Help with my 4 yr!

[Avalon1984]

I used to chew on buttons as a kid. We had think ones that would bend after a while and I found that to be quite the accomplishment. Me still ok I think but agree, bad habit

 

[MeatKing]

I realize this is not quite the same thing. But there was a bitter at the daycare my girls attend. They got her a fancy neckolace that I can't remember that shape. But the idea was when she felt the need to bit a child, she would bit this.. It worked, she is no longer a bitter..
If I remember correctly, it looked like the materail of a kong for dogs..

Let me know if your intersted and I will find out the name of it for you

 

[Kaitie09]

I've been a nail biter all my life, and at first it was habit, but it progressed to stress and boredom. I tried all the ways (polish, rubber bands, etc.) and the only thing I have found to work was a nail polish called Mavala Stop (Amazon) it is for ages 3 and up. I quit biting for 6 months with this stuff, and stopped using it after 4. It is the most disgusting taste in the world. Head up though, you can't really eat finger foods, and it lasts for a week after you put it on. Unfortunately, finals have come around and I have bit all of them back down again.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Is he bribeable? Perhaps give him gum, but only if he keeps his fingers out of his mouth. Chew on the gum instead of fingers and tupperware.

 

[mom'sfolly]

Some kids have "overflow" movements, and chewing is one of them. For my son, it actually helped him focus. i know they make necklaces for kids like this. I think gum might work too. My kid chewed gum for piano, and often chewed his shirt at school (gum wasn't allowed). He has since grown out of it, but you might look into some of these other solutions.

 

[they'reHISchickens]

I think it is stress. I can actually judge my stress level by how long my nails are.
You might try this: it worked for my thumbsucking gal.
A few weeks before her 5th birthday, I starting casually talking to her about how big she was getting and how grownup she was becoming.And i would mention that big girls who are 5 don't suck their thumbs. I repeated this with some frequency during those weeks. Never criticizing, just talking now and then. That got her used to the idea and by the time her birthday came around, she decided she was a big girl now and just stopped the thumbsucking.
That worked a lot better than the method my older sister used on me. SHe took me to school registration because my mother was ill. Sis told me she would kill me if I embarrassed her by sucking my thumb. I guess I was really scared by her:/
Anyway, smart youngsters are often stress themselves for imaginary reasons. Talk to him and see what you can find.

 

[HeatherLynn]

My son did that when he was younger too. He is a very high energy person and I think it developed just like being fidgety would. It was just an outlet for all that nervous energy. Honestly only thing that broke him was he had a finger get really very sore and and it started to get infected. Hurt so bad he had to find something else to do. Try something that has some sort of sensory feedback. ( like something nubby or that crinkles, has alot of texture) As is if I don't watch him he will still chew the living fire out of the end of my pens.

 

[Fierlin1182]

Quote:
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It used to be bad! There was also no particular reason for it, just a nasty habit. You should try to get him to stop, before he gets to my age and the habit's harder to break!

Although I find the biting does get worse with stress. Perhaps give him somewhere else to realease all that energy when in a stressful situation?

 

[redhen]

I am also a life long nail biter..
I dont do it when i'm stressed..
I find i do it when bored..or when i am concentrating about something.. like surfing the net.. reading...

 

[123ChickieLou]

I too say stress, or anxiety. It may be nothing that you or anyone around him is doing, some children and adults just harbor anxieties. You mentioned too that he is well advanced for his age and very intelligent. Stress and anxiety are common for children of above average intelligence.

I have a three-year-old little girl and she exhibits certain behaviors when she's feeling anxious or stressed. Although smart and slightly advanced, she's not particularly above the average intelligence for her age group. I've learned what her triggers aren but can't always avoid them. I also have to realize that her being stressed at times doesn't make me a bad parent and it is ok for her to be stressed at times. It is how I respond to it and guide her that counts.

All that being said, some kids just eat glue and stuff, ya know? I would try to keep him from hurting himself by chewing too much of his nails off, vinegar or onion may help

As for his teeth, chewing plastic might make them sore and that might get him to stop. I'm no expert but I really don't think this will do major long term damage to his teeth.