Evening star., 1941-08-20
Nail>Biting
Difficult
Habit Must Be
Broken Gently,
But Firmly
By Lenice Lee Street,

Betty's mother almost despaired
of finding a way to break her 7
year-old daughter of the lamentable
habit of biting her nails. The
childs pretty little finger tips were
sore and raw. No scheme seemed
to work, and Betty herself was dis
treSsed over her inability to control
her desire to chew her fingers.
What will work in curing one
child of q bad habit will not sue
ceed with another, and it is for
tunate if a parent can stumble upon
a lucky trick as did Betty's mother.
She observed that her small girl
envied the lacquered fingernails that
grown-up ladies find it fashionable
to affect. Betty teased and teased
to be allowed to put some on her
nails, but her mother, quite rightly
thinking that painted nails are ex-
ceedingly poor taste for a child,
consistently refused her. Then one
afternoon the thought came that
perhaps if Betty had red polish on
her nails she would admire them so
much that she would not bite them.
Anything was worth a try-and it
worked!
Sometimes q child will develop
the habit because the nails are not
cared for, are allowed to grow long
so that they break of and leave
jagged edges that catch on every
thing. Then the child will chew
them In the effort to make them
smooth. When,y you keep your child's
nails short and evenly filed you are
practicing one precaution, at least,
against this unpleasant habit.
II a young child under years
old starts biting his nails the mother
may have success in stopping him
If she will make little mitts out of
white linen or heavy cotton, and
keep the baby's hands in them for
a few days. Light arm splints are
effective with some babies. 1t does
absolutely no good to scold or pun
ish a small nail-biter of this age,
and words of explanation as to why
he sould not do it are wasted
breath.
Another tip is to see that the
baby always has toys with him that
interest him. If he is absorbed in
playing he will forget about his
fingernails.
The older child can be talked to
and the mother may gain his CO.
operation If she is tactful. Cotton
gloves are a nuisance, but they will
break the habit if they are worn for
q long enough time.
However, before any of the me-
chanical methods are used it Is well
to investigate the cause of the habit.
The highly strung child should
be allowed ample sleep at night, rest
every single afternoon, no matter
how old he is, plenty OF outdoor play
and sunshine and a well-balanced
diet abundant in fresh fruits and
green vegetables. Furthermore, he
should be scolded, punished, cor
rected and ordered about as little
as possible. If the parents believe
that he has a fear fancy or that he
feels inadequate in any way in his
play or school work, they should
discuss this with him alone, and
sincerely try to bring the trouble
out into the open so that they may
reassure and help him.
The cause must be eliminated be-
fore a real cure can be effected, for
otherwise the child will only sub
stitute another bad habit for that
of biting his nails.
We have prepared two useful
gifts for you: One is a chart that
clearly shows the value Of foods
suitable for the average young
chfM and the other describes =
series of we'll tested exercises for
the entire body, with hints on
how to gain your chAd's CO.
operation in performing them.
If you wish either or both Of
these, send for our Classified
Food Tables and the Importance
of Correct Posture pamphlet, In
cIuding . Scent stamp with your
request. Print your name and
address clearly and address or
ders to the Woman's Depart.
naent Of The Evening Star.