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My daughter loves to bite her nails, what tips can people give to stop her nail biting?


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  • Try painting her nails with a bright nail polish – it can be a reminder not to do it as it’s so noticeable when she brings them to her face.


  • Also, try not to make a fuss about it as kids tend to bite nails more!


  • As a former nail biter, I hated the nail stop biting stuff from the chemist, so must of worked to some degree. Never had strong enough nails until I was older to do anything with, but when I looked after them or had the money to have acrylics then, they gave me extra confidence to show them off more.

    No one would ever guess I was an nail biter when I was younger, but it is easier to stop the younger you are.


  • also maybe she will jut grow out of it when she wants to have pretty nails. maybe paint them so she won’t want to bite them because they are really pretty.


  • if the nail polish isn’t deterrent try a trick. get food colouring or paint and add straight drops to a cup or plate and get your daughter to rub her hands in it. then get her to wash her hands. the food colouring or paint will be stuck under her nails. get her to think of this as germs and show her how washing hands doesn’t get right under the nails. hopefully this will put her off. if not, try to make sure that she washes her hands a lot


  • Thanks for all the interesting answers!


  • following. id like to try hypnosis


  • I was a terrible nail biter as a child, until my family members started telling me all the horrible things I was putting into my mouth!
    Each time I was caught picking my nose, they would tell me how I was eating it.
    If I was playing in dirt I would be told how it would stick under my nails & I would then eat it. I was eventually so disgusted I never bit my nails again!
    It took awhile but the message did get through.
    I found the nail polishes did not work, it was supposed to taste disgusting but I quite liked the taste! You could also treat your daughter, for each week, fortnight or month she doesn’t bite her nails she can pick a nail polish as an incentive.
    Best of luck!


  • The nail polishes etc never worked for me…I was bribed with a room make-over hahaha that did the trick


  • Kids do grow out of this habit. I was a terrible nail biter as a child and I did grow out of it. The nasty stuff painted on my nails did not work! But do seek support from the chemist with possible options if it is big problem and her nail area is sore.


  • I think she just bites them for something to do, maybe I should cut them as soon as they get a little long so therefore she can’t actually bite them


  • Does your daughter tend to be nervous or shy?? I know a little boy who I discovered rubs his nails on the coarse fabric of the lounge. They break and then he bites them. Those who suck their fingers a lot make them soft and tear easily then they bite them off. Does your daughter see others doing it?? She may be copying others. If her nails are soft, you may be able to apply something to mae them hard. A long time ago there was a theory that if you ate food with gelatin in it that helped. Fact or myth – I don’t know.


  • Visit the chemist and you find a few products available for biting nails!


  • You could try the nail bitter stuff. It works for some, though it won’t for others.


  • I used to bite my nails up until the age of about 8. At that time a friend of mine (who also bit her nails) told me that her father had told her that there were worms under our nails. That story/thought was enough to stop me biting my nails then and there. Unfortunately my friend was not affected by that story, and still bites her nails to this day.


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