Nail biting solution?

[Mimm]

My nine year old has bitten her nails for years. As long as she had teeth I think. :) They are in really bad shape. She wants very badly to change this habit but doesn't know what to do. We put yucky tasting stuff on her fingertips but that hasn't really helped. I was thinking of taking her in to get fake nails put on and keeping them on for several months so that the nail biting habit is broken. (Frankly, if she chews off fake nails, I give up.)

 

What do you think? I would have them put them on really short and paint them with clear polish. Has anyone tried this and had it work? If you saw a kid this age with very functional and not noticeable fake nails, would you think her mom was a freak? :)

[sbgrace]

I wouldn't notice I don't think!

 

My son struggles with this too and I'm thinking of having him wear little gloves around the house (I found child gloves on amazon) soon to see if it makes a difference. My thought is that the "20 days to a new habit" thing might be long enough to reset his habitual nibbling.

The polish stuff didn't help here either.

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

My Grandparents/guardians bribed me with dimes. I got a dime a finger if you could see the nail looking at the inside of the hand.

 

(But it didn't work for me. I still bite my nails :blushing:) If she has friends who like to paint their nails, maybe keeping them nice for that could be incentive. (POSITIVE peer pressure!)

 

Personally, I can not stand the feel of an emery board on my nails, and clippers send shivers down my back, and both set off my anxiety. Does she have these same problems?

[Snickerdoodle]

Gum?