Dear Dr. Sylvia,

My 3 and a half-year old grandson is a wonderful, healthy, happy, very smart, loving and talented child. My only worry about him is that he's a constant nail-biter. He started about six months ago. He not only bites his fingernails, he also bites the skin around them. Sometimes the skin will bleed.

I know that reminding him, nagging him, or even painting his fingers with repellents will just cause him more stress and make the problem worse. What, if anything, would you recommend doing? Should we ignore the problem and hope he will outgrow it soon?

Certainly bringing attention to the nail-biting is likely to worsen the habit, but harmless, yucky tasting stuff might discourage your grandson without making a fuss. His parents could explain that they're trying to help him, and could even provide a small gift as a reward when his nails grow back. Because this is a newly acquired habit, you and his parents may wish to determine if there are some new stresses in his life. Sometimes a sibling or difficult peer can cause a child to feel pressure. If the causes can be identified, the problem may be prevented from becoming worse. If the problem becomes worse, your grandson's parents may want to get assistance from a psychologist.

Dr. Sylvia Rimm,Phd

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