nail biting

[Sluice]

Our son is 26 months old. He is often times found chewing his finger nails and even his toe nails.

Though the toe nail biting is cute and funny to watch, we are a bit concerned. He does chew them very short and we worry that he will cause an infection.

Do children of this age just discover they can chew their nails and just do it?

He tends to do it while watching TV etc.

Is it ok for us to use the store bought product that is used to help stop biting nails?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

If your son is developing normally, and be sure to check with your pediatrician about this, there is likely nothing to be alarmed about. This is not an unusual behavior per se. Be sure that your son has access to toys on which to focus his attention. The only concern is that he might develop a habit pattern, though this is not very likely.

[amywatts]

My 5 year old did this for a while.  We tried everything, ignoring it, having a "signal" for when she's doing it, band-aids, everything!

Finally, one of her nails got infected and she lost the nail.  It was horrible looking (it grew back in beautifully).

That was enough to get her to stop it.

I know he's a boy, but what about painting his nails with a clear nail polish as a treat or something for not biting?  Our 18 month old boy wears polish all the time because of two older sisters.  He feels left out when we have a polish party!

[Sluice]

Hi there,

I am so sorry to hear aboutthe infection, I am sure that was not pleasant.


We are thinking of using a product you buy that you paint on nails that make them taste real bad.

He chews them quite short.

I am sure your son looks awesome with panted nails!! haha...cute!