How to Keep Your Kid from Picking His Nose

It might be gross, but some doctors say nose picking is not a bad thing, provided you wash or sanitize your hands afterward. Regardless, picking the nose is a social faux pas and can become an embarrassing problem once your little one starts school. It might even cause nosebleeds. If you are unsuccessful with your stop-the-nose-picking campaign, your child will most likely kick the habit on his own as he gets older.

Things You'll Need

  • Saline spray
  • Humidifier
  • Petroleum jelly
  • Bandages
  • Stress ball
  • Sketch book
  • Pencil

Instructions

    • 1

      Talk to your child's doctor to see if there is an underlying cause for the nose-picking. For example, your child may have asthma, causing a consistent irritation in the nose. Your doctor might recommend that you use a saline spray, rub a little bit of petroleum jelly on the end of the nose or keep a humidifier in his room at night. These things help keep the nose moist and the mucus flowing so nose-blowing is more efficient. Once the mucus dries into boogers, nose picking is usually inevitable.

    • 2

      Explain to your child why you object to the nose-picking. Perhaps she suffers from regular nosebleeds. If you tell her that nose-picking is likely the cause, she can wrap her mind around why she should want and try to stop. Having a child who wants to quit her nose-picking works much better than one who has no desire to stop. If she's not old enough to understand, it might be too soon to help her stop this habit.

    • 3

      Put a bandage on the finger or fingers that your child uses the most to pick his nose. Not only will it stop him from picking with those go-to fingers, the bandage will help remind him not to pick his nose when he goes to do it subconsciously.

    • 4

      Give your child something else to do with her fingers, such as a squishy ball meant to relieve stress or a sketch book to do some doodling. This can work well during times when your child is most likely to pick her nose subconsciously, such as while she is watching television, in the car or in a church service.

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