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376148 tn?1309899577

At my wits end!! SOmeone help me!!

OK so you all know i have a four year old.....She keep on picking her nose....i dont know how to get her to stop..every time she picks her nose she ends up with seriuos nose bleeds!!! She bleeds all over the place and then comes to me crying expecting me to clean it up!!! EVERY TIME!! I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO ANYMORE!! dont get me wrong i know im supposed to clean up after her becuase im her mother and i dont mind it its just that when she keeps disobaying me and giving herself nosebleeds i get so mad..i m sick of looking at blood coming out of her nose...it used to scare the **** out of me..now its just annoying!!PLease dont think im a bad mother becuase i say that just someone tell me something i can do to get her to stop please before i goes nuts!!
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Avatar universal
Okay I came up with something right as I hit POST COMMENT. If you find,at the doctor that there is not a problem and she's just picking because she likes to--- create a reward system. I have a homeschooling blog with printable charts. Every time she goes a day without giving herself a nosebleed, she can put a sticker on her chart! When she reaches 20 stickers she gets a surprise (special ice cream treat, a trip to the movie theatre, new books, a new Disney movie, etc.).

So take the negative and make it positive. When she gets a nosebleed, don't give her eye contact, frown as you clean her up, and don't say a word. Your body language will tell her that you're upset with her. But when you find, at the end of the day, she hasn't given herself a nosebleed, PRAISE her! Let her pick out her own sticker and stick it on the chart. And encourage her throughout the day.

She might be picking because she's bored. Give her plenty of opportunity to color and play with blocks--- things that will keep her from venturing up her nose!

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Avatar universal
Rosa, don't feel bad for feeling annoyed! I get incredibly annoyed when my kids disobey me over and over on the same issues. Being annoyed doesn't mean you love her any less.

I don't have any thoughts on what to do about the nose-picking except to see a doctor about it. Maybe she has something stuck up there or there is a problem!
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598319 tn?1282102140
I would agree maybe you should check it out with an ENT.

If there's no big medical issue, try to be supportive and don't make her feel ashamed of doing it,  just let her know that picking her nose is not appropriate (and why it' not appropriate) and let her know what she CAN do when her nose is itchy or runny -- rub from the outside or use a Kleenex, etc.  Try finding a good book (seems there's a book for EVERYTHING!) about it or maybe write a cute story about it if you can't find one.  Give her the tools to make a better choice, and the responsibility of  cleaning up/accepting the consequences when she makes a mistake.  

If you see her doing it, make her go wash her hands that second, even if it means she washes her hands every 30 seconds for a while - she's probably just in a habit of sticking her finger up there and if she starts to associate it with the hassle of being swiftly sent to wash her hands, it might start to break the habit.  If she gets so far as to make it bleed, give her more responsibility in the clean-up process by making her wash her own face and hands and helping you with the laundry or whatever else needs to be cleaned.

If she starts to get defiant and does it just to bother you, you can either choose to completely ignore the behavior and/or redirect it...or discpline the same as you would any other disobediance.  And still make her wash her hands in the end.  Haha!

That's just my $0.02, feel free to disregard any or all of it if you want!  Hopefully between the ladies on this forum you can find a good solution!
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603946 tn?1333941839
I agree with seeing a doctor, when my son- now ummm 29 years old did this- yes I still remember but it did not happen daily- how hard it must be on you- anyways the doctor said it is usually from after a cold and sometimes the blood vessels need to be cauterized so what Dr was saying is-  child gets cold- wants to remove loose boogies, and the nose bleed starts of course much easier than it would necessarily, when Dr. cauterizes the blood vessels up in the nose it stops- some kids just prone to this- we never had to go thru with cauterizing and it still happened only once or twice a year.
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435139 tn?1255460391
Check out her nose with an ear, nose and throat specialist to first make sure she isn't doing it because something is wrong...Next, there is a poem by Shel Silverstein about picking the nose and how a snail will bit their fingernail off if they stick their finger up to their to pick...you could try scaring her lol  I know a teacher who uses that tactic.
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177382 tn?1253041140
my kid is 13 and still does it even in his sleep. he wakes up with blood on pillow...for him it's allergies...his nose is either running or just plain itches. he is constantly scratching it. i always make him was his hands when i catch him.  Its allergy season and its really bad right now i hardly ever suffer and i and dying and taking meds all over the place idk just a thought.  ~d
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583196 tn?1429221155
how long has she been doing this?  cause it makes me wonder what her new fascination with her nose is.  i wonder if there is something there that is bothering her that she needs to fix. or maybe she has a sore there, that sort of idea.  perhaps see if you can find info on the web about noses and have her sit on your lap and you can show her all the parts of the nose. and that she bleeds because she is going too far in when she doesn't have to.  and maybe express to her that it is a sensitive area and that if her nose hurts mommy can help and to not pick it right away.  maybe a cold compress would help when she does complain? maybe she does have a sore and needs a nasal spray? you could ask your doctor or the pharmacist might recommend something for a little one.  you could try vaseline also.  
you could also give her something "important" to do for mommy. like make a tea party or something that will keep her busy all afternoon.  or you could spend the afternoon with her one on one and see if she has a habit of doing it out of boredom or what.
also, she is four and she should know what a mess looks like by now. and she is old enough to clean herself up a bit. perhaps if she is just doing it for 'fun' perhaps the best thing to do is to get her to clean it up herself. sometimes children do silly things for attention and you cleaning her up is getting her the attention she wants.  just calmly tell her she made a mess and to hop in the tub. draw her a bath and let her tidy up alone. you could even get her to put her clothes in the laundry.  once she sees how much trouble it is she might rethink it next time.  
you are not a bad mother for getting frustrated! dont ever think that. it is perfectly normal to get upset about things your child does...or doesn't do.
i hope some of these suggestions help.
good luck!
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376148 tn?1309899577
*BUMP*
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376148 tn?1309899577
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