Hello!

My 3 year old constantly bites her fingers and her nails, and always has her hands in her mouth. She constantly has sore fingers from doing this but we can’t get her to stop. Is there a way to stop it without putting that awful nail biting solution on her fingers?


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  • My 3yo son does this as well I tried a babies teething rings and rusks one of the teachers at his early intervention school suggested teething jewellery mine arrived today I got it from bubba chew they have a section for sensory products meant for kids over 3 they wear it as a necklace ive told mr 3 this is for his teeth and not to put his fingers in his mouth anymore hopefully it works but as they only arrived today im keeping my fingers crossed


  • I really don’t like the idea of putting the stuff on her nails. We have tried to explain all the germs, etc and it doesn’t work. I will take her to see someone as it definitely seems to be an anxiety thing. I would rather get to the cause of the problem.


  • There is a non toxic nail varnish you can buy from the chemist which tastes yuck when you put your fingers in your mouth.


  • Keep her hands busy? or maybe mittens? tricky one but I think the nail solution is the best option, they only taste it for a short period before they realise!


  • My daughter was going through the same thing ( habit ). I sat her down & explained to her about hands being dirty & to think of the germs that she was putting in her mouth every time she did it. It took almost 2 weeks for her to understand but finally she no longer does it :)


  • I have noticed my daughter does this when she is nervous about something, she is 4 years old. It might just be a habbit for her something she needs to get out of. But how is the question. If she is a good talker talk to her about why she does it.And say kinder kids dont do that you need to try and stop it soon. ( my daughter stains her undies due to not thinking about it when she needs to go, we have said if you want to go to school next year you need to work out when you need to go.) If not when ever you see her do it try saying hey come her help me do this so she can not bite her fingers, she might stop doing it so much.
    Even try a rewards chart a sticker every day and give her a reward if you havent notice her bite her fingers for a week, Just like you would with toilet training. Or you could try that yucky tasting nail polish.


  • There are special nailpolishes you can buy or when I was younge, my parents bribed me with a full room make over if I stopped the habit. Worked for me haha


  • I used to bite mine but grew out of it. My partner still bites his and it might be anxiety or nervousness and try and see why.


  • She is an anxious child and I am sure that is the reason behind it but her poor fingers are sore. I really would prefer to avoid the yucky stuff. I am sure she will let me paint it on but I don’t like the idea. I think I will take her to see someone instead. Thank you.


  • With my son, I waited til he was asleep and painted his nails with the yucky stuff. It worked. It’s only now, many years later that he has realised what happened. LOL


  • We had a neighbour who’s little girl did this she was 6 and she started when she was two. The doctors tried wool gloves for when she is sleeping. They bought a soft plastic shields for her fingers that are attached via a wrist band. Poor little girl had bitten her fingers way down to the bone they are very red raw. (I did ask their Mum if she thought the child was nervous about something and should they try seeing a psychologist. I was thinking along the line that she needed help re-training a very bad habit. I also noticed the child was jumpy and at times nervous. Her Mum was going through a rough time at home and she could not see the impact it was having on the child. Turns out the child was being teased by the same kids from pre-school to primary school. It was her way of coping but at the cost of her poor little sore fingers. Bathing was a problem. Wetting them with this guard on was a problem. So Mum sort help from a school councilor and a psychologist. She is better now. Still bites her fingers but Mum has strategies and she never goes crook on her just encourages her to come do something like feeding beads on string to make necklaces and she loves this.) Best of luck with your daughter.


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