Growing up a child, happy a family,
Influencing a society.
Suck your fingers, bite your nails, dig your nostrils... These "small problems" of children often make adults very distressed, no matter how parents and teachers remind them, it is useless, children still go their own way, and even the more restrictive the more serious. In fact, these "small problems" are often a way of coping when children feel stressed, bored, tired, frustrated, unhappy, insecure, or sleepy. If your child exhibits behaviors like these, it's actually helping to calm and soothe their emotions.
So, let's first understand the reasons behind these "small problems" from the different behaviors of children
Children around 0-2 years old eat fingers
Before a child learns to explore the world with his hands, the oral cavity will play the role of an exploration tool for a certain period of time, which is called the "oral sensitivity period". During this period, children like to put everything within their reach into their mouths and taste it, feel its taste, texture, shape, and build an understanding of the world and obtain psychological satisfaction. In general, the child's oral sensitivity period ends before the age of 1, but if it is forcibly terminated during this period, there may be a delay in the oral sensitivity period, that is, a compensatory reaction will occur after the age of 1, such as eating fingers and gnawing nails.
In addition to the oral sensitivity period, there are other sensitive periods in children between the ages of 0-6, such as the detail sensitive period, that is, the special interest in small things, and the behavior of "digging the nostrils" is a typical manifestation of the child's detail sensitivity period
Children 3-5 years old nibble on their nails
With age, at the age of 2-3, the child will no longer like to suck his fingers as he did when he was a child, but there will be a sucking action when he is hungry, tired, tired or stressed, and this sucking action will develop into nail nibbling, perhaps he does not realize that he is nibbling on his nails, which is a way for children to gain a sense of security by venting their emotions.
In addition, nail gnawing can also occur when the child lacks a certain trace element. Pan Hui, director of the Department of Endocrinology of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, pointed out that zinc deficiency and iron deficiency in children generally cause pica, that is to say, children do not like to eat normal food, and prefer to eat some non-food, such as sucking fingers. If these two elements are indeed lacking, we should improve our diet, eat more zinc-containing and iron-containing foods, such as lean meat, pork liver, egg yolk, milk, fish and shrimp, shellfish, soy products, eat more vitamin C-rich vegetables and fruits, such as greens, kiwifruit, etc., eat less or no monosodium glutamate and chicken essence, and avoid affecting the absorption of trace elements.
Children entering kindergarten
It is most likely to chew nails unconsciously
Lele's little secret
Lele's nail gnawing began when he was in kindergarten. Once I found that his nails were chewed neatly, and I was surprised and felt that this habit was very bad, so I told Lele that in the future, my mother would remember to cut his nails regularly and let him not chew anymore.
But this did not work at all, Lele became more and more fond of nibbling nails, especially at night when lying on the bed, he would involuntarily put his hands into his mouth, I saw that he was very enjoyable, I asked: "Lele, is it very happy to nibble nails?" ”
Lele looked at me, his eyes flashed a trace of excitement, and nodded. I said, "How did you like to nibble on your nails?" ”
He told me that one day when he couldn't sleep during his lunch break in kindergarten, he found several children next to him nibbling on his nails, that day he just happened to be because his nails were not cut, and when he entered the kindergarten, he was criticized by the teacher, and the actions of the children next to him made him move smartly, and he also tried to bite down the nails with his teeth, and when he bitten it, he found it very convenient, and soon the nails were chewed neatly.
In this way, every time he can't sleep during his lunch break and can't speak, he will start to bite his nails, the more he bites, the happier he is, and this behavior is like a tacit understanding between children, many children will bite their nails together, and slowly, this habit will become a part of his life.
I sometimes asked him how he felt about biting his nails, but never stopped him. Because I know that nail biting is a special way for children to release stress, this habit naturally disappears as we get older.
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When a child enters kindergarten, he will feel the pressure from the external environment, especially the teacher's request, which sometimes makes him confused, and these pressures gather in his body and need to be released. Not only nails, but also when the child feels the pressure, it will also be released by blinking, biting the corners of the clothes, rubbing the genitals and other small actions. So parents don't have to worry too much, don't organize or blame, this is a normal performance of children's growth, especially in the age group of 3-5 years old.
So, how should parents treat their children's behavior? Here, Xiaobian lists several suggestions for your reference:
Conduct proper frontal guidance
When children suck their fingers and nibble on their nails, parents should patiently teach their children to slowly remove their fingers from their mouths, and then explain the possible consequences of these bad habits in a gentle way, such as through a microscope or picture book, so that children realize that they have a lot of "bacteria" on their hands, tell children that there are many bacteria on their fingernails, and it is easy to get sick when they eat into their mouths. As long as the parents guide them in the right way, the child can correct it.
Find alternatives and transform bad behavior
Timely diversion is more useful than repeated nagging, for younger children, parents can give a child usually like toy; for slightly older children, parents can let the child do one other thing, instead of eating fingernails, such as "Baby, help the mother to take xx over", or do some games with the child that need to be carried out with both hands to help the child divert attention.
Trim your nails regularly
Parents should trim their children's nails regularly, because when the nails are broken, they will cause rough nails and barbs, which will aggravate the child's impulse to bite the nails.
Create a relaxed family atmosphere
In addition to the behavior of eating hands and nails itself, the most fundamental way for children who eat hands because they feel lonely and emotionally stressed is to improve the family environment and create a relaxed atmosphere. At the same time, children are encouraged to participate in group activities and outdoor exercises to exert their potential and promote healthy physical and mental development.
Give your child a happy and happy childhood
▍ Article source: Network