Have you noticed that your child is constantly pulling his hands to his mouth and biting his nails? Most parents, unfortunately, do not pay due attention to this problem. All control measures are limited to screaming and clapping hands, and only a few wonder why the child is doing this. To understand how to wean children from biting their nails, the first thing to do is deal with the true reasons for this.
The addiction to biting the nails or the skin around them in children, as a rule, is one way to adapt to stressful situations, a reaction to strong feelings. Moreover, the child himself may not be aware of what is happening to him. A new difficult task in kindergarten, a feeling of tightness surrounded by unfamiliar children in the playground or at a party - if you find that the baby bites his nails in precisely such unusual situations, then the reason lies precisely in stress.
Is it worth it to wean?
Some parents believe that with age, this habit will disappear by itself. But in the subconscious, it takes root very firmly - most adults who bite their nails have been doing this since childhood. If you do not pay attention to the problem in time and find a way how to wean children to bite their nails, you can encounter many unpleasant consequences:
- defects in the shape of nails and fingers;
- damage to the cuticle and skin near the nails, bleeding and hematoma;
- slow growth of nails;
- problems with teeth and gums;
- risk of infection of the periungual surface;
- the body will constantly be attacked by viral and microbial infections, as dirt and microorganisms accumulated under the nails will penetrate the saliva.
How to help a child?
So, wean a child to bite your nails. But how to do it right? First of all, give up the idea of scolding him every time you notice a manifestation of a bad habit. This will not only not help, but will even aggravate the situation: fear of punishment, irritation and anxiety will only “strengthen the soil”.
It is important to understand the psychological reasons for this behavior. Find out what is bothering the child, because of what he is worried or too excited. Using an unobtrusive conversation, you can not only find out what is happening to him, but also help him find the right solution in a given situation.
It is believed that in how to wean children from biting their nails, an important point is to learn techniques for
relieving stress (which, by the way, will be useful to your child in adulthood). For example, some people calm down when they clench and unclench their fists several times, while others are helped by measured deep breaths and exhalations. While you are still struggling with the habit, try to distract the baby's attention and occupy his hands with something else every time they reach for his mouth.
The habit of biting nails in children is quite common (about 30% of children from 7 to 10 years old are faced with this), so keep calm yourself, even if you can’t immediately wean the child from this. You can speed up this process by buying a special cream or colorless varnish with a bitter taste in the pharmacy - once you feel it several times, the child will no longer be so willing to pull his fingers into his mouth. For older girls, this problem can be solved even more spectacularly: for example, to make a daughter a beautiful manicure. It is unlikely that she will want to spoil such beauty!
When searching for ways to wean children from biting their nails, do not forget that you must make it clear to the baby that you love him anyway, no matter how his hands look.
Try to make the decision to end the bad habit he made. It is necessary to tell why it is harmful to bite your nails. In any case, if this is an important decision the child will make, it will be much easier to deal with the problem.