The child bites his fingernails what to do. How to wean a child from biting nails - folk remedies and advice from a psychologist

Children often have many unpleasant habits. The most common of these is nail biting (onychophagia). For some people, this habit remains for life, while others find ways to overcome it. It is best to stop your child from biting their nails as soon as possible. The longer a habit lasts, the more harm it does and the harder it is to get rid of it. Why does a child bite his nails, how is it dangerous and how to wean him?

Why is this habit dangerous?

Why are children generally forbidden to bite their nails? Perhaps there is nothing wrong with that? Will he grow up - unlearn? In fact, these are quite common misconceptions. Nail biting can actually harm a child's health. First of all, due to the following reasons:

Why do children start biting their nails at all? In some of them, this habit occurs from the moment of teething, in others after going to kindergarten, in others at school age, less often onychophagia appears closer to puberty. In the vast majority of cases, this habit arises from psychological problems.

Have you ever noticed how anxious adults begin to bite their lip or gnaw on a pen? The exact same reaction can be observed in children, but they bite their nails more often. So what prompts them to do this? There may be several reasons:

Mechanical irritation. The child may simply have a burr or a broken nail. Everyone knows how unpleasant it is to cling to everything with a fingernail. In this case, the child may try to bite off the annoying nail so that it does not cause inconvenience.
Auto-aggression. Parents should take this phenomenon as seriously as possible. In this case, the child does not just bite his nails, he deliberately injures himself. In this case, not only the nails are affected, but also the skin around the fingers. The child takes pleasure in hurting himself. This is how the onset of various mental illnesses can manifest itself, therefore it is better to show such a child to a child psychotherapist immediately.
Attempts to calm yourself down. In this case, the child calms down when he starts biting his nails. In principle, this phenomenon can be called normal. The equivalent is chewing gum, biting lips, or chewing on a pen. However, the child should also be weaned from this. It is necessary to understand in which situations the baby is nervous and try to help him overcome them.
Exit aggression. This is another enough unpleasant reason... A child begins to bite his nails when he is simply angry. At the same time, he is not angry with himself, and he is not trying to hurt himself, he just throws out negative emotions in this form. At the same time, if such a child begins to scold for onychophagia, he will get even more angry and will again take up his own.
Boredom. Children bite their nails quite often simply because they have nothing to do. Children have a lot of energy, much more than adults. This energy is necessarily looking for some way out. If no one plays with the child, and he communicates little with peers, then you have to look for your own ways of entertainment. Biting nails in this case seems to the child an exciting experience.
The habit of pulling everything into your mouth. As a rule, this condition disappears in a child already in the second year of life. He stops picking up everything from the floor and no longer pulls his fingers into his mouth. However, sometimes the habit remains for a longer period. In this case, onychophagia is a transformation of the child's sucking reflex. This same mechanism explains why some babies start biting their nails when they drop the pacifier.
Nails are a favorite treat. Surprisingly, some kids love the taste of nails. This is completely inexplicable. The nails seem to have no taste at all. But children find something in them for themselves. Perhaps their body lacks some minerals or trace elements, hence such a strange need to bite their nails.

We decided that nail biting is bad, and we figured out the reasons for this habit. However, the main question remains open: how to wean a child from it? It should be said right away that persuasion and explanations in this matter will not bring any benefit. Imagine how you will explain to a child that he will have pinworms, which will cause him a lot of inconvenience. And if it is found in the kindergarten, then he will be forced to stay at home, and his mother will have to go with him to sick leave, but she needs to go to work. Will the child be imbued with such a story and stop biting his nails? Unlikely.

Another unfortunate weaning option is bullying. Stories like: if you bite your nails, germs will get into the wound, inflammation will develop there and your uncle will cut off your finger - they will make an indelible impression on the child, maybe even too much, but they are unlikely to wean off nail biting. Such a child will be afraid, hide, but continue to do his job.

First of all, it is necessary to identify the reason for this behavior of the child. If hangnails just interfere with him, start monitoring the condition of his marigolds more often. Moreover, if you teach your child that well-groomed marigolds are beautiful, then he himself will not want to gnaw them.

If the child is too aggressive or worried a lot, it is necessary to show him or her to a child psychologist or a psychotherapist. In addition, various sedatives can help. For example, a bath with lavender oil, warm milk, chamomile tea.

Play with your child often. If you see him starting to pull his fingers into his mouth, distract him with something. If the child is occupied, he will simply forget that he wanted to bite his nails. Over time, this habit will go away on its own.

There are various supposedly effective methods to wean a child from onychophagia. For example, some parents smear their baby's nails with mustard. The child begins to bite his nails, it hurts him from the bitter, and he gives up this business. In fact, this method is more dangerous than effective. Imagine that a child who is trying to deal with stress through onychophagia eats mustard instead of a nail. For him, this is a new stress and the consequences of such a state can be the most unpredictable. All sorts of bitter varnishes can have a similar effect.

It can be concluded that onychophagia is a fairly common phenomenon. It can have the most unpleasant consequences, so it is worth weaning your child off of nail biting as soon as possible. Remember that you can fight onychophagia only by influencing the cause of its appearance.

Video: how to wean a child from biting nails

Many parents are faced with the problem of bitten nails. At first glance, this is a harmless harmful behavior. Not everyone is struggling with this problem. It is believed that over time, their child will outgrow it. It is not uncommon for an adult to bite his fingernails. It is very difficult to get rid of the ingrained manner. It is necessary to eradicate the problem in childhood.

Causes

If your baby bites her fingernails, people call it a "bad habit." In psychology, it is recognized as a mental illness - onychophagia. This is a mental disorder that causes an uncontrollable desire to gnaw the nail plate.

Psychosomatics identifies two reasons why a child bites his fingernails - psychological and physiological.

In the first place, experts put psychological factors:

family problems (thus, the baby is struggling with stress);
autoaggression (children are afraid of conflicts, and "drive away anger" on themselves);
adaptation to kindergarten or school;
weaning (children compensate for the sucking reflex);
behavior model (copies a harmful manner from friends, acquaintances, adults);
children bite their nails to distract themselves from another harmful skill;
high demands of parents (adults scold their child for the slightest offenses, punish; a small person is afraid to disappoint mom and dad, as a result of which a stressful situation arises).

Physiological reasons:

Many psychologists were engaged in the search for the causes of onychophagia. In his book "Love your disease" Dr. Sinelnikov wrote that this is how a child shows a defensive reaction.

Dr. Natalia Volkova also paid attention to psychosomatics. In her article, she brought statistics. In her opinion, most psychosomatic illnesses are a consequence of stress.

How to stop a child from biting their nails

Not all parents can independently cope with the habit of their child. They seek help from a doctor. The advice of a psychologist helps to answer the question of what to do.

The negative effects of gnawing nails can be explained to a teenager. Evgeny Komarovsky highlights the main consequences of a bad habit:

short, unevenly cut nails are ugly;
you can become infected with worms, dirt infected with helminth eggs collects under the nail plate;
if you constantly bite your nails, they will grow slowly;
gum problems begin, teeth are loose;
the nail plate is deformed;
high risk of contracting viral, gastric infections.

For girls, a beautiful manicure can be an incentive not to bite their nails. Young ladies imitate adults. The varnish on the nails will become an obstacle, because then the beautiful effect will deteriorate.

When the baby begins to bite his nails, you can distract him with something. Parents come up with educational games, you can make homemade products together. This will not only keep your son or daughter busy, but it will strengthen psychological contact. The attention of parents is important for children.

Since this is not just a bad demeanor, but a psychological illness, an experienced psychologist will help you find the reason for the behavior.

Psychologists advise that in order to get rid of the habit, you need to eliminate the factor that causes stress in the child.

The habit manifests itself more often at an early age. Psychologists say that it is not worth delaying weaning, as children are easier to give up on classes than adults.

On manifestation aggressive behavior, experts advise to bring him to the section on active sports. For example, to fight. It will help get rid of unnecessary aggression, negative emotions.

You can not scold and punish a kid for a misdemeanor. He will get even more nervous and will look for a way to calm down.

Added to the root cause is another stress. At the age of 3, children study the measures of the permissible, they want to realize themselves. They often go against their elders. This period forms sociality.

At 2 years, the "explorer" period begins. They carefully observe others, trying to copy the behavior of their elders. It is important to monitor your behavior so that the baby does not copy adults. Pay more attention to the household, keep him busy with something interesting.

Be sure to teach children to be independent. A common cause of stress occurs when parents take their toddler to kindergarten. He is left in an unfamiliar place, with strangers. Make you stick to the rules.

Children should understand that parents have their own business, that going to kindergarten is not only necessary, but interesting. Children need to be prepared in advance for going to the kindergarten.

Traditional methods

Onychophagia is not a new disease. Your grandmothers advised how to deal with this. Most Popular folk remedies - brilliant green or blue. Ugly fingers may deter biting. If the baby is 2 years old, the bright color of the fingers will only attract their attention. If ingested, these agents can cause diarrhea, irritation and other reactions.

The second method is to smear your fingers with hot spices. Small children do not like spicy and bitter things. But there is a risk of an allergic skin reaction. Also, your little one may rub their eyes accidentally. This will cause irritation of the mucous membranes, severe discomfort and another stress factor.

Another way to stop biting your nails is to cut off the nail plate at the root. Your toddler may switch to finger skin, causing injury or gnawing on foreign objects such as pencils.

Conclusion

Before weaning a child from biting his nails, you need to understand the reason. If stressful situations provoke a harmful behavior, you need to help deal with the problem. The kid needs to be given a lot of attention, at the same time, to teach him to be independent.

You can not scold children for actions that they do subconsciously. The best prevention against a bad habit is love and understanding in the family.

The material was provided by our partner, the leading clinic of plastic surgery and cosmetology GrandMed. The clinic carries out the whole range of plastic surgeries on the face and body using modern techniques and advanced technologies

Today I have another incident in my life and it concerns a bad habit that sometimes develops in children and adults. My middle son "caught" this scourge in kindergarten and, worst of all, passed it on to his daughter. I must say that at that time I had absolutely no idea what to do if a child bites his nails. I read a lot of clever books, listened to a lot of "authoritative" advice from experienced mothers, but the result was zero, and the advice, I must admit, sometimes just surprised.

Tip # 1... Does the child bite their nails? To a psychologist!

IN good books for mothers they wrote that it is necessary to take the child to a psychologist - they say, the baby may have a psychological trauma and so it calms the nervous system. I thought - the child is cheerful and cheerful, plays well, sleeps soundly ... What kind of injury? I asked my kid in detail and it turned out that he just ... likes it. Many of his friends in the group do this, and he did not know that biting nails was bad ...

In general, I "dismissed the psychologist" - it was not a child's nervous reaction, but just a repetition of what he saw, which turned out to be quite pleasant. Here was a clue: if the kid considers such an activity pleasant, then you need to convince him of the opposite, and it is unlikely that words and persuasion will help here. Prohibiting and threatening is also not an option - with this I would only strengthen my son in perseverance to bite his nails "at his leisure". And then the advice of "experienced" - experienced mothers who did not do this themselves, but heard ...

Council number 2. Anoint your nails ... nasty

What did they advise me! Sprinkle hot pepper on your fingers, dip in mustard powder, wash your hands with any liquid antibiotic (it tastes very bitter), and the like. It was also advised to buy a special varnish in the pharmacy, which tastes so disgusting that the child will surely look at his hands with disgust.

I thought about my children ... Little toddlers crying from the terrible tickling and burning sensation of pepper or mustard - do I really want that? And the use of an antibiotic is unlikely to add health to babies, I don't really like medicines at all. Special varnish, what is its composition? At that time, 11 years ago, in city pharmacies there was only an imported similar product with instructions in Chinese.

But I still found a solution - quickly and unexpectedly.

Child biting nails, what to do: a simple method

At that time, I actively treated and used ordinary aloe. Once again, smearing the roots of my hair with a juicy leaf, I accidentally ran my finger over my lips. A very bitter taste appeared in my mouth, which increased with every second. And how did I forget that aloe juice is so bitter? Then it dawned on me - of course! Here it is, the medicine!

I looked at a huge flower that has been growing with us since time immemorial. Truly, this plant is unique. How many times aloe leaf has treated my children for deep scratches, cuts, saved from bronchitis and pneumonia, how many times have I treated it with juice of inflammation on the skin, restored the thickness of hair and put in order health. And if I don't know what to do when a child bites his nails, why not use this wonderful remedy!

For a week, I smeared the children's marigolds with an aloe leaf cut lengthwise three times a day. To show the kids an example, at first I ostentatiously lubricated my fingers and only then proceeded to the little ones.

Along the way, I was very convincing, but without pressure, otherwise the children would feel false, I told a story about poor fingers who need help. I remember that I composed a whole fairy tale, and the kids listened in one breath, then they also retell it in kindergarten. Here every mother can turn on her fantasy and come up with a story that can touch the emotions of children. I succeeded, which was 90% of the success.

An important point

There is one important point: if the child visits kindergarten or primary school you need to leave him at home, at least for the first three days of treatment, and mom should stay too.

Firstly, the baby will be shocked by an unusual bitter taste - he may cry, get nervous, upset and behave inappropriately. It is unlikely that the teacher will bother with one baby and calm him down. In school, even more so - teachers are not nannies, the whims of a child in the classroom have no place.

Secondly, the mother will always be able to captivate the child with some activity so that he can forget about the bitter taste of fingers. It is also good to prepare in advance healthy sweets - dried apricots, dates, perhaps even baby's favorite sweets (1-2 pieces). The sweet taste will help the child quickly get used to the new situation and not make a tragedy out of what is happening.

Third, it is much easier to monitor the child and administer the medicine at home. Indeed, after each washing of hands with soap, the aloe juice is washed off by half, and the baby can again chew his nails with pleasure.

I had 4 full days left. I took two days off from work (Monday, Tuesday), and started treatment on Saturday morning. On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, our beloved grandmother, my mother, helped out. The main burden fell on the first three days, and then it was much easier.

After that, I spoke with the parents of children who chewed their nails in kindergarten. It turned out that many had already visited a psychologist, but the result was not visible. In principle, the parents of three out of five children took advantage of my advice - it was they who cured their kids from this scourge.

The habit of biting nails in adults: how to get rid

Quite often, the habit of biting nails is also present in adults. At work, I had an employee with such a disaster. Svetlana's nails were in a deplorable state - gnawed plates almost to the inner skin and permanent burrs on the periungual skin. It was a shame to show such hands, and Sveta stubbornly hid them under the table. She admitted to me that she looks with envy at the beautiful manicure of her colleagues, but she is not able to grow beautiful smooth nails, because she gnaws them “on the machine”, without even noticing.

I advised Svetlana my proven method - to lubricate the cuticles with aloe juice, but then difficulties arose. My friend did not have this plant and we agreed that my home bush would serve her too. Every day I brought Sveta a fresh leaf, and she gently lubricated her nails. But adults are not children, and the treatment was slightly delayed ... Then I rightly decided that my dear flower would not survive such a long execution and came up with a new method.

I advised Svetlana to buy a pack of dry wormwood at the pharmacy and make an infusion. When it cools down, just dip a cotton swab in the liquid and lubricate your nails several times a day. And then, as they say, "the ice was broken." Wormwood has proven to be a great remedy - affordable, easy to prepare, and very effective!

Pour 1 teaspoon of dry wormwood with half a glass of boiling water, leave to cool and strain. You can use it for a day, then make a new infusion.

Svetlana said that she put a bowl of infusion near the sink and very often simply dipped her fingers into the bitter liquid. She liked it that way even more, because suddenly the nails were shiny, strong and grew pretty quickly.

On my own behalf, I want to add that you cannot dip your fingertips in an infusion of wormwood before cooking. Anyway, before contact with food, otherwise they will all be bitter. Otherwise, such a simple treatment has already helped more than one adult to get rid of the habit of biting their nails.

All health!

Three times mother Irina Lirnetskaya

Happy child 19.09.2017

Dear readers, many parents are concerned with the question of how to wean a child from biting his fingernails. The problem is rather delicate and unpleasant, but fortunately there are proven ways to solve it. Today on the blog we will talk about how you can wean your child from this habit. I now give the floor to Anna Kutyavina, the leading column.

Hello dear readers of Irina's blog! We are raising a difficult and controversial topic. I remember that I myself had such a problem as a child. What parents did not come up with to wean, but more often they just smeared their nails with pepper. It helped, but not for long.

Bitten nails, uneven burrs are not only an aesthetic problem. The emerging cracks, saliva falling into them is one of the causes of serious illnesses, sometimes requiring surgical intervention... The classic situation: first, the child plays in the sandbox, grabs literally everything on the street, and then pulls his hands into his mouth. And this behavior is not unique to babies. preschool agebut also teenagers.

The child bites his nails - what are the causes of the problem

There is no definite answer to the question why the child bites his nails, what is the reason. Biting of nails can be caused by stress, fears (fear of punishment, an answer at the blackboard, mistakes in lessons, etc.), low self-esteem, manifestations of internal aggression, internal tension, dissatisfaction with oneself, boredom, a feeling of loneliness and even a sharp weaning from the breast. Also, experts do not exclude physiological features (fragility of nails, the formation of burrs, etc.).

According to a popular hypothesis, children “gnaw out” negative emotions. According to psychoanalysts, a child chewing nails goes through one of the stages of personality formation and closes in on a certain set of emotions. The same combination of experiences can further push people to smoke. In some cases, the reasons for this habit are immediately visible. In others, even child psychologists shrug their shoulders.

The opinion of doctors

In medicine, biting, nail eating is defined as a disease called onychophagia. If the nails are cut, the child will bite the skin of the fingers. This phenomenon is called dermatophagy. On the question of the appearance of the disorder, doctors cannot answer unequivocally. According to experts, it affects: physical satisfaction from the process, improper or irregular care of the cuticle, neuroses, as well as worms, diseases of the nerves, blood vessels and heart, lack of protein, phosphorus or magnesium.

Similar phenomena are observed in animals: pigs gnaw at hooves when there is a lack of minerals, dogs and rabbits literally chew their paws when there is a lack of sunlight. Such mechanisms of the development of the disorder in children have not been studied, but they cannot be completely discarded.

What if you just ignore it?

After all, the child is not worried about the process, rather the opposite. And the parents will be calmer, they will stop being nervous themselves, and they will stop shouting at the child over trifles.

The well-known pediatrician, doctor of the highest category Komarovsky warns: it is impossible to ignore such a tendency in a child. She reports on deep problems in adult life, manifested in isolation, inability to get a job, early arthritis in the arms. Children can suffer from teeth and mouth damage.

Let's watch a video on bad habits from Dr. Komarovsky.

The child bites his nails - what to do?

We have found that the problem may be due to medical or physiological factors. The former are easier to identify, but the latter cannot be ruled out either. The algorithm is approximately as follows.

Making the home a pleasant and safe place for the child

First, create a peaceful environment at home. Before making another scandal for a husband or wife, it is better to count to twenty. If the child misbehaves, slowly count to two hundred, drop the accusations and silently address the consequences. And then the whole family will do something fun. It is fundamentally important step to create a sense of security in the child.

Review the way you support your child. Maybe right now he lacks your participation in business, help. Remember: it is vital for a child, especially a passionate child, to achieve the task at hand. So help with specific advice, try to do it together.

Teach your child to relieve stress in an accessible and safe way. Perhaps this is not accepted in the family, then you need to find a suitable way. You can apply the Japanese method and beat a punching bag with a photo of the offender on it, use wushu breathing exercises. Babies can be given a toy in their hands, asked to squeeze it on the exhale and release it on the inhale. And offer the student to sort out the rosary, twirl the "enchanted" coin.

We take the child to the doctor

At the same time, visit a therapist with your child, take a referral for tests for worm eggs. The whole family will need the research. Together with your child, get tested for the sensitivity of microbes and skin fungi to drugs. Excessive activity of microorganisms can be one of the reasons for nail biting.

We connect creativity

It is also good to apply art therapy techniques. Ask your child to draw a school, a lesson, a change in colors. An abundance of disproportionate shapes, dark tones, sharp angles, and distorted perspective can all be signs of a problem.

Don't try to solve it with child psychologist schools: the specialist has little time and completely different tasks. But with a child psychologist from an organization working with the younger generation, you need to consult. Come yourself the first time, tell us about the problem, show the drawing. The specialist will appoint the date and time of the session.

Write a story for your child. I will not tire of repeating that it is a fairy tale that works best for young children. You can pick up ready-made versions of psychocorrectional fairy tales to wean the child from the habit of biting nails or write a story with a simple plot yourself: how a squirrel or a bunny learned some new useful action (for example, draw) instead of the old one. In the practice of my colleague, there was a case of a successful and quick cure from an addiction with the help of such a fairy tale.

More positive and warm communication!

More, more often communicate with the child. Hug, often return to friendly contact. This "medicine" is applicable to all diseases.
Physical education also helps to process negative emotions. The methods depend on the workload of the child: sports section, morning exercises or jogging, a set of breathing exercises.

Determine when the child began to bite his nails: between unwanted behavior and his parents realize it from several days to a couple of months. Record the date of the first nail bite. Recall the events of the previous week, write them down and arrange them in chronological order. Think about what could have caused the unwanted behavior?

Saturate your son or daughter with positive information about the world: take a weekend tour, go to museums. Teenagers can (and should) attend a concert of classical rock and techno, symphonic music. Take up modeling, drawing, needlework together with your son. Be sure to reconsider the daily routine: children need more sleep and at least 2 hours to play.

Rules for the whole family to follow

The painful situation imposes a number of serious restrictions on the family. Some are easy to endure, others will have to make a lot of effort. Parents and other adults living with children are prohibited from:

scold and punish the child for biting nails. It is like punishing a migraine attack or scolding for gastritis;
bite your nails yourself. Especially in the presence of children. It is absolutely incomprehensible to a child why he cannot do what adults can;
create scandals and create a tense atmosphere.

Folk ways to wean a child from biting nails

Cut to the root

Accumulated traditions reduce nail biting to purely aesthetic moments. When asked what to do if a child bites his nails, it is advised to cut the nails at the root. There was nothing to grab. With physiological difficulties with nail plates the method is really effective. However, the child often begins to chew on the skin of his fingers, pencils and pens.

Get a beautiful manicure

Another option is to get a beautiful manicure on a Friday night. The approach is used for girls. According to legends, it is the time at the end of the working week, from sunset to sleep, that is the best for strengthening nails. And the little lady will simply be sorry to spoil the beauty of her unexpectedly transformed hands. In fairness, it should be noted that sometimes this approach justifies itself.

Smear your fingers with something sharp

A radical measure is to spread mustard, red pepper, chili sauce on your fingers. Unknown authors believe that once or twice the baby will face bitterness and forget about the unpleasant habit.

However, bitterness strongly irritates children's skin, is absorbed through the epidermis and can cause severe disturbances in the work of internal organs, and even leaves severe burns in the mouth. And this is not to mention the attitude you show towards your own children.

Use of dyes

Some folk healers also advise pouring brilliant green, medical blue, phenolphthalein or other "harmless" dye on your nails. According to the adherents of the method, if the child is not frightened off by the sight of the fingers, then colored spots of different freshness on the face will surely wean off nail biting.

Small children do not interfere with dye stains at all. They may notice that they got dirty only after a comment from mom or dad. And the habit of biting your nails turns out to be stronger than the desire to please your parents and stay clean.

We must not forget about the medicinal effect of dyes. Zelenka not only cauterizes the skin, but also damages the oral mucosa. And in combination with gastric juice it forms carcinogens. Phenolphthalein is known in medicine under a different name - purgen. Prolonged (more than five days) ingestion of it into the stomach leads to chronic diarrhea. Disease attacks are triggered by solid food. Often, children are silent about these effects of forced weaning.

Medical (methylene) blue when swallowed in the mouth is rapidly absorbed, leading to visual impairment and decreased mental activity.

Alas, there is no folk remedy for the habit of biting nails without harmful effects and with absolute effectiveness. So if you want more benefit than harm from weaning from this habit, it’s better to resort to other methods.

Good luck in this difficult but important task!

Anna Kutyavina,
psychologist, storyteller,
the owner of the site Fairytale world,
author of a book of fairy tales for adults Piggy bank of wishes

I thank Anya for talking about how you can wean children from biting their nails. I think many have come across this. And, of course, it is better to know how to behave correctly in the presence of such problems. After all, the point here is really not in the whims of the child, not in his desire to do something in spite, but precisely in the fact that he faced some difficulties and most likely needs help. And it is very important to provide this assistance in a timely manner.

And for the mood I suggest watching a cartoon with your children.

Stress

Onychophagia is a manifestation of a neurotic state. Often a habit is developed due to worries about moving, a change in the environment, a change in the usual social circle.

At 3 years old, the baby first falls into children's team... Starting kindergarten is stressful for most children. Adaptation is painful. In an effort to compensate for unpleasant experiences, to calm down, the child begins to bite his nails.

Starting school is also stressful. The child finds himself in a new children's collective, the whole rhythm of his life changes. Schoolchildren are subject to significant physical, emotional and mental stress. Therefore, a child of 7-8 years old bites his nails more often than at an early age.

It is not uncommon for a child to bite their nails due to the tense family atmosphere. Also, the emergence of a bad habit can be facilitated by:

difficulties in relationships with peers;
excessively strict upbringing with numerous prohibitions and restrictions;
violation of the daily regimen, insufficient sleep;
an inferiority complex, especially typical for children over 12 years old;
experiences, fears caused by watching programs that do not correspond to age, films.

Aggression

Quarrels, conflicts, domestic violence lead to the child's retaliatory aggression, which is unconsciously expressed in the emergence of a bad habit. It can also be triggered by upbringing in an incomplete family, a long absence of one of the parents.

When mom and dad scold or beat the baby, seeing that he takes nails in his mouth, this contributes to the emergence of resistance from his side, aggressive behavior. As a result, the situation only gets worse.

Heredity

If a close relative has a fingernail biting habit, it is likely that the child will inherit this tendency. The likelihood of fixing a bad feature increases if the baby is constantly in contact with this relative. He involuntarily begins to imitate, every now and then, taking a nail in his mouth. By the age of 9, it becomes a persistent habit that is difficult to get rid of.

Physiology

Even gradual and competent weaning from a breast or a bottle with a nipple is a rather painful process. A mother's breast or a pacifier soothes, gives joy to the baby. Having lost these pleasures, the child tries to find a replacement for them. Most often, the choice falls on the fingers.

With age, a child's thumb-sucking habit is transformed into a desire to bite their nails. Some diseases of the heart and central nervous system, accompanied by increased nervousness, lead to the same.

The reasons why a child bites his nails at 4 years old can be the most commonplace. Sometimes parents are careless about their child, do not follow his hygiene, do not put their nails in order in time. At this age, the grown marigolds interfere with the game, cause inconvenience, the baby begins to gnaw them. Gradually it becomes a habit.

Boredom

The kid often bites his nails if he is given little attention and most of the time he is left to himself. A child may start biting their nails at 9 years of age or later if they don't know what to do.

This happens if parents and teachers were unable to develop an interest in books, watching educational television programs, and gaining new knowledge in the classroom. Often such a child is restless, any activity quickly gets bored and he becomes bored.

What to do when a child bites his nails?

This habit annoys parents, caregivers or teachers who scold the child, make comments. Such an attitude of adults causes additional stress, perpetuates a bad habit and a feeling of inferiority. So, the child bites his nails - what to do, how to help him?

Parents work

Parents should behave with restraint. Shouts and swearing, slaps on the hands, especially in front of strangers, will only aggravate stress, strengthen the manifestation of neurosis.

The remarks made in public are especially painful for children over 12 years old, who consider themselves almost adults and independent. They need support, a positive assessment from their elders.

Young children should constantly feel the care and love of their parents. It is advisable to spend more time together, play, walk in the fresh air. You can make comments only in a mild form, while trying to interest the toy or distract with something else.

It is necessary that parents devote a significant part of their free time to the child of school age. So, a 9-year-old schoolboy also needs the attention of his elders, joint games and walks. Adult family members should encourage interest in developing games, reading, and involve them in homework.

If a child of 10-12 years old bites his nails, parents need to find out what computer games and films their child prefers, what interests him on the Internet. It is necessary to exclude the negative impact on the fragile psyche of horror films, scenes of cruelty, limit the time spent in front of the TV.

Psychologist work

A child psychologist will advise parents on the correct tactics of behavior. In all cases, it must be borne in mind that:

remarks in a rude form, blows to the hands are inadmissible - this leads to a retaliatory protest;
it is impossible to focus on this problem;
it is undesirable to send the baby to kindergarten for the whole day at once;
there is no need to set too big tasks for schoolchildren, to demand only excellent grades;
you should limit watching TV to two hours, control the time spent at the computer;
it is important to explain to the baby that a habit can lead to the appearance of worms in the tummy;
time spent with children should be filled with only positive emotions.

Psychologists conduct special tests to identify the cause of a bad habit. To do this, they ask to draw family members, peers, familiar surroundings. The kid will paint areas that cause negative emotions with dark colors. It is important to understand what is happening with the child, and then look for ways to overcome the problem.

Consequences of the habit

Nail biting has a detrimental effect on different sides life, affecting the health and development of the psyche.

External consequences (especially painfully perceived by adolescents at the age of 12-14):

aesthetic defect of nails;
a significant slowdown in the growth of the nail plates.

Psychological changes are most often formed in school-age children. Neurotic personality change occurs around the age of 9 and older.

During this period, the following medical and psychological problems are fixed:

attention deficit disorder and;
inferiority complex;
lack of purposefulness, active interests in life;
isolation and anger due to the ridicule of other children, negative reactions from adults;
memory impairment, decreased academic performance.

There are also physical health consequences. Often, onychophagia leads to the following pathological conditions: the development of helminthic invasions as a result of neurosis, the development of periodontitis, inflammation of the periungual tissues. Frequent infections, including respiratory and gastrointestinal problems, are possible.

How to wean?

First of all, you need to understand the reason for the formation of this behavioral feature and try to eliminate it. How to wean a child from biting nails at 2, 3, 4 years old and at an older age? Every case requires individual approach, a joint effort of parents, child psychologist and little patient.

If a child bites nails at 2-2.5 years old, the following actions must be taken:

monitor the length and cleanliness of the nails of the crumbs, trim them in time;
prohibit people from the immediate family environment from biting nails with a baby;
when trying to bite your nails, distract, speak gently, play;
from early age instill interest in educational games, praise even for small achievements;
develop fine motor skillsteaching plasticine modeling, drawing;
as an aid, parents can use pharmacy varnishes with a bitter taste.

The same tips are effective for weaning a 4-5 year old child from biting his nails. With a schoolboy, the approach will be somewhat different.

If you want to stop your child from biting their nails at 9 years old, follow these simple principles. Try to actively participate in his life, be interested in the social circle, school affairs. Praise should be given for study diligence and good grades.

You can teach your child to calm down without resorting to bad habit... Breathing exercises (deep and slow inhalation and exhalation), clenching and unclenching of fists or an anti-stress ball can be an alternative in a stressful situation.

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