My 4 yr old and nose picking...

[purr]

My neighbors 12 yr old daughter decided it would be hilarious to teach my 4 yr old to pick his nose and get this.. EAT IT. She would act like she was picking her nose then put it in her mouth and of course my son thought it was the funniest thing.

Now.. I'm catching him doing it. It grosses me out so bad I just tell him thats not nice.. thats gross hon.. dont do that.. I'm going to put pepper on your finger (then he states I'll use another finger arrrgh!!!).

I 1.) want him to stop this nasty habit and 2.) I'm hoping his 2 yr old sister doesnt catch on.

Anyone have ANY advice? I've tried everything.. being nice.. being mean.. ignoring it.. and I'm not going to bribe a 4 yr old.

Help please!!

[cally]

1. I don't think there is much you can do

since the more you react, the more they will do it. Mine would pick her nose until her peers mocked her for it. She stopped immediately.

[Sabriel]

2. My mom's approach was, "Do you need a tissue?"

We were bombarded with them. It just a phase, like hair sucking/twirling and other things that gross us out. Let's face it, we all do it, but we've learned from social conventions to do it when we're alone or in the dark....

[AwakeAtLast]

13. That's exactly what I ask my K-2 students!

Most get the "pick"ture! (you may groan now) :)

:hi:

[TrogL]

3. I thought everybody did that

It tastes good - try it!

[wildeyed]

4. Be grateful that is all he is doing.

My son picks his nose, then offers it to me to eat. I decline politely and ignore him, hoping he will become bored with the game.

[purr]

5. How old is he?

I didnt think kids did this... thats why I posted :) I didnt realize it was a common practice.

IF I say something to him he'll become a 'closet' picker for a while then will do it right next to me again.

I guess he'll just grow out of it.. HOPEFULLY :)

[wildeyed]

6. My son is 2-1/2 and my daughter is 4.

I thought all kids nose picked. Besides being interesting, they don't blow their noses very well, so there is lots in there. Plus boogers are salty. Yum! ;)

But seriously, I wouldn't worry about it. For my younger, I just ignore it. He will do anything to get a rise out of me. My older, I ask her politely to stop and she usually does for the moment.

[TrogL]

7. my partner is 30

and picks his nose all the way up to the 2nd joint.

[wildeyed]

8. As long as he doesn't eat them........

If he eats them after he catches them, then it might spell trouble :9

Does he have a big nose? I can't get my finger in past the first joint, I just tried.

Wait are we in the lounge????? Where am I?

[bleedingheart]

9. ah those were the days when you taught other kids bad habits

I remember teaching my nephews...."chew and show" when I was about 17...it would amuse them for hours and my brother in law almost choked me to death....


As to correcting the behavior... I know that I try a combination of laughter and fantasy... "you'll turn into a booger if you keep doing that"....eventually they stop and then the end up disgusted by kids who do it.

My daughter would do it all the time...(the picking part not the eating) ...now she won't even go near a child who does it....funny how things change.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

10. We cured our son with a silly song...

Every time we caught him, we'd sing to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It":

Don't put your finger in your nose.
Your nose knows it's not the place it goes.
You can sniffle you can sneeze
You can swallow if you please but
DON'T PUT YOUR FINGER IN YOUR NOSE!!!

[mzmolly]

11. He's 4. Don't make too much of an issue if possible. I'd mention that

picking your nose can mean that one is "sharing germs" and beyond that, I'd remind him to get a kleenex without shaming him about it.

I might say, "we don't want to eat our boogies, you can get a kleenex if you have to blow."

Frankly, it's quite "normal" for a 4 year old to pick his/her nose and do all sorts of disgusting stuff. Try not to act disgusted if you can help it.

Good luck! ;)

[CornField]

12. Something you don't want to hear

Eating the boogers may be gross, but it also boosts the immune system. (There was a news article about it a year or so ago.)

Instead of telling our kids not to do things like that or calling it gross (which usually makes them want to do it more) we tell them there are some things which should be done in private like going to the restroom, picking of the nose, passing gas and, when they are older, masterbation.