Child nail picking/tearing

[MarshmallowPink]

My 8 year old boy has a habit of tearing his fingers and toe nails off. I’ve bought him fidgets / an elastic band to distract but nothing works. Could anybody advise? Thank you :-(

Bump

I do the same.

I understand what you're thinking about the elastic band but to me elastic band gives a completely different feeling to picking nails/skin. And to me the elastic band has a different purpose compared to when I pick my nails. So that's just wrong to me.

But yes fidgets I can see.

Have you tried the nail varnish that tastes horrible?

I've picked my nails since I was 3 though. And skin more when I was an adult. And still do 🙈

Don’t make a big a thing of it. I still remember my mum shoving my finger in a friend’s face after the church service. It didn’t help. Nor did any of her interventions. I stopped biting and tearing my nails myself in my 20s.

So I do this. If I find a rough bit or a slight indent, I'll pick and pick until it's unpickable and I'll be hyper fixated in this. I actually found carrying a nail file around helped because I could smooth my nail out and there would be nothing to pick thus the task was complete.
If I don't have a nail file then I'll pick again. If I'm super anxious then I'll pick regardless.

Thanks all, it’s hard to know if it’s a habit or an anxiety thing or both. I’m just worried he’ll get an infection or something - he’s pulled one of his toe nails right down