How to stop a child from biting their nails

Many parents notice that their children bite their nails, but do not pay due attention to this bad habit. But in vain! After a while, this behavior of the child becomes a problem. Firstly, biting nails is not aesthetically pleasing and you can also forget about normal oral hygiene. Secondly, this habit is a sign of the child's psycho-emotional discomfort.

Why does the child bite his nails

To solve a problem, you must first find its causes. And there can be many of them:

1. Stress. Children have an unstable nervous system to stress so they are often worried, worried and afraid. These may be simple, at first glance, problems, but this factor also needs to be taken into account.
2. Heredity. If parents bite their nails, their child will also do it, copying the behavior of adults.
3. Aggression that hides inside. With low self-esteem, when they are dissatisfied with themselves, children also bite their nails.
4. Physiology. If the baby has very thin nails that break during play, peel and bulge, the child can bite them in order to eliminate the discomfort due to the sharp corners of the nail plate.
5. Boredom is another common cause that can stimulate a toddler into this bad habit.

Psychologists say that this habit is an attempt to gnaw out and align mistakes, problems and shortcomings. In most cases, it is not difficult to find the true cause of the habit. But there are situations when the root cause is deeply embedded in the child's soul, and it can only be eliminated together with a specialist - a psychologist or psychiatrist.

How to stop a child from biting their nails

There are many tips that, according to their authors, help to get rid of the habit of biting your nails for good. But they only work if the reasons are superficial.

It is not for nothing that doctors call this habit onychophagia, that is, it may indicate serious psychological trauma and requires treatment. Therefore, comprehensive assistance is required.

Parents' work

Parents should create a comfortable atmosphere for their child at home and eliminate all disturbing factors. In addition, you should adhere to the following rules:

• Do not scold your baby when he bites his nails. It is impossible to focus attention on this, since most children react in the opposite way and, on a subconscious level, try to do what is not allowed.
• If the child does not have allergic reactions, aromatherapy sessions can be done. For this, the essential oils of lemongrass, lemon balm, lavender, etc. It is also recommended to brew such herbs for baths.
• Parents should teach their child to relieve stress on their own when they are not around. This can be deep breathing, clenching and unclenching of fists, or the like.
• It is useful to give your baby warm milk with honey or tea.
• Also, the child needs to be taught to care for nails, emphasizing that they look beautiful if they are not chewed.
• It is important to try to monitor the behavior of the baby and, when he just brings his hands to his face, you need to distract him to something. This method is especially effective in cases where the child spends a lot of time at home.
• Parents should show care and affection for their child. Support, conversations and spending time together, help not only establish friendships in the family, but also contribute to improving the emotional state of the child.

Psychologist work

Psychologists usually talk with children for a long time, conduct interviews, use their methods to determine the cause of the habit of biting nails. The doctor then gives advice to the parents. In addition to behavioral recommendations, there may be such appointments:

• soothing teas with chamomile, linden blossom, lemon balm or valerian;
• preparations containing magnesium;
• homeopathic medicines.

Parents should understand that it is categorically impossible to give such drugs to children on their own, since their dosage depends on many factors.