Behavioral habits

Many children have habits such as nail biting, thumb sucking, or nose picking. Most often, such habits go away on their own. Sometimes a child needs help to break them. A way to achieve that is calmly reminding a child, with praise when he/she is not doing it.

What are habits?

Habits are behaviors that are repeated frequently, mostly automatically, without prior thinking. Some of these behaviors in children can sometimes worry, annoy or anger you, but you should know that they are usually not a cause for concern.

Children's habits often involve touching or similar useless activities with parts of the face or body. Children may be aware of this, they may like it, but this is not always the case.
Some of the most common habits are: sucking the finger, thumb or pacifier, biting or tearing the nails, twisting or pulling the hair, picking the nose, biting the lips or the inside of the cheeks, biting objects such as pencil ends, clothes, gnashing the teeth.

How do habits develop?

Habits can be pleasant and soothing. Sucking is one such example. In young children, this habit can be a way to relieve stress or anxiety.
Sometimes, habits develop when children get bored. Such behaviors then serve as a kind of entertainment. For instance, children may bite their nails more often while watching TV or doing nothing than when they are anxious.
Sometimes habits start for practical reasons, and then continue even when those reasons are no longer present. For instance, young children who pick their noses during a cold may continue to do so for some time when the cold passes. If a child picks his/her nose, even after learning to empty it by blowing it, he/she has probably developed the habit of picking.
You set an example for the child. If you notice that a child is starting to form a habit, first ask yourself if you have such a habit. Some habits are more likely to occur in certain families, e.g. nail biting.

Some children may exhibit more unusual behaviors, such as swaying their body, hitting or moving their head. Most children stop doing this by the age of five.

Some behaviors may look like the beginning of a habit, and are caused by medical reasons. In this case, they usually start abruptly and have other characteristics, e.g. a child who suddenly starts pulling or hitting the earlobes and becomes irritable is likely to have an ear infection. It can be similar with some behaviors accompanying tooth growth, etc.

Breaking habits

Most of these behaviors stop on their own. If the behaviors interfere with the child's daily functioning, or lead to injury, then something needs to be done.

For instance, thumb sucking is common and quite normal. But, if the child sucks his/her thumb most of the time or has difficulties because of it, e.g. in talking or eating, or is insulted by peers, then it is advisable to stop these behaviors. Try it yourself first:

Make an agreement with your child that you will help break the habit. Explain why you are doing this.
When you notice the child doing it, calmly tell him/her to stop. Praise him/her when he/she does.
If such behaviors occur more often when the child is not active, you can suggest an activity.

If these habits do not stop despite your efforts, and interfere with functioning or lead to injury (e.g. intense finger sucking can adversely affect tooth development, if it lasts beyond the third year), seek professional help. In case it is suspected that those behaviors are a manifestation of anxiety, it is necessary to seek psychological help.

Sometimes these behaviors look like tics. Tics are involuntary, repetitive and sudden movements. They occur for other reasons. Most tics involve simple movements (squinting, more frequent blinking, nose twitching, etc.) They are usually temporary. If they last longer, if they are pronounced or more complex in nature, it is necessary to consult a pediatrician.