NOSE PICKING! How to make them stop?

[Karri]

Aidan constantly has his finger up his nose and it drives me INSANE!!! I tried ignoring it, I tried handing him a kleenex every time I saw him picking (we went through kleenex like wildfire!), I tried pulling it out and not saying a word, I tried telling him to stop...NOTHING WORKS. Its like a magnet to a freaking fridge! And then he that his nose hurts and I have to explain to him (about once a day) that its because he is picking it!

How can I get him to stop? Please dont tell me its a phase that will pass, because I have been waiting for this phase to pass for 4 months now and its to the gross & disgusting point

ETA - Aidan is 3.

[TtownAnne]

If I happen to find out I'll be sure to let you know, 'cause we're "digging for gold" here too...

[Trish]

Sorry sister, but I'm going with it's a phase cause we've been doing it for way too long here, too

[Alyssa]

Is he eating it too? Because if not, then we're much worse off here than you are there. And this isn't really a new thing, but it has gotten worse in the last month or so.

[Dawn]

You know, it seems like Alexia's been 'digging for gold' forever. I almost posted a thread about this too, a while back, but never did.

See, in the beginning it was cool and easy: *Alexia w/ finger in nose* Me: Lexie, do you want a tissue? She would always say 'yes' and would withdraw her finger from nose and use a tissue. Fine, problem solved. I would tell her you don't use your finger, use the tissue yada yada yada.

Then there was a point in which it was REAAAALLLLY BAD! All the time it seemed like her finger was in there.....even when we would go to The Little Gym and other places!

Now....she still does it and it drives me up a wall. What she will do now, is pick her fortune, leave it on her finger THEN proceed to tell me that she needs a tissue as the fortune is on her finger. Ugh! I'm hoping it's a phase...and if it is, it's a long one for us.

I've tried ignoring it, and everything in between....I even told her the Dr. may have to cut off her finger if she continued to do it. I know, not the nicest thing to say....but it worked when I told her. I don't want to take advantage and say it to her all the time though. I guess that was one of my desperate attempts.

Not only this that we're dealing with, but nail picking (not really biting, but picking her cuticles!!!). Her cuticles look HORRIBLE sometimes! I've told her to tell me when she gets a 'boo boo' (ie: hang nail) so I can clip it off with the clippers. She tells me sometimes, but other times I'm catching her picking them. I started something new the other day....I told her if she does not pick them or her nose, I will polish one fingernail at a time (a really light color so it's not noticeable). So yesterday for example, I praised her for not doing that (the nose or the cuticle thing) so she got one finger painted in a very pale pink color polish. Today, she got another one painted. Tomorrow if she does good, she'll get another one. She's been asking about nail polish, so this I'm hoping will work for her, even if it's for a little while. You won't be able to do this with Aidan though.

And last but not least.....a new one in which she picked up from her classmate at preschool. She picks her lip!!!! The top lip in the middle she'll pull at it. There's times I notice it and you can see the bunched up skin from her pulling at it! She tells me "Olivia picks her lip" so I then knew where she got that from. Argh! Needless to say, we use alot of chapstick.

So....not to take your post away, Karri, but I just wanted to let you know that your not alone.....I got 3 nasty, shall I say "habits" I'm trying to deal with. So you let me know if you find one that works for the nose.

I've been focusing more on the times when she is NOT doing it rather than focusing on the times that she is. So I will give her lots of praise, encouragement, and acknowledgement when I see she's not doing the nose, cuticle or lip thing. I will try to be consistent in doing that in hopes that she will see that I see the good in it when she's not messing with it so it doesn't always seem that she's hearing the 'bad' when she is doing it. kwim?

[Brandi]

You'll love this - I read somewhere that they cannot control themselves enough to stop picking until they are 5 years old. That's hard to believe. We pretty much just ignore Carter, although he likes to show me and then put his finger in his mouth. He knows it drives me nuts and thinks that's the funniest thing.

[Karri]

Dawn
Alyssa --no eating here ...yet
Brandi --um, that is NOT what I want to hear!!!!

Aidan will come up to me and say, "I got a booger" and want me to remove said offense from his finger However, 98% of the time when he is picking, I really honestly believe he isnt picking b/c there is something in there (i've looked!).
He even picks first thing when he wakes up, before he's even freaking awake! (i know this b/c he crawls in bed with us at 4:30 and his eyes are closed, yet his finger in in there, drilling away )

[MamaGoofy]

David has been doing the same thing. Unfortunately he eats his prizes. I haven't figured out what to do to stop him. I tell him that by eating his boogers it's going to make him sick. I have even told him that his finger may fall off or his nose may fall off. Nothing. He still picks his nose. I have even seen him doing it in his sleep. I feel your pain Karri.

[gulp!]

At least its just his finger, and not foreign objects, right?!

We've had limited success with telling Emma that "only bad guys pick their noses". She's obsessed with "bad guys" (thank you, DH), so we use it to our advantage and often tell her that bad guys do x unacceptable behavior, and good guys don't. Since she always wants to be a good guy, its usually enough to get her to stop.

Does he want to be anything? Emma sometimes wants to be a superhero (thanks, DH). So we tell her, "superheroes don't pick their noses." Again, limited success, but limited is better than nothing.

[Kimmy0712]

Alex is the same way he is forever picking his nose and eating it! it is so gross. He has also gotten in the habit of biting his nails too that I really wish would stop.

[Alyssa]

I feel a little better knowing this isn't just us. I think my Aidan does it because he's bored or it's habit or he's just really interested in what's in his body. Like Karri's Aidan, there is often nothing in there. Which helps on the "eating" end of things.

TG Colin hasn't started this...yet.

[sheila]

Maggie does it too. And Katie seems to think its cool, so she tries. So far, she doesn't get her finger up there quite as far as Maggie, and she isn't as.... productive as her big sister, but she's still doing it.

I tried talking to Maggie about germs, but nothing seems to work for more than the immediate now. I was hoping it wouldn't last until she's 5 though. Nothing like a cute little girl in a dress with her finger knuckle deel in her nose.

Oh, and FWIW, I think she is trying to get at something when she digs, as well.

[bunybomb]

Hoping someone has advice. I'm on my second picker and eater. My dd didn't out grow it until she was around 8! ACK!

Alex tries to pick our noses now. "Mommy, I have to get that boog"....

My 20 month old would have a different contribution to this thread... I'm always picking at his nose trying to get the hard ones out of there and he HATES it when I do. Maybe that will encourage him to NOT be a picker as he grows up.

right. like THAT will happen.

[Alyssa]

Originally Posted by Susan

My 20 month old would have a different contribution to this thread... I'm always picking at his nose trying to get the hard ones out of there and he HATES it when I do.

Oh, I have that with Aidan too sometimes. And Colin for sure...especially right now. Literally right now. I should stop typing and take care of that!

[Lady E]

Originally Posted by bunybomb

Hoping someone has advice. I'm on my second picker and eater. My dd didn't out grow it until she was around 8! ACK!

I'll go crazy if Jada and Justin keep this up for another 5 years
They both do it though Jada is the worse culprit and I've tried everything to get them to stop and it doesn't work.

[Brooke]

Rebekah picks her nose, but it's usually because something is in there bothering her.
The thing that I hate the most - she does it in bed before she falls asleep and then wipes it on her wall. I keep finding crusties all over her wall near her bed.

[bunybomb]

Originally Posted by Brooke

I keep finding crusties all over her wall near her bed.

At least you are finding them Brooke. Alex eats the evidence.

[Girlo]

This is our situation completely!! Except that Alex is 16 months.
He also has his finger up his nose pretty often....although I don't think he's really trying to pull anything out....maybe that comes later.
A booger-y nose is my HUGE kid/baby peeve and I'm constantly digging at his nose to get them out....and he screams like I'm pulling his little arms off. I'll be happy when he can do it himself!!

Originally Posted by Susan

My 20 month old would have a different contribution to this thread... I'm always picking at his nose trying to get the hard ones out of there and he HATES it when I do. Maybe that will encourage him to NOT be a picker as he grows up.

right. like THAT will happen.

[redhairedgirl]

You can always sing the song...
"Inside everyone's nose...
There lives a sharp toothed snail.
If you stick your finger in,
He may bite off your nail.
Stick it farther in,
And he may bite your ring off...
Stick it all the way in,
And he may bite the whole darned thing off!!"

Hey, that song worked for one of my brothers - or maybe it was because we humiliated him while he was doing it. I just figured it was something children outgrow (or learned to suppress) when they learn more about germs and social behaviours - what is acceptable and what is not (or what will cause you to get ridiculed by your friends).

Mandy