How do I stop my son from biting and picking at his fingernails?
369345
1.make him hold on to a small object such as a stone or a ball to keep your hands busy and out of his mouth\n2.make him wear bad tasting nail polish!\n3.make him wear golves
609753
Listen yes, punish them- depends on what they say, not allow them to eat lunch NO. She can not prevent your son from eating lunch.
266127
Don't let brushing be an option for him... make it a requirement... even if you have to stand over him and watch him brush his teeth.  If he doesn't brush in the morning, then take all soda, sweets, candy and junk food away from him for the day.  If he doesn't brush at night, then take the same thing away from him for the next day.  Kids hate to be deprived of those things... he'll come around.
25775
There are several approaches you can take.  One is to cut your nails short and keep trimming them as they grow back.\n\nAnother approach, which is one that worked for someone in my family, is to get a something you can put on the nails that are being bitten that makes them taste bad. I think the owner of the nails told me that the substance made them taste bitter.\n\nThe document listed as a Source for this answer has ideas on what you can use. They recommend hot pepper sauce or lemon juice.\n\nIn the case of my relative, they used a liquid that came in a little bottle that I guess came from a doctor or a pharmacy that was made for this express purpose. Not nail polish or anything toxic, of course.\n\nI could be mistaken because it has been several decades but I think I remember looking at the bottle and it said something like "Thumb" or "Thumbb" on it. I cannot find the product by googling at the moment though.
350042
I do not know much about the ways to stop her sucking her fingers but I very much urge you to teach her not to suck them. I was like that until the age of 12 and the horror stories people tell you are true. Already at the age of 8, I had to get braces, my teeth were horrible and I was lisping because my teeth grew in a really horrible way - they were protruding outwards from my mouth. Not very pleasant. Children at school made fun of me and I was not very happy. Since my thumb was sucked so much, I had to wear plasters on them because they had wounds on them. \n\nDefinitely make all the neccessary steps to make you child stop sucking her thumb, as soon as you can. Do not let her grow with such a bad habit. It was difficult for me to get rid of it too. I am now 21 years old and I have no problems, only because of those braces and my own strong will. I even stopped lisping because I taught myself how to speak properly. And let me tell you, it was one of the most difficult things to do.
658493
When you get bitten, take your nail, and make a cross over it. It will stop the itching, and then take some rubbing alchol and rub it on. It will go away sooner.
236437
From one special needs mom to another....you don't\nYou didn't mention what types of issues your child has  or your child's age but for most special needs children mouthing is a sensory issue ie they do it because it is soothing or helps them focus. Have a set of things that are okay to mouth and if they are mouthing something else give them one of the okay items. Since this may be a comfort issue for your child try not to make a big deal out of it as anxiety will increase the behavior my son finally stopped when he was about 4. If this is a major concern for you talk to a occupational therapist that specializes in working with sensory issues they will have lots of good ideas \nGood Luck\n\nBTW in most states it is considered child abuse to put pepper sauce on anything and give it to a child to break behaviors so please be aware if you choose to try something like this
65971
continue to do things with your hands. i had the same problem. I will always paint my nails and have lotion on my hand witch can make them taste bad too. I will do things like scrapbook or do in home projects to keep my hands busy.
572671
Well damn I can't stop! I even bite my toe nails on occasion but not as much as my fingernails.  I get embarrassed cause all my friends have such nicer nails.  At the moment I'm trying to conciously not bite them.  I've been biting all my life and they are really thin and weak so that sucks.\nAnyway screw this person. I have depression and well get very bad anxiety attacks. The people who get at you for your nails have no lives.
832246
Don't sweat it!!! You might need to buy a larger size pencil to make it easier for him to hold. The biggest problem is that the preschooler finds his grip comfortable so he is reluctant to change. And it looks awkward to us.\n\nIf it really bothers you a lot, talk to an Occupational Therapist. They can give you exercises to help with fine motor skills.
305413
Tell him they arent like nails you dont have to pound them in or hit them hard to get them to work and that he needs to be gentler with it and show him that you only have to press them softly to work.
278737
Tell him to stop. And if he doesn't stop, tell someone important with authority: like your parent, or a teacher, or anybody who can slap him around. Unless he's like 3 years old and just doesn't know the difference. Then just tell him "NO"
115783
NEVER use your hands as toys with the cat.  Make sure you have LOTS of cat toys because cats get bored easily and if they only have one or 2 toys, they will use you as a toy.  If your cat starts to bite or scratch you, immediately stop playing with it, using your open hand put it in front of the cats nose and sternly say NO, then go into another room and ignore the cat.  He will get the point that biting and scratching will get him no love and attention from you, which is very important to your cat.  Also, when your cat doesn't want you to pet him anymore and starts to scratch or bite, it's just his way of telling you that he's getting annoyed with you.  If he's got a problem with scratching furniture, there is a non-toxic homeopathic spray you can purchase from Pet Smart called No Scratch that I use as a training tool to get my cat to stop clawing my new couch that she has a problem with.  Make sure you have an appropriate scratching post that is tall enough for your cat, this helps tremendously.  Hope this is helpful!
641223
Get acrylic nails.  After 40 years of biting this worked for me.  You can't bite them because they're too hard.  It's well worth the price and they look great.  Worked for me.
26701
Okay this is going to sound kind of gross, but if you really want to get rid  of them this is what you do.  Rub some mayonaise into your childs hair right before she goes to bed. Next, put a shower cap on her head so the mayonaise doesn't get all over the place. Keep in the mayonaise over night and wash it out in the morning.  If that doesn't work, you can go to the store and get the medicated treatment shampoo for head lice(I would try that first).  What ever you do, MAKE SURE that you wash ALL bedding, vaccum the floor(shampoo it if posssible), and wash her hair brush(s)(dishwasher is good for this), also wash ALL of the hair ties she has used while She's had lice. To prevent head lice, after she get rid of it, put her hair up in a bun everyday for school. That way it would be almost imposible for her to get it again from another student. Washing everything really does a lot of help.  This also prevents her from getting it again.  Good luck!
1164534
As a male, he is by nature aggressive, you cannot and should not try to teach him not to be aggressive.  You can, however, teach him control.  Let him know he has choices he can make in his behavior.   Get him in to sports or some other physical activity that will keep him moving and expending energy.  Guys hormones just do that to them.  If he is just a toddler, play, rough and tumble (and I do mean tumble, teach him somersaults) helps with balance and coordination and helps in falling skills in older children. When you know the child will fall, they need to know how to do it properly to avoid injury.\n\nIt's very hard to teach a child not to hit, this seems to be an ingrained protective response.  The child has not learned the differences in pain.  Physical pain vs. emotional pain.  All they know at this time is  They Hurt D-a-r-n it! (typed the regular way it looked like the OTHER word)  I did, however let him hit back IF the other child hit him more than once.   Turn the other cheek doesn't work well with children, and they need to know they have a right to defend themselves.  By allowing one hit  and not  cringing, his behavior would show the other children that he understood the hitter was upset and his character was big enough to allow that one hit. After that, it was self preservation.\n\nThis stood him in good stead.  The teachers in seeing this type of behaviour could see he didn't want the fight but was pressured to ingage. \n\nThe best you can do is teach him to think, and to think clearly and to see where his actions can lead.  When my son was in 2nd grade, he was suspended for throwing acorns.  After speaking with the Principal, my son and I sat down on a bench outside  under the Principal's office window and discussed the punishment.  It was during recess and I pointed out the acorn war going on to the oblivion of the teachers.  I explained why he was being punished.  The Principal overheard, came out and reduced the punishment to just the rest of the day.\n\nOn the way home in the car I gave him my true thoughts on the situation.  By seeing the example on the playground, and what resulted from our conversation, he realized that words of negotiation need to come first, then physical action is not always required.  People behave badly when they feel threatened.\n\nI apoligize for the long anecdotes.  After that long explanation, I now tend to believe you may have intended the word violence.  Thank you.
904338
There is something you can buy to stop you biting your nails, it is a bit like nail varnish but not quite, it tastes absolutely disgusting so you stop biting. As for picking scabs, will power. Say something like, right if i don't pick them for a week i'll buy something like a CD or something like that. incentives usually do the trick.