22 Nov 2018 | 2 min Read
Babychakra
Author | 1369 Articles
It happens suddenly and most often in public. Your toddler is standing near the cake table at a birthday party. S/he’s waiting for the cake cutting and in a flash, the hand moves to the nose, a finger shoots up into the nostril and the digging begins.
You’re naturally embarrassed as you’ve repeatedly told your child not to do it, but it still happens, again and again, every time. You feel the world is staring at you and your child but your little digger is busy doing his/her job and doesn’t even know what the fuss is all about.
So why do children dig their nose and why do they do it so often?
Health experts feel that children who have frequent colds tend to dig noses more often, for obvious reasons. After a bout of a runny nose due to infections or allergies, the mucus tends to dry up and harden in the nostrils. Children get the feeling of something being ‘stuck’ in their nose and try to get the stuck thing out. They don’t really realise that mucus is ‘dirty’ and full of germs. Some kids, brace yourself for this, eat their mucus and don’t make a big deal about it(Yuck, right?)
Just like nail biting, nose picking is a habit that needs to be discouraged simply because it’s unhealthy more than embarrassing. Here’s how you can try to get rid of your child’s nose picking habit.
Remember, your child still doesn’t realise the magnitude of germs and keeping clean. Reminding them gently and rewarding them when they visit the bathroom to clear the nose will motivate them to kick the habit.
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Suggestions offered by doctors on BabyChakra are of advisory nature i.e., for educational and informational purposes only. Content posted on, created for, or compiled by BabyChakra is not intended or designed to replace your doctor's independent judgment about any symptom, condition, or the appropriateness or risks of a procedure or treatment for a given person.