Children may experience nail-biting behavior for many reasons, such as getting rid of boredom or stress. It is a way used to relieve tension, it is possible to change these ways. Treatment can be achieved by adding other behaviors to the act of putting one's hand to one's mouth, which leads to nail biting.
So why does it occur? Basically, when many children feel embarrassed when they enter a new environment while learning something new, they may exhibit nail-biting behavior in order to reduce their tension in response to this feeling. It is necessary to analyze the environments and situations in which the child bites his nails. If he bites his nails in such situations, we think that he uses this as a method of coping with stress. As the child learns to cope with stress, he/she automatically moves away from nail-biting behavior. It should be noted that this is not a habit factor. Despite this, if the child continues to bite his nails, efforts should be made to discover what is causing the child distress. Because other sources behind nail-biting behavior may be exposure to violence, unknown traumas, family problems, peer abuse, and feelings of inadequacy. When the child exhibits behavior that worries the parents, the parents immediately expect and try to find interventions to get rid of this behavior, but these interventions will remain physical. Unfortunately, it will not solve the cause of the problem. Therefore, the behavior will occur again. For example; It is the attempt to remove a bad taste in the mouth by applying bitter substances to the nail. This does not eliminate the problem, on the contrary, it feeds it and makes it chronic. The nail biting problem can be solved very easily or in a short time, depending on the difficulty of the source problem, or it can be eliminated more difficult and in a long time.
If we think about what should not be the approach to the child; At this point, pressuring the child to stop biting his nails and constantly and tensely warning him by shouting will only increase the child's stress. Maybe the child will bite his nails more. When the child bites his nails, he can be made more aware of this behavior in the beginning. First of all, the child himself must want to stop biting his nails, then the family and the child will discuss the treatment of the problem. It is planned according to its nature. As a result, there is a reason for every human behavior. Relieving the symptom - eliminating the disturbing situations that arise - depends on eliminating the cause. Therefore, the need to seek expert help should not be forgotten.
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