Am i BU to expect my 7 tear old DD NOT to bite her nails ans skin

[Serendipity30]

I have tried every method now they are sore and bleeding, it is really bad

Oh and give her an emery board to carry around for when a nail becomes jagged. This should help.

I stopped the habit around your daughters age because my parents promised me a (much longed for!) hamster if I stopped.

And I did! Just like that.

Unfortunately I have started again as an adult. Maybe I should look at getting another hamster!

There's a dinky little Tweezerman handbag kit which helps me a lot. Here. As well as the metal file, you can use the little clippers to clip off scraggy ends so you don't bite them.

I think i have focussed on it too much and she becomes distressed even when i mention it, clearly she can't help it, so i will focus on the anxieties, if she stops it will be a bonus.
OutragedAtThePriceOfFreddos will definitely do the diary thing.

Thanks everyone, they look so sore now she is chewing the inside of her nail, where the skin is, that's what got me really worried, as she does not have anymore nail to bite.

PoppyWearer that looks good, although she has nothing to file its that bad
i will try all your suggestions maybe i will do a mani pedi for her, nothing brash.

I wholeheartedly second the thing about nicely manicured/ clear polished nails not getting bitten. I alternate between having manky bitten stubs and lovely long strong nails for this reason. Could DD have a little bit of clear polish on neat nails, maybe?

I heard something on the radio a few months ago which sort of linked nailbiting to OCD - not saying all nailbiters have OCD, just commenting that the compulsion to bite is often very strong. It did kind of ring true for me to be honest.

Springforward i think a clear nail polish will look nice, i will do it as a treat on the weekends hopefully it will encourage her not to bite in the week

i think her compulsion to bite is strong, as she says she does not want to, but she cant help it, i believe her.

Try and distract her if you catch her doing it, but gently, just by drawing her attention to something else.

She isn't doing it on purpose, and although she is only 7, they are her own nails. Please don't nag her - it won't make her want to stop.

I didn't give up properly until I was 22 and wanted them to look reasonable on my wedding day.

Yes, don't go on at her, you'll only make her more anxious and feel guilty. I bite my nails badly, recently got a manicure and some polish and it really helped even though the nails were very short, it just put me off biting. Also, as others have said get her to carry an emery board as it's just too tempting not to bit rough edges or catches.

I used to do exactly the same thing, skin/nail everything. I was given a manicure kit by my grandparents for my 9th birthday. It did help me stop. I can still also hear my mum saying the state of my fingers made her want to cry - so that must have had an effect for me to still remember it.

I'm also wondering what I can do to as DD1 has started biting nails around Christmas time and she's only 2.7yrs old!

I did this as a child and I was quite a nervous, anxious child. As I grew older and more confident I just stopped. I have strong healthy nails and no scarring around the nails. My DD (6) bites her nails even though she is a confident child. I just ignore it and thankfully she has not started on the skin. I do pull her up when I catch her biting her toe nails [boak]
My mum did nag me and it made no difference. Would have stopped for a hamster Spotted Gurnard!

I took my daughter to the GP because she was doing this. He recommended one of those foul tasting preparations, and if that didn't work, said we'll try a professional talking to her about anxieties. Looked like it scared her off because she stopped completely, cold turkey. She is 9.

DD1 (6y) does this and she gets reoccurring bouts of cellulitis (skin infections) which are very painful and means she has lost part of the skin on a few of her fingers (nothing major but enough to be noticable). It also involves having to take a really foul tasting anti-biotic.

It's apparently all down to her finger chewing and nail biting. I'd love to get her to stop but she's not budging. Funnily enough I have OCD and Trich. and DH bit his nails as a child so it's all our fault!

i still do this and i'm 30. mom said i did it in my crib.

Thank you for all your replys, I have just come to an agreement with DD, she is an absolute book worm , and i said for every month her nails improve she will get a new book. A gleam of determination came into her eyes as there is nearly nothing so wont do for a good book, the only compromise was that it will be a Jacqueline Wilson book which a loath, but its a small price too pay. We shall see how it goes.

Sorry for the typos, touch phone

I just going to repeat what others have said,
file them! the hooks ans uneven edges are addictive, I have to keep chewing till they are smooth....
which if your chewing them they never are!
vicious circle.....
try nightly filing.