My son just started biting his nails

My son turned 9 years old last month.  He started biting his nails about 4 months ago.  At that time we had just purchased a house and were planning the move.  It's only about 25 miles away, but certainly a big change for all my children, and a change of school mid-year.  My husband is also in the Army National Guard and was getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan.  He's been away for almost 2 months now.  I imagine the nail biting is related to the stress of all the changes, but it progressed so quickly.  He never bit his nails before, and in the past few weeks it's been almost constant.  No matter what he's doing his fingers are in his mouth.  He does have ADHD and has had other little habbits in the past, such as singing to himself or playing with his hair (unknowingly), but nothing that was concerning like this is.  When brought to his attention, he says he just can't help it.  What can we do to help him stop?  What are the recommended treatment options?


This discussion is related to fingernail biting.

[jatwell]

my 9yr old also done thi even when he was watching t.v or even while talking . I started encourging conversations about school and what his day was like. To let him talk and relaxe i always called it to his atention. Also put red pepper on his nails i dont no with one work but one did