How do I get my 17 year old son to quit biting his nails??

Answer 1

hello.. m 17 too.. explain to him why it is bad.. he wont stop straight away, so he wouldnt show you that hes doing what your telling him to, but exagerate how bad its gona b if he keeps on bitting his nails.. and turst me .. eventually he will stop!

Answer 2

Well at 17 years old its a big habit now should have been stopped early on. It is like smoking or drinking its an addiction a habit some people do it because they are nervous some people do it because they just addicted. As a nurse and a mother of 8 kids I know that its a gross habit. I explain to my kids that nails are dirty. Dirt can lead to intestinal parasites and that usualy turns off the chewing for a while to know that there could be worms inside them because of what they decide to do. Yuck.... but hey I Was a nail biter and at age 33 I no longer bite my nails so there is hope.

Answer 3

I'm 21, and ive always bitten my nails. When I try to stop, I get this nagging, horrible feeling - like something in my head is just pulling me towards my nails, and im constantly aware that they need to be bitten off. It's annoying - and strange. The only time I stop for a little while, is when I used to get fake nails put on - but I eventually bit those off too, and they're bad for your nails as well. It's not because i'm nervous either - I do it all the time. So because of this, I dont think monetary rewards, or rewards in general would help any....you'd have to find a way to curve the urge - as odd as it sounds for nail biting. It'd probably be the same methods that get people to stop smoking or drinking.

However, If it doesn't bother him, why should it bother you? No one ever notices that mine are bitten off...and it would take a whole lot of work to make me stop, that isn't really necessary, because it isn't a real problem. And at 17, hell pretty much fix a problem when and if he wants to fix it - if he doesn't see it as a problem theres little you can do to "fix it."

I could guess, however, if you bother him about it a lot, he just thinks about his nails even more, which leads to more biting.

Answer 4

Nail biting is a psychological habit. Some people do it subconsciously while thinking on a problem, others while fretting over something and for some, its a soother after a rough situation. There's many a commercial product to apply to the nails to try to deter the person to stop, but its really up to the nail biter to stop themselves. Leave him be and let him sort himself out. Harping on him only adds to the anxiety and the nail biting.

Answer 5

He's 17. In one year he will be an adult. Let him bite his nails if he wants. At this age you're not going to get him to stop. I bit my nails all of my life until the week before thanksgiving. My husband has been trying to get me to stop for years. But until I got ready to quit, nothing helped.

Answer 6

Sign him up for the Navy, They'll stiffen his spine and give him the confidence he needs to break nervous habits. I would recommend the Marine Corps as the process would take a couple weeks rather than a few months but - then as a parent,
you would be biting your nails for the next four years, as at the moment that branch can be - shall we say - a bit more adventurous.

Answer 7

Here's an idea. Be thankful he's not on drugs or drinking. Leave him alone. Nail biting is a habit many people have! What's the big deal?

Answer 8

i use to have the same problem.what i did was that i either went to CVS pharmacy and bought a nail polish that tastes really nasty,so when u tried to bite your nails u would taste the nail polish and u wouldnt want to bite them anymore.im sorry i do not remember what the nail polish is called.but antother thing that i did was i got my nails done..and sincei couldnt bite nails for a while they nails were on...i sorta lost the habbit.but these examples might not work but ..try them

Answer 9

Try doing a reward system, for every month he doesn't bite his nails he gets 20 bucks. Make sure to check his nails often though.

Answer 10

You can't just get him to stop. I bite my nails too (thirty+ years). It helps me to try to remember to file rather than bite (but I am female). Sometimes I bite on other things like plastic toothpicks instead. Of course, another bad habit. I guess it is one bad habit for another. Good luck! Be greatful that he doesn't have a worse habit.

Answer 11

you don't. i've been biting mine for about 20 years. my mom bought me some stop-biting nail solution stuff once when i was younger, but i just got used to the taste of it. now that i'm an adult, the only thing that occassionally keeps me from biting them for awhile is when someone comments on how awful my nails look! maybe one day he'll grow self-counscius of his too.