Nail biting

clint_silver

10 yr old nail biter, getting worse. Tried a few techniques, moving onto the bad tasting nail polish Ive read you can get. anyone know where you get it?

m'lady

You can buy it in any chemist, the main brand I can think of is 'stop and grow'. I'd just check with pharmacy that it's suitable for a 10 year old first.

Moonbeam

Boots etc sell it.
I am driven mad between the husband and kids permanently biting nails,unfortunately the stuff they sell here is only suitable from 8+ but if you come across any others let me know please.
I remember loads of them when I was young.

Penny Dreadful

Tough love approach/ rewarding approach?

I used to bite mine years ago and my Dad absolutely hated it with a passion. Both he and my Mam had tried to persuade, cajole me, etc etc to stop but nothing worked.
At the start of the summer holidays when he was dropping me off to the Gaeltacht he told me that when they came back to pick me up in 3 weeks I better have stopped or they wouldn't bring me home again.
Now I never thought they wouldn't bring me home again but it did show me how much it bothered him and so I just resolved to stop. I did and haven't bitten them again since I was 12.
Now am 36.

Coopaloop

When I was younger I used to bite my nails too, my mam hated it, so one day she sat me down and told me she wanted to stop and gave me two weeks to stop and at the end of the two weeks if all ten nails were un bitten she would give me ten surprises, one for each nail, it was ten nails or no surprises.

It worked and I've never bitten them since.

Penny Dreadful

Coopaloop wrote: »

When I was younger I used to bite my nails too, my mam hated it, so one day she sat me down and told me she wanted to stop and gave me two weeks to stop and at the end of the two weeks if all ten nails were un bitten she would give me ten surprises, one for each nail, it was ten nails or no surprises.

It worked and I've never bitten them since.

Ten surprises! Sounds good.

OP I really do think that if you can break the habit its gone for good. So whatever works for you and your child would be worth it.
The ten surprises could be ten small things - they don't have to be major. I'm 36 and still get excited at a surprise bar of chocolate being given to me by someone.

clint_silver

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

Ten surprises! Sounds good.

OP I really do think that if you can break the habit its gone for good. So whatever works for you and your child would be worth it.
The ten surprises could be ten small things - they don't have to be major. I'm 36 and still get excited at a surprise bar of chocolate being given to me by someone.

thats a great idea. gonna try that.

I know where she gets it from, me. Im awful for it. wifey clips my ear when i do it, daughter gets a cushion on the side of her head when she does it, although why I scold her for it I dont know when Im worse than her.

got couple of books which were highly recommended, read through the triggers and how to stop it, read them with her and she stopped for about 2 days and was back biting worse than ever. me too.

Might do the 10 surprises AND the nail polish thing. I wonder if I ask mrs silver for 10 surprises what I'll get, oooh, so excited now.

Coopaloop

clint_silver wrote: »

thats a great idea. gonna try that.

I know where she gets it from, me. Im awful for it. wifey clips my ear when i do it, daughter gets a cushion on the side of her head when she does it, although why I scold her for it I dont know when Im worse than her.

got couple of books which were highly recommended, read through the triggers and how to stop it, read them with her and she stopped for about 2 days and was back biting worse than ever. me too.

Might do the 10 surprises AND the nail polish thing. I wonder if I ask mrs silver for 10 surprises what I'll get, oooh, so excited now.

Oh definitely small surprises, like hair accessories, nice nail polish, sweets, I'm sure you could get lots in the likes of Claires accessories or penny's too. But remember she only gets them if all ten nails are un bitten. If she doesn't get it the first time, set it again for another two weeks.

Hope it works for you. 😊

RubyGirl

My 5 year old was bad at it aswell I think it's hereditary as my husband is really bad for it and so is her 10 year old cousin. Her cousin is so bad that when her nail's are done she starts on her toe nails.
What I did with her is typed into google crome images nail biting. Load's or horrid pictures come's up. It can even wreck your teeth so she might need braces down the line if she did'nt stop. Well she was horrified and it worked a treat she stopped and if I see her even put a finger to her mouth I'd ask her does she want to watch those pictures again. Cruel to be kind i'm afraid.

clint_silver

so I got that nail polish thing, went all day yesterday with it on, my god it is vile to taste, keep forgetting its on my nails, go for a little nibble and blurggghhhhh, taste stays for a few seconds and then goes. definitely concious of it after a day now. hopefully 2 weeks will see me right.

it gets on everything I touch with my fingers. so any food I eat with fingers has this horrible after taste..

daughter getting it put on tonight. her and her 2 sisters are getting 10 surprises in 14 days if they help her last. if theres any nibble on the fingers at all, none of them get anything.

mrs silver laughed at me when I asked her for 10 surprises.

Coopaloop

clint_silver wrote: »

so I got that nail polish thing, went all day yesterday with it on, my god it is vile to taste, keep forgetting its on my nails, go for a little nibble and blurggghhhhh, taste stays for a few seconds and then goes. definitely concious of it after a day now. hopefully 2 weeks will see me right.

it gets on everything I touch with my fingers. so any food I eat with fingers hasthis horrible after taste..

daughter getting it put on tonight. her and her 2 sisters are getting 10 surprises in 14 days if they help her last. if theres any nibble on the fingers at all, none of them get anything.

mrs silver laughed at me when I asked her for 10 surprises.

Great idea getting everyone involved. Hope it works for you.

Moonbeam

clint_silver wrote: »

so I got that nail polish thing, went all day yesterday with it on, my god it is vile to taste, keep forgetting its on my nails, go for a little nibble and blurggghhhhh, taste stays for a few seconds and then goes. definitely concious of it after a day now. hopefully 2 weeks will see me right.

it gets on everything I touch with my fingers. so any food I eat with fingers has this horrible after taste..

daughter getting it put on tonight. her and her 2 sisters are getting 10 surprises in 14 days if they help her last. if theres any nibble on the fingers at all, none of them get anything.

mrs silver laughed at me when I asked her for 10 surprises.

Good luck
As a child I just got used to the taste of those awful things but still plan to try them on the husband and kids !!