Child biting inside of thumbs?

My 5-year-old bites the inside knuckle of both thumbs. I can see that it is a nervous obsession... any time that he is slightly stressed, nervous, or surrounded by an unfamiliar environment, his thumb is contained by his mouth & he is chewing on the skin. I have tried reminding him to stop when I see him, but it doesn't facilitate. I won't put anything (ie: hot sauce, nail biting chemicals, etc.) on them because they are natural & sensitive. His pediatrician suggested an anti-anxiety med, but I hate to do that also. Any thinking?


Answers:    "it seems that this is in fact an old obsession very similar to a dog cleaning its paw or a cat licking itself. When we get anxious or panicky, these old reflex that humans have since formerly we evolved resurfaces and since our minds are occupied by other thoughts, we can’t argument these old behaviour as “civilized” humans, but we rather exploit like we used to as animals. I don’t know how much of it is true, but it kinda make sense to me. Of course, if you believe in the fairytale that a god created Adam, Eve and the appletree, you’ll disagree near me…"

I used to do it, it's not that unheard of. I still do it sometimes when I'm really nervous, etc. It's similar to a habit of nailbiting.

Why don't you try putting gloves/mittens on his hand. Or maybe nailpolish? Sometimes near any bad dependence, we have to substitute it next to something else that takes our minds past its sell-by date of it.

I stopped when I got braces because it be too difficult for my teeth. But since your son is 5, maybe you could distract him w/ something else. Maybe something else to chew on?

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