Nail doctor shares tips on how to stop your child from biting their nails

With 2024 in full swing, perhaps it's time to break some old habits.

Reasons for nail-biting can range from boredom to satisfaction, as well as more worrying causes such as anxiety, nerves, or stress.

Now that the New Year is here, it may be a great resolution for your little one to try keep this year!

As someone who notoriously bit their nails as a young girl and teenager, it was only when I began getting my nails done in salons that I was able to quit the habit for good.

None of those disgusting nail varnishes worked for me, so I can appreciate this expert advice as someone who found it near impossible to quit.

There are, however, a number of ways to kick the habit while your little one is young so they don't carry into adolescence or adulthood.

Dr. Dana Nails, who specialises in dermatologist-developed nail care, took to TikTok to share the various ways parents can help their children tackle their nail-biting problem.

She first recommends sitting your child down and having a conversation about habits and how common they are, as well as reassuring them that they can be broken.

"They are much harder [to break] the longer the habit persists, and so childhood is the perfect time to break a habit.

"Talk about the spread of germs and how when they put their fingers in their mouth, they're spreading germs from the environment into the oral cavity."

@drdananails ? Attention Parents ? Here are some #naildoctor approved tips to help your kids to stop #nailbiting! #drdananails #kidsnailbiting #nailhealth #parentsoftiktok #parenttips #parenttip #parenttipsandtricks #parenttok ♬ original sound - Dr.Dana Nails

The next tip that Dr. Dana shares is to give your nail-biter a loose, bright, and coloured rubber band to serve as a visual reminder not to bite their nails.

"It's also something they can play with in lieu of biting," she explains, "and unlike a fidget cube or spinner or stress ball, it's always going to be with them."

Lastly, the dermatologist encourages using a reward chart, depending on your child's age, to keep them on track as well as positively reinforce their efforts to break their habit.

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