Nail biting in 10 yo - necklace as solution?

[Anonymous]

My 10 yo son bites his nails. it is a nervous habit, mainly when he is playing sports/watching movies/ nervous about something. He does not realize he is doing it. We tried Mavala polish and it does not help much. He wants to stop but does not realize he is doing it until I point it out to him.

He again had pinworms last few days. I realized now that the fact that he and only he of all of our kids keeps getting these is due to the nail biting. I never put the two together. I did research and found that some poeple use biting necklace to get the fingers out of the mouth. Has anyone used this? I am on the fence about it - it is def better than biting nails but does not resolve the issue overall. But at this point I would rather have him bite a necklace than his fingers.

Any recommendations for one suitable for a 10yo? What comes up on google are "sensory necklaces" or "teething necklaces", but I guess it is the same thing. I just want him to feel comfortable wearing it at his age.

Any help or experience or recommendations with these necklaces appreciated. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

There are pencil toppers, chewy necklaces (or chewlry):
https://funandfunction.com/sensory-play/chewies.html

One thing you need to try and do is substitute the behavior with something not detrimental like you're trying to do with the chewies. You can also think about squeeze balls and other fidgets at home. Praise him for using an appropriate substitute.

Does he have any underlying anxiety or ADHD? My brother with ADHD has chewed his nails forever--even still as an adult.

[Anonymous]

thank you - no, no ADHD or any anxiety. maybe little shy but otherwise your regular 10 yo kid.

[Anonymous]

Try to identify his triggers--while bored, concentrating, nervous etc.. A pencil topper might work at school if he's focused on his work and not aware when he's doing it. Does he do this mindlessly when he's watching tv/on a any other kind of screen? Make sure there are fidgets within reach or he can use the chewlry.

[Anonymous]

www.stimtastic.co (NOT .com) has pretty cool chewable jewelry - it's something autistic people use a lot! Their chewable necklaces come in all kinds of colors and shapes and they state in the description for what level of chewing they are meant. Light occasional or heavy duty all the time chewing. Their site is well sorted and I have been thinking about buying a necklace myself there for a while. Maybe I should get to it now that you reminded me LOL

[Anonymous]

I have a 10 yr old nail biting son too but I also bite my nails. Nothing has stopped me all of these years. Sometimes nail polish will slow me down but nothing has stopped it. I've never had pinworms before. Are you sure that is the cause of it?

[Anonymous]

My six yeR old chews his nails and fingers. We got him this, which has helped somewhat when he remembers he's wearing it. He takes it off a lot, loses it, swings it and gets it confiscated at school once or twice. Still, it does help. A ten year old will probably be more responsible with one. It looks pretty cool and not like a chew toy. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KZ1GTO0/ref=sr_ph?ie=UTF8&qid=1435876969&sr=1&keywords=chewlery

[Anonymous]

You can also put a rubber band around his wrist to keep his fingers busy.

[Anonymous]

I second the rubber band idea. Both my daughter and sons were nail biter and pen chewers. The necklaces worked for a while as a diversion but soon it no longer worked and they went back to their habits. For me boys found it harder to wear necklaces. I finally allowed them to wear a chewing bracket and sweaters with the hoodie chords and told hem they could chew those. I had to replace the strings and sometimes the winter coats too but the nail biting stopped.