How do I stop my son from picking his nails?

[fartmeistergeneral]

It's awful. He never bites them but just picks away constantly at the nails and the skin around them. They are looking horrendous at the moment and I know from my own past experience that once the nails go down as far as that, they never recover and will always look strange.

I can't paint anything on them, as he never bites but what can I do to make him stop? He's 6 and obviously a nervous little boy, but still full of fun, enjoying school and has plenty of friends. It's just a bad habit.

No help to you I know, but I will be interested in replies as I have this habit and can't seem to break it...and now my ds2 (2.5) has started too . But he seems too young to have picked it up from me! (incidentally, ds1, 5, bites his nails and so does dh).

Well funnily enough gingernut, I also have this habit and when my ds was younger he used to slap my hands to stop me doing it - he hated it! Now I do that to him! Feel bad that it's obviously because of me that he started and my nails are terrible - I hate seeing bitten nails, and that's what his look like, they are shorn right down and the skin on the side is all picked away too. Feel guilty.

DS (same age) did this for a while too - he stopped of his own accord though. Your DS might grow out of it - have you tried explaining that he might hurt his fingers if he does it all the time?

mine does this too, looks awful