My oldest daughter bites her nails. It’s pretty bad, and we’ve been trying different things to get her to stop. I told her, a while back, that I would take her to a nail salon to get her nails done if she quit for a certain amount of time. She quit cold turkey. Not long after, she started up again. I would constantly be telling her to get her fingers out of her mouth and to stop biting her nails. Can you say “nagging?” She would return my nag with a glare or a growl. There were many unpleasant moments between us. I saw my friend do a sweet verbal reminder to her daughter, and the moment between them was in stark contrast with what I was experiencing. So, we switched from the nag to a gentle, “I love you.” She is still biting her nails, but this reminder makes her pull her fingers out rather than give me a growl.
Great idea! So when you say, “I love you,” is that her cue to take her fingers out? Great tip! Thanks for sharing!
Yeah – it’s now a code between us, and it’s working fairly well for now.