Bad Habit - El Monte,CA

dont use hand sanitizer as a nail biting deterant.

Poisoning
The most familiar danger is hand sanitizer poisoning, particularly for young children who are attracted to the fun scents and bright colors of many sanitizers. Most sanitizers contain 60 percent to 90 percent alcohol (commonly ethyl or isopropyl alcohol) -- a stronger concentration than most hard liquors. Even a small dose can be dangerous if ingested, leading to dizziness, slurred speech, headaches, and even brain damage or fatalities in extreme cases.

I bite my nails too. I have to put on clear polish to stop myself and it works. You could put some clear polish on his nails...

Make him use hand sanitizer! Have you ever used it and went to eat something hours later and got the taste still on your fingers! ICK!! I am not a nail biter but if I was the taste of that stuff would not make me want to stick my fingers in my mouth! And it is cheap and comes in many different fun scents :) Just an idea

@wendy... i have never heard of hand sanitizer poisoning... pretty nasty stuff and everything has to have a warning on it somewhere for legality reasons.. what 5 yr old would eat hand sanitizer, really? OK try rubbing dandelion flowers all over his fingers, tastes equally as aweful! is there dandelion poisoning too? :)

I wish I had advice for you. I have always done this (though to a lesser extent than some people) and finally got fake nails though I still chew on other things like pens.

One suggestion is that there's this bitter stuff you can paint on nails which tastes really bad (I tried it) but you have to keep up with it. Also, if you keep telling him it's gross, that he's eating germs, that it sounds gross etc. that might help. My dad did things like that to me and it definitely made me want to stop. And admittedly by High School I barely did it. Even now I have to constantly remind myself to not do it. Good luck with yours!