No Bite

Two of my kids are nail biters.

That would be Nick and Andy. They both bite their nails down to the quick, and then they nibble on their cuticles. The skin around their nail beds becomes red and inflamed. Sometimes they bleed. It drives me crazy.

It mostly drives me crazy because I can't even put cream on their fingers. It stings and hurts them. But they still manage to bite their nails.

So I went to CVS in search of a magic potion. Something to keep little fingers out of mouths. I was actually looking for something called No Bite, but apparently they don't sell that in stores, only online.  So I settled for something called Bite It (with a red line through it) instead.

I painted Nick's nails with it. I painted Andy's nails with it, and he whimpered a little because it stung his sore fingers. But I reasoned that it might be worth it if I could get him to stop biting his nails.

And, almost as an afterthought, I painted my own nails. I no longer bite my nails off completely, but I nibble. I'm a nibbler.

Let me tell you, that stuff is horrible. It tastes so bad I can't stand it. There is no mindless nibbling any more.

I am also surprised at how often I eat or taste things with my fingers. I can no longer lick my fingers. I won't taste pancake batter, I'll taste the nail stuff. It's terrible. On the bright side, my fingernails haven't been this long in years.

Nick's fingernails have also gotten long enough for me to actually cut.

But Andy seems to be immune. I paint his little nails and he bites them anyway.  What does one do?