Why Some Children Chew Their Fingernails

Some children develop the habit of chewing on their fingernails. Maybe they do it because they have frequent hangnails or split nails that are annoying them. Maybe they observe a parent or caregiver do it, and they are simply imitating a learned behavior. But for many children, it is believed that biting nails is a form of stress relief.

Is Nail-Biting Bad?

Why should we care? Is it really something we should concern ourselves over? That is a question only you can answer. If it doesn’t bug you, then go ahead and ignore it. Generally, most kids outgrow this habit about the time that it starts to bother them.

However, there are a number of reasons why you should care. Consider the following, and decide if you want to help your child break himself from his chewing habit.

1. children’s hands touch a lot of things! They are dirty! Think of all the bacteria they are ingesting every time they bite their nails!
2. Chewed fingernails can become stuck between teeth or under the gums, spreading bacteria and leading to cavities and gum disease.
3. torn nails and damaged skin are breeding grounds for bacteria. The nail bed can become infected. The the whole finger can become inflamed.
4. compulsive nail biting in young children can lead to deformed teeth
5. Lead is found in higher concentrations among nailbiters than the general public. Lead poisoning can significantly lower I.Q. levels.
6. Adults who continue to chew their nails are less productive than their non-gnawing counterparts.

Some Things to Try to Break This Habbit

Keep Crayons and Paper Near the TV for the Mindless Chewer

Mindless Chewer

If he’s chewing away while watching T.V., then it’s just a mindless habit. Getting him to stop may be no harder than helping him find something else to occupy his hands. You can keep drawing paper, pencils and crayons near the T.V. and encourage him to draw instead. With an older child, you could try teaching them to knit or crochet. A child who mindlessly chews his nails is also a child who may start to mindlessly eat – so finding a better thing to do with his hands could save him from a weight problem in the future.

The Stressed or Fearful Biter

Does your child bite when when she is scared, worried, frightened, intimidated, or otherwise experiencing stress? This is believed to be the main reason why people – child and adult alike – chew their nails.

Teach Your Child About Emotions and Help Her to Find Positive Ways to Relieve Stress

Teach your child what emotions are. Help him verbalize them all. If you see him throwing toys and screaming, tell him, “I see that you are angry. It is okay to be angry. It is not okay to throw toys and scream in the house, but it is okay to be angry. Can you think of something better to do when you get like this? What if you went outside and pounded nails into a log?” (Or whatever activity you feel would be a good way to release stress).

The Manicurist

If your child only seems to gnaw away when his nails are rough and annoying him, then make a manicure part of the nightly bath routine. Trim his nails, file them smooth. Teach him how to wash beneath the nails with a nail brush. Help him learn to use an emory board to sooth away ragged edges. Rub a bit of moisturizer into the nail and cuticle every night. If your yougster would like it, try painting on some nail polish. Help her to see her nails as something pretty, rather than something delicious.

Drug Therapy

Many people have found a cure in a bottle. They buy products that make the nail taste bad to discourage biting. Now there are natural products that you can use, that won’t poison your little one. One product uses pepper and citric acid. Another uses a blend of bitter-tasting vitamins and minerals. Some websites say NOT to use these products unless your child is eager and willing to stop this habit. I wonder why? Is it not “good parenting” to teach our children? We teach our children to brush their teeth and to hold our hand before crossing the street. We don’t ask them if they mind having their teeth clean or if they object to surviving to walk across the street another day! I say “hog wash”. If your child is a biter, and you want to stop this habit, then try every product on the market until something works!

If you found a way to break your child of this habit that is not mentioned here, please share it! We look forward to hearing from you.

If you are new here, you may want to read:
Ten steps to boost your child’s creativity
Vitamin Deficiencies in Children
Play areas for encouraging creativity in Children

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Photo Credits:
Top:photo by Chris Darling
Middle: photo by Stephanie Chapman
Bottom: photo by TXD

Using the Menus

I tried something different this time, too. I wrote out recipes, not just the menu suggestions, and I tried to put things in chronological order – because some recipes require advance preparation. For instance, to make almond milk, you need to soak the almonds for 12 hours before you puree them in the blender. So if you want almond milk on your cereal for breakfast, you need to set the almonds to soak the night before.

Finally, at the end I typed up a list of ingredients, but not quantities. It’s hard to figure how much you’ll need, because I don’t know how many people are in your family, or how hungry they are. If I suggest mangoes for breakfast, a child might eat only half of one, but a husband might eat two or three whole ones. Either is fine! With the raw foods diet, it is important to eat enough raw foods to fill you. Most of us think of a 10-oz cereal bowl full of lettuce for a serving of salad. But when you’re eating raw, and the salad is your whole meal not just a side-dish, you should think more of eating the entire head of lettuce yourself!

What to Eat on a Raw Food Diet

There is, of course, a lot of variety on the web of “how” to eat a raw food diet. Some sources say as long as it’s raw, it’s okay. Some say you shouldn’t eat potatoes, carrots, or beets which are “hybrid” vegetables. I wonder why they didn’t put corn on the list – isn’t that the most genetically altered vegetable on the planet? Other sources say to avoid spices, which are all slightly toxic and harmful for the digestive system. Other sources say to be sure to add avocados and olive oil to your diet, so you do have some source of fat, yet of course, other sources claim that most of us who transition to raw eat too much fats even in our raw diet. So, unless you want to get several degrees in nutrition and fitness, you just have to make a few decisions for yourself based on the best information you have available.

I suggest using your body as a guideline. I love garlic. I’ve always cooked with garlic, and I’ve read a lot about the health benefits of garlic. But when I put two cloves of raw garlic in one of this week’s recipes, I had a bellyache for 24 hours. I may try cutting the raw garlic down to a single clove, but if it happens again, I think I’ll cut raw garlic from my diet.

Raw Foods are Child Friendly

Women should consume 6 pounds of fruit, 2.5 pounds of vegetables, and 1/4 pound of nuts and seeds daily.
Men should consume a bit more – 7.5 pounds of fruit, 3 pounds of vegetables, and 1/3 pound of nuts or seeds daily.

A “fruit” is any food that has seeds. So while apples, pears and peaches are fruits, so are tomatoes, cucumbers and avocados. Avoid eating hybrid fruits that do not have seeds, like seedless watermelon. I’m not sure why folks recommend that, but if you are trying to eat a raw “living” foods diet, it would stand to reason that seedless watermelon cannot be a living food.

I’m learning that in the raw foods diet, all vegetables are great, but concentrate mostly on dark green leafy vegetables as they have the highest nutrient count. There is a wide variety – chard, collards, spinach, kale, and more. Lettuce should be leaf lettuce, not iceberg, which doesn’t have much for nutrients at all.

Chew Your Food Thoroughly

Chopsticks May Help Keep Meal Times Fun

Many weight-loss programs also advise careful and thorough chewing of food, but for a different reason. If we eat too fast, our bellies are full before our brains realize it. Eat slower, and your brain can tell you when you’ve had enough, so you don’t overeat. Then I read that if you want to train yourself to eat slower, switch to chopsticks for now! Before you master the trick of chopsticks (unless you already know how to use them) you’ll have established the habit of slower eating and careful chewing.

I hope you enjoy this week’s menus! As an added bonus, I simply LOVE how much quicker most of these meals are to prepare. There are NO cooking dishes to scrub. No messy, greasy clean-up, no long-lasting food odors that hang in the air for days. And I feel so much better! Happy eating!

For more information on Raw Foods, read:
Going Raw
Raw for Life
Creative Health Institute

Photo Credits:
Top:photo by Nadia Progoda-Lee
Middle: photo by Summer
Bottom: photo by Terren in Virginia

Preschoolers Love Finger Foods

Raw Finger Foods Are Very Popular with Young Children

Muesli – or Raw Oatmeal – Can Be Delicious

I learned how to make muesli – another food item my granddaughter loves. It’s raw oatmeal -which sounds faintly disgusting – but you soak it for a while to soften it, then serve it with fruits and nuts. We like it with banana or blueberries and a dollop of pure maple syrup. Yum-yum! Best of all, besides all that wonderful natural oatbran for its cholesterol-lowering ability, it’s quick and easy to prepare, and no yucky pot to wash. I think I like that part about the best. When you serve raw foods, there are no cooking dishes!

I haven’t learned to like “energy soup” yet. That’s simply a garden salad pureed smooth and you drink it. Lots of good reasons why energy soup is good for you. I just wish it tasted better! I like salad. I guess I’m just not a “soup” person.

Raw Foods Menus Are Posted

Raw Tacos - Food From Heaven

What Could Be Better than a Georgia Peach

For further reading, check out:
Raw for Life
Feeding the Finicky Eater
We Like it Raw
Transition Kids to Raw

Photo Credits:
Top: Photo by Tiffany Washko
Middle: photo by Geoff Peters
Bottom:photo by Bruce Tuten

I remember how it felt to use food stamps. Back then we got colored bits of paper that looked like Monopoly money, and everyone who stood in line in the grocery store knew that we were buying our groceries with their tax dollars. I felt like they were checking out the items I had chosen, wondering if I were spending their money on pop and candy. I felt like I had no business driving a decent car – that we should sell the Firebird and buy a wreck, even though my husband’s car was paid for in full, ran well, and cost us no repair bills. Accepting Federal Aid made me feel stupid. All except for WIC.

WIC is Not a Welfare Program

W.I.C. stands for Women, Infants, and Children. It is NOT a welfare program. It receives its funds from the Department of Agriculture, not the Department of Human Services! I don’t know why that makes a difference, but it does. I was always treated with respect as I went to the required monthly meetings to get my dose of nutritional education along with the coupons that would supply me with free milk, eggs, juice, and iron-fortified cereals.

Just last week I dragged my daughter in to the W.I.C. office to get her signed up. She dreaded the trip, perhaps because she’s had such dreadful experiences with the Department of Human Services. We waited less than five minutes in a cheery waiting room filled with other young moms and their babies. We met with a social worker who took her information, checked my granddaughter’s weight, height, and blood iron-level with calm patience, even when the 2 yr old was acting particularly two-ish. Then we met with a nutritionist who gave her some advice on meals and menu-planning. We left less than an hour after we arrived, and walked out with a cute, generic looking “credit card” that will make all her purchases discretely.

We Can All Benefit From Nutritional Education

Offering a Toddler Healthy Foods is Easy. Getting Her to Eat them is Not.

Studies Show That WIC Works

W.I.C. works. It provides supplemental nutritious foods for women who are pregnant, nursing, or postpartum and not nursing. It also provides such foods for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers up to age five, who may be at nutritional risk. Studies have shown that spending the money on nutritional programs like W.I.C. is cheaper in the long run, as medical care expenses drop. Women on W.I.C. have healthier babies. Children on W.I.C. have larger vocabularies and better memories. Infants on W.I.C. have higher birth weights, lower mortality rates, and are more likely to get all their vaccinations and receive routine medical care.

Sometimes a Cute Bowl or Drinking Straw Can Tempt a Child to Eat

In some states, W.I.C. also provides vouchers to take to the farmer’s markets in the summer! Fresh, locally grown, organic vegetables! I feel kind of proud. My tax dollars are doing something good, after all.

For further reading, check out:
Feeding the Finicky Eater
Raw for Life
Going Raw

Photo credits:
Top photo: Leonid Mamchenkov
Middle photo: Andrew Eick
Bottom photo: ultrakickgirl