He's 6. I've told him it's bad for his teeth, bad for his fingers and about the dirt and germs but hasn't made any difference 😩

OP posts:

Doje · 03/04/2019 20:34

Get some of that stuff from Boots - 'Stop and Grow' I think it's called. You paint it on and it tastes foul. Just make sure you put more on regularly.

Original poster

shakeapoo · 04/04/2019 09:45

Ok, I'll take a look

OP posts:

Original poster

shakeapoo · 04/04/2019 09:45

Thank you!

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Families

LizzieSiddal · 04/04/2019 09:48

Is he worried about something? I bit my nails as I was very anxious as a child for a time.

DerbyRacer · 04/04/2019 10:09

My ds bites his. He is biting them less since I gave him a nail file. He seems to like filing them. He absolutely hates getting his nails cut.

mbosnz · 04/04/2019 10:11

If you find a sure fire way, please share it. I've been biting them 44 years, and nothing I've tried has stopped me!

GillianUsedToLiveHere · 04/04/2019 10:15

Try a fidget toy, not a spinner but something your hands play with. There are lots of different ones available.

Really helped Ds1 with nail biting as his hands were occupied. We noticed he bit when watching TV so he had the fidget toy in his hands for that.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 04/04/2019 11:21

Yep my Ds is 6 too and is constantly gnawing. We put stop and grow on his nails before and after school, but then he gnaws his drink bottle, his collar, his cuffs. It's very odd. I wonder if it's a developmental thing or just a compulsive habit? He's not normally anxious.

FreckledLeopard · 04/04/2019 11:24

I've bitten my nails for 26 years. I have very slowly managed to grow a nail at a time, so that at present, I have 8 full nails and 2 bitten ones. On extremely rare occasions, I manage not to bite them at all. I've tried everything - Stop n Grow, manicures, acrylics, but I find nail binding fairly compulsive and also reflects my general states of anxiety. The more stressed I am, the worse my nails are.

DD bites hers too. You may be able to try and nip the habit in the bud by using Stop n Grow or something (actually Boots' own version is better, tastes worse and can't be picked off) but you'll have to be pretty dedicated. And also, I would then just pick my nails rather than bite.

Good luck, but there are no easy answers.

Original poster

shakeapoo · 04/04/2019 14:19

He definitely has some sensory issues and problems concentrating, not sure if it's anxiety though. He does get anxious in certain situations but nail biting if often at school and at home where he's happy. He also twiddles his nipple which drives me mad, one nipple is really pointy and one is flat! Tried many fidget toys but haven't found one that has really stuck. I bought some stop & grow today so I'll try it! My only concern is a major freak out at the bad taste!

OP posts:

TimeIhadaNameChange · 04/04/2019 15:04

I don't know. I stopped in my 20s. It wasn't a conscious decision, I just somehow broke the habit.

I wonder if it is a sensory thing. It used to annoy me if I had a jagged bit, or if one tore, and I'd tear it off. I still do bite hangnails off if I can't get to clippers quickly enough. I think it was also an anxiety thing, one of the few things I could control. And in a way the pain was comforting.

Whatever you do, please don't try to embarrass him out of it (though I'm sure you wouldn't). I still remember my mother grabbing my hand and shoving it in the face of someone at church. They were taken aback and didn't know how to react. I was heartily embarrassed, and upset that my mother didn't realise that I wasn't biting them just for the fun of it.

What would be your views on him wearing nail polish? Could you try some funky colours over the holidays, and see if that encourages him to keep them long? And I love my Scholl electric nail file, it gets rid of the annoying bits really quickly.

BlackPrism · 04/04/2019 15:07

You can't. Only thing that works is willpower, he'll bite through the bad taste.

signed, 23yo nail biter who once stopped for a few months.

Seeline · 04/04/2019 15:11

Another who says you can't!
I managed to stop 2 years ago at the age of 50 - I started at about 18 months.
I cannot stand rough edges so if a nail breaks or flakes I find it really difficult not to bite. Nail files and scissors still leave a rough edge until they have worn down naturally.
I had tried everything to stop previously, and this time just found that I had. I don't think mine is stress induced - the best nails I had previously was in the run up to my wedding!

FreeButtonBee · 04/04/2019 15:14

very hard to stop. I've managed to get DS to stop biting his toes (mostly) but his is anxiety based so school is a real trigger. I did have quite a lot of success over the summer with bright blue nail varnish and warnings that it would be taken off if he bites. He loved the novelty and he had really improved but then back to school no nail varnish allowed and he is back to biting pretty badly. I am going to try again over the Easter hols to at least reduce the habit a bit and then give it another good go over the summer. He is such a good little soul that I just can't do stop n grow to him.

TimeIhadaNameChange · 04/04/2019 15:54

Seeline - try the electric file, it's blinking wonderful for smoothing the edges. I lost mine a few months ago and actually bought a replacement as I couldn't cope without it!

If only I could find something that worked as well for the hangnails...!

Seeline · 04/04/2019 17:08

TimeIhadanamechange Ooo haven't heard of one of those! I shall have to investigate 🙂

Original poster

shakeapoo · 05/04/2019 10:32

I'll try nail polish and regular filing over Easter hols. Haven't done the stop and grow yet but told him about it and he seems surprisingly keen... although that is likely to change & I won't push it if he gets upset

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 05/04/2019 10:49

Mine were both nail biters , nothing worked until they got braces .

Note- I am not suggesting orthodontic treatment as a cure , but it was only because they physically could not gnaw them.

DS is now 19yo and has talons that he has to keep cutting (he has the guitar player fingernails of one-hand-long-one-hand-short! )

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