2 year old nail biter!!

[missd]

Help. My dd2 was 2 in January and has started biting her nails?! She also worries at the skin and today made her finger bleed.
She is a happy and content child, and has been since she was a baby.
Has any body experienced this and got any tips on what to do?
Thanks

Very hard, but its a habit you'll need to try and break asap.

My DD aged 9 started biting her nails about a year ago. She had never done this previously, never sucked her thumb and not had any problems that I am aware of.

Just bought stop and grow which tastes vile but seems to be makng some progress. Just checked the label but cant see a minimum age, better check before buying it.

Failing that ...bribary often works !

No tips but will watch with interest as my 2yr old ds also does this and have no idea how to stop him. He is obsessed with his nails and the skin around them.

dd1 used to do this when she was about 3. I tried a range of things with varied success: nail varnish, with or without stop'n'grow; bribery; nagging; telling off; sticker charts.

They all worked some of the time, but didn't really cure it. I confess it drove me to unprecedented levels of fury, partly (I think) because of the feeling that she must be doing it for emotional reasons, that there must be something wrong in her life. If there was, I never got to the bottom of it. She eventually grew out of it, but has still gone through occasional phases. I think at root it's just a habit, so don't read too much into it, but try and encourage/reward/distract. Don't let it get to you.

ditto my 5 yr old bites them to the quick no reason says they taste nice she also bites her toe nails eurgh !!

using stop and grow with bribery
the carrot being gorgeous nail varnish and stickers watch his space

thanks all. I haven't tried the sticker chart with her yet but I'll give it a go. I do try not to make a big issue out of it, but I do hear mysElf screaming "FINGERS OUT"
I think her skin has started to hurt a little as she keeps saying ouch, so hopefully that'll stop her.

My DD did this at 2 as well. HV suggested very calmly removing her hand and saying " ....... don't do that' Took a couple of months, feeling like a stuck record and lots of trying to be calm when not feeling it, but it worked.

Started up again at 2.9 just before her brother was born and the same thing, plus bribes of nail polish, worked.

Think it may be something she will do at times.

Hang in there.

my Dd is just 2 and she has bitten her nails for ages now, she dosent bite them too short or hurt the skin or anything though.

i hardly ever have to snip them cause she has always got there first!

DD age 4 has started too, also sucks her thumb (which I don't mind). Am determind to stop it now as I bit my nails as a child and only stopped three months ago age 38! Still have my nails in my mouth occassionaly and feel so disgusted with myself, so I really think we all need to try and nip it in the bud. Will try also stop and grow and nail polish bribe, but will watch if anyone else has a better suggestion.

I just thought I'd bump this one, as I am after more tips. My DS (2.3) is definitely biting his nails and my DD (8 months) seems to be biting one finger. I was a huge nail biter myself and I feel relly guilty that it is simply copied behaviour. I have stopped biting my nails (when it looked like DS was starting I decided I needed to make a change) but DS is just getting worse. It is clearly when he is nervous that his fingers go into his mouth and he bites, so putting him on the spot just mkes him worse.

I know I need to put a stop to it now otherwise he will have fingers like mine (and my parents' for that matter).