DEAR DR. GOTT: I am a 72-year old male. I have always bitten my nails as my mother did and my daughter does. Now my beautiful grand-daughter is starting the habit. She just turned four. Is there anything or anyway that we can stop this awful habit before it really gets bad?
DEAR READER: Nail biting, otherwise known as onychophagia, is often a form of stress relief, boredom, performed during periods of excitement, or a learned behavior from family members. It can also be a nervous habit, such as hair twisting or thumb sucking. Oddly, most people bite their nails without even realizing what they are doing. For example, they may be watching a television show while they twist their hair, grind their teeth, or pull at the skin on their arms.
Nail biting affects people of all ages. Almost half of all children between the ages of 10 and 18 bite their nails at one time or another, yet as people age, they generally discontinue the habit. Children younger than 10 may bite their nails when entering preschool or kindergarten. This may result from seeing new people, dealing with a teacher they don’t understand, having to be in a day care center without their parents, or simply because they may have colored outside the lines of a picture. Unfortunately with the case of your grand-daughter, perhaps she is likely just following a trait her mother has. Or, perhaps she is having issues about bed wetting, bad dreams, or scary television shows that she can’t deal with. In this instance, the nail biting might be conquered if you were to take some simple steps such as taking her shopping for a pretty but very light color bottle of nail polish that she will be allowed to wear if she tries to break the habit. Talk with her, or have her parents pick a quiet time when they can discuss the reason she bites her nails in the first place. They can explain that when she grows up, she will want pretty nails and the habit can interfere with normal nail growth and can cause the nails to become deformed. This shouldn’t be done in a way that will frighten her but in a simple way she can understand and accept.
Keep in mind there are always polishes that taste terrible but hopefully you can help her through this situation without resorting to such methods.
Then, work on your daughter. Perhaps she needs to face issues in her life. She might try something as simple as a rubber band at her wrist. When she thinks about nail biting, she can snap the band against her wrist to be reminded it is not a good habit. As a general rule, children pick up habits – good and bad – early on from seeing their parents do something. So, if the smallest member of your family can take steps to correct this, the next generation should work toward the same goal, as well. As for you at 72, I have no comment! Perhaps if you are successful with her, you can take a lesson from a 4-year-old.
