Dear Susan,
I am a ten-year-old girl who bites my nails. I want to stop because I want to wear nail polish. My best friend stopped and her nails look really nice. My mother bought me some terrible tasting nail polish, but it didn’t work at all! What can I do? (By the way, I won’t wear gloves!)
Jessica, London
Dear Jessica,
Nail biting is a very common habit. I am sure that you have other friends who bite their nails too. But even though it is common, that doesn’t mean it is a GOOD habit!
Most nail biters continue because they are not paying attention to when they are biting their nails, they are used to doing it, and because it is a socially acceptable, others around them probably don’t say very much about it!
I won’t suggest gloves. In fact there is a much better way to break a bad habit! This method can be used by kids who bite their nails, suck their thumbs, chew their hair, bite their lips, chew on pencils or have any other repetitive habit that they want to stop.
The first thing to do is start paying attention to WHEN you bite your nails. Get a little notebook and write down EVERY time you bite your nails. Do this for a week. Do you see a pattern? Do you do it when you are worried about school? When you are watching television? When you feel angry?
Once you start seeing your patterns of nail biting, it should be easier to stop.
Next, whenever you get the urge to bite your nails, do something else with your hands, so you CAN’T bite your nails! Try rubbing some lotion into your hands or squeeze a ball for a few minutes.
When you DO feel like nail biting, think about ALL the negative or inconvenient things that go along with it. For example, are you looking forward to wearing nail polish on a special occasion? Are your chewed up nails getting in the way? Do your nails hurt sometimes? Does nail biting make you appear to be a nervous person?
Also, try imagining scenarios when you are likely to bite your nails in advance. Now, make sure that you have something available to occupy your hands. For example, if you know that you usually bite your nails in class, make sure that you have an eraser or a pencil to pick at instead.
Overcoming a bad habit can be difficult. Sometimes it takes people several tries before they are completely successful. So be proud of your efforts, even if you do still bite your nails once in a while. Just keep trying! And as your nails start to grow, show off a bit to your family and friends so that they can help you stay motivated and be proud of you too!