Conner is such a great kid! I am impressed with him lately and here's why. He used to be a "nail biter!" (I know. . . shudder the thought!) I don't know when he started this habit and I can't think of a time when I've actually caught him in the act, but his nails were just terrible looking for so long. For over a year I have begged him to stop biting. I have bribed him. I have reminded him. I have given him no sympathy for any pain associated with his biting. It has been this little annoyance at the back of my head since I first noticed his little sad nubbins of finger nails. But, around Christmastime, he found a book in my classroom called, "The Bearnstein Bears and the Bad Habit." I watched him read this book and really study the pictures of the pages. He asked me a few questions about Sister Bear's bad habit (which just so happened to be nail biting) and we talked about it a little. He didn't say anything more about it after that, but I could see the wheels turning in his little head. I really didn't expect much to come of this incident, but it has been a few months since that day and I am happy to report that Conner is now the proud owner of a beautiful set of fingernails! He made the decision to stop biting all on his own, didn't say a word about it to Steve or me. Just decided to quit! What a great kid. He is such an example to me and I am reminded of that each time I get to sit him down on my lap and trim his once bitten nails.
4 comments:
Way to go Conner!!! That's awesome!
oh the sweet heart! i too have a nail bitter...my sweet emma bemma...although she goes through times when she wont do it at all...we tried chewing gum instead and that worked for a long time and then she stopped. but lately we've struggling with it again. it's so sad to see the little hang nails, huh! and of course, i feel so bad like i've made her a nervous wreck, but honestly, i too have had the nail bitting thing for as long as i can remember and i too go through moments when i do bite them....ahhh. what's a girl to do?
good job to connor!!!
Jack used to be a nail biter too. I just started telling him that he didn't have to bite his nails anymore. If they were to long we could just cut them. I also keep saying things like "I am so proud of you for not biting your nails right now" and any other encouraging thing I could think of. Amazingly enough he stopped too!
Oh my gosh! I am going to get that book! Brecken has that bad habit! I hate it! I have bribed him too, but that didn't work. We have tried bandaids on the fingers, vinegar on the fingers...lots of things. Thanks for the tip. I will try anything.
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