compulsive toe curling habit

[Karen]

My 8 year old daughter has recently (within the last 3 weeks) developed a compulsive toe-curling habit.  She becomes upset because she can not control her toes from curling tightly down.  She is beginning to develop scabs on her toes from her shoes.  Personally I feel that this is a nervous habit but I don't know what to do to help her.  If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know!

[more]

Sorry I just re-read your post and realized your daughter is only 8 yrs. old. Well don't know if it is appropriate for her to read these magazines yet,but perhaps you can draw some ideas from my expierience that would better suit your daughter. Again, good luck to both of you.

Joyce

[Please read!]

My daughter has a host of nervous tics, don't get me wrong she is as smart and wonderful as a daughter can be, a true slice of HEAVEN! Now then she does get insecure about certain situations, and one of the things she would do is bite her finger nails really short!  We made a deal; something she wanted.....if she could stop and let her nails grow we would let her pick out nail polish and paint her nails. This would in turn make her feel prouder about herself and be more in control. A small thing but a big result. She is very proud of her personal accomplishment. Thought you might like a personal expierience from another mom who understands. Maybe your daughter would stop curling her toes if she new there would be something to work towards that she would like. Then those toes could heal! Good luck

PS: I found that letting her pick out some of those teen magazines helped also. There are so many stories that kids share about thier own true feelings, faults, and insecurities, in all sorts of different situations. This opens up a whole new perspective and lets them realize they are not so different after all. That many kids just like her go through the same things and have the same feelings, it really boosts her up to see she is not so different after all! Besides her friends would probably never share like this in a million years the way these kids in teen magazines do. It is a real moral booster!!!

Good luck,

Joyce,
oh yeah she is 14 next week.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Dear Karen,

Sometimes this behavior is a form of motor tic and may, under conditions of stress, be exacerbated, but it may occur in unstressful situations as well. There's no need to draw any particular attention to it relative to behavior management, but if you suspect it may be related to relief of tension, try of course to address whatever may be promoting the stress. If it turns out that the behavior is a motor tic, consult with your daughter's pediatrician and also, perhaps, with a pediatric neurologist to see if pharmacological treatment will help.