The most common childhood bad habit is picking your nose. In some, it passes with age, and becoming a schoolboy the child no longer admits such liberties. Others continue to perform these actions automatically, even as adults. Today we’ll talk about how to wean a child from picking his nose.
Modern research
Of course, we are used to scolding kids and consider this a sign of bad taste. This sight really does not look aesthetically pleasing. However, stop, with punishments you always have time. Before you think how to wean a child picking his nose, it would be nice to understand why he does it. Many parents are convinced that he simply studies the natural openings of his body. But pediatricians have found another pattern.
Allergy or bad habit
Most often, picking in the nose is carried away by children who suffer from allergic reactions. This is easy to explain. Allergy provokes an increased separation of mucus in the nose. In turn, it dries and forms crusts. It is not surprising that the baby is trying to pull out what is stuck with his fingers. Therefore, do not rush to look for ways to wean a child from picking his nose. Rather, you need to contact a competent doctor who will prescribe a nose wash or specific treatment. Then the problem will be solved by itself.
Why is it so important to solve this problem?
We all well understand that any action can be fixed at the level of conditioned reflexes. Then there will be no reason, but the action will remain. Therefore, it is impossible to wait until the baby is ill and outgrows. Weaning from this habit is necessary in parallel with the treatment of the causes that gave rise to it.
This is necessary not only because picking your nose is horrifying to others. It is quite possible to survive. Most importantly, through such actions the child can harm their own health.
What is the danger?
Since we won’t be able to wean a child from picking his nose in one day, then you have time to collect your thoughts, observe him and develop an action plan. So, picking your nose has several unpleasant consequences:
- Frequent infections. These are not grandmother's tales, indeed they are. In this way, they facilitate the penetration of bacteria and viruses.
- It is not for nothing that parents anxiously ask the pediatrician how to wean a child from picking their nose and eating boogers. Imagine a picture. Bacteria or viruses got into the nose, where special hairs with mucus intercepted them. But then the baby reached into his nose, grabbed them on his nails and sent them into his mouth. Bacteria were just waiting for this. It turns out that the baby will get sick much more often and more than usual.
- The nose is a filter for collecting dust, dirt and bacteria. And the less its borders are violated, the better.
- Excessive picking leads to nosebleeds. This provokes an inflammatory process.
Well, finally, it can develop into an obsessive state. Even as adults, they will still retain a desire to clean the nasal cavity with their fingers. In this case, it is necessary to undergo treatment at the appropriate specialists, psychotherapists and psychologists.
What to do to parents
First of all, everyone is interested in how to wean a child by picking his nose. Komarovsky recommends not rushing with punishments. The main thing is to find out why he does it. For starters, just watch his behavior.
- If during the game he impatiently tries to get something that interferes with his nose and return to his occupation, this may indicate a sluggish infection. Mucus is produced in greater quantities, which leads to its drying and the formation of crusts.
- Performs long search operations in the nose, and then pulls a hand in his mouth, with the intention of eating what he has found.
- The child may complain about the presence of foreign objects in the nose.
Another point. Since weaning your child out of picking his nose at 2 years of age will not work, you will have to find the reason. If the baby is completely healthy, excessive air dryness may be suspected. In this case, the nasal mucosa dries up and becomes crusty. Of course, the baby will try to get rid of her. In this case, you need to choose more effective methods. Adults should optimize temperature and humidity levels.
If there are no physiological prerequisites
It also happens that it was not possible to detect any visible causes of what was happening. The child is healthy, the temperature and humidity indicators in the room are normal, but the usual actions continue to take place, then it's time to talk with the baby. Well, if he has reached the age when it is time to go to kindergarten, as weaning a child by picking his nose at 3 years is much easier. He already perceives well the example of adults and social norms:
- Talk to your child. Say that you clean your nose every day, but do it when no one sees, for example, in the bathroom. When doing this, be sure to use a handkerchief. Make sure that the child is with him constantly. As soon as he pulls his hands to his nose, offer to use it. Soon the baby will learn these skills.
- Do not scold the child. Praise better when he uses a handkerchief, even after your prompting.
- There is no single algorithm on how to wean a child from picking his nose and there are boogers. Just every time you need to be reminded and prompted. Be sure to tell the kid a fairy tale about how the fox ate boogers and was constantly sick. Then mom Fox taught him how to use a handkerchief, he recovered and went to play with friends.
We will have to show patience, because quickly new habits are not developed. Distract the baby, draw and sculpt more with him, talk and explain. You will succeed.