I know I shouldn't have... but daycare told me this morning that we have a small problem with G. NOSE PICKING!! She enjoys picking her nose and expressing her creative side by painting the other children with it. (I'm a bad mommy because all I could do was burst out laughing) Since G started in March of 09 we've had 18 incident reports. Others scratch, she scratches, others hit, she hits, others bite, she bites...my girl has learned to give it right back. All these were very minor but theY write up every little thing. So, when I hear about the nose picking... ahhh... that's nothing. Nothing but a bit embarrassing! lol. Ironically she doesn't do it much at home but thinks it's a full time job at school. They are working with her and I'm going to have to monitor this more closely.
What to do about nose picking
Bite your tongue. No matter how embarrassed you are by this habit (and of course you are embarrassed), don't say anything. Nagging or punishing your child when she picks her nose won't help, because she probably doesn't even realize she's doing it. Techniques such as putting elastic bandages on her fingers will seem like unjust punishment to a 2-year-old for something so innocuous. (Once your child decides she wants to break the habit, though, this technique may help, since it allows her to catch herself in the act.) Plus, as is often the case with 2-year-olds, pressuring her to stop may trigger a power struggle. The more she realizes that this behavior gets to you, the more pleasure she'll take in it.
Keep her fingers occupied. If you can identify times and places when your child is particularly likely to pick — while watching television, for example, or in the car — try giving her a substitute (a rubber ball to squeeze, a fuzzy fake rabbit's foot to stroke, or finger puppets to play with). Teaching her to blow her nose may also help.
Check things out. If your child's exploring her nose so intensely that she's drawing blood, or if the habit seems to be one of a constellation of nervous behaviors (she's sucking her thumb, picking her nose until it bleeds, and having trouble sleeping, for example), you'll probably want to consult her pediatrician.
Wait and hope. As your child gets older and uses her hands for more complex tasks like building Lego castles and mixing mud pies, chances are her fingers will stay away from her nose of their own accord. If not, and she keeps up the nose picking until she goes off to preschool or elementary school, at some point some other child will say, "Ewww, she's picking her nose," and she'll suddenly be very motivated to stop. At that point you can work on ending the habit together with a system of secret reminders. Until then, just keep her hands busy — and your fingers crossed. (info above found here.)
6 comments:
I'm sorry, but this gave me such a chuckle! LOL! I would have bursted into laugther too if the teacher had shared this with me. LOL!
It made me laugh, but we have that problem with Sierra too. Only sometimes her nose starts bleeding, not something we want. I did notice the inside of her nose was very dry so now she has a saline nose spray. She loves it and the picking has decreased!!!
This is age appropriate. I have K in my class who still do it. I just ask them to go wash their hands.. Daycare workers take everything to extreme.
You don't think they are harrassing a two year old do you?
Christy mama to Wen China 7/2005 Family day
No harrassment going on! lol Just a pet peeve of the most awesome teacher ever! lol.
sadly I think it comes with the age...we have a nose picker and a booger eater and I have learned he less I say the less she does it but OMG...it is so embarrassing when she does... I hope she outgrows this phase soon...i keep lots of tissues handy.
Emily
I SO needed to read this today... thank you for the advice. I, too, have a nose-picker. She even picked her nose on stage during her dance recital last June. Ack! Thanks again.
Post a Comment