Nail Biting - What age did your DC start ?- is it ever 'just a phase?'

[BigBadMouse]

My DD2 has just turned two this week. About a month ago she started biting her nails.

She is quite a fretful little one at times and sometimes lets life get on top of her - not sure if this has anything to do with her new habit. The rest of the time she is a very cheeky, intelligent, little monster

She has a comforter than she takes with her everywhere but she seems insistant that she needs to bite her nails (in preference to her comforter now ). She does this in her cot before she goes to sleep and while we read stories together as well as at other times.

Could it be just a phase? I have to say I bit my nails from a young age but don;t do so now. I don't want to make a big thing of it right now (DC3 due any day) but just interested in anyone else's experience with this.

Thanks.

I have a 2.5 yr old dd who does the same on and off. She started ages ago - probably a similar time to yours. I have noticed that she tends to nibble when she seems to be teething.
A while back the phase was more prolonged and I started to worry about it and bribed her with painting her nails sparkly (clear varnish actually!) if they looked pretty enough and it did work!

My 4.5 year-old is biting his finger nails & the cuticles around them and his toes as well (yuck...) His fingers are constantly in his mouth, from the moment he wakes up... The bitter no-biting nail solution doesn't seem to work at all... he literally has fingers in his mouth before I've finished painting all of them!

I'm now trying to source some little cotton gloves that he can at least wear in the house (although he'll look a bit like Michael Jackson ) He really doesn't realise he's doing it most of the time - it's not when he's especially stressed, it's all the time. His twin brother has beautiful nails (better than mine ) I'm especially concerned about it at the moment because they've been invited to a birthday party at a farm & I'm terrified about him putting his fingers in his mouth after touching the animals...

Anyone had any success with such a continuous biter???

Hmm...I was 29 when I stopped biting my nails!

I haven't had to cut Dds nails since......I really can't remember! Before she was a year I'm sure. She used to bite her toenails too, I used to catch her hiding somewhere with her foot in her mouth!!

She has stopped that recently she is 4 next week, but her finger nails no!