Your Child's Habits

Many kids have habits that can be downright annoying. The five most common ones that children develop and parents complain about are:

• nail biting
• thumb sucking
• hair twirling
• nose picking
• breath holding

Although your child's habits may bother or even worry you, relax. In most cases, a habit is just a phase in the normal developmental process and is not cause for alarm.

What's a Habit?

A habit is a pattern of behavior that's repeated, and the person usually isn't even aware of the habit. Although children may be blissfully unaware of their behavior, their parents aren't so lucky.

And if your little one usually has one hand stuffed in the mouth and the other entwined in the hair, your child's habits may bug you twice as much, but it's not surprising: Habits tend to occur in clusters.

A Quick Look at Kids' Habits

Here's the lowdown on the most common habits among children and teens:

Nail Biting

If wet fingers on your child and little slivers of fingernails on the floor are familiar to you, you're not alone. One of the most common childhood habits is nail biting or picking.

Some studies estimate that 30% to 60% of children between the ages of 5 and 10 chew on one or more nails, as do about 20% of adolescents (the habit is less common in preschool children). And, occasionally, a child may also bite his or her toenails.

Both boys and girls appear equally prone to the habit in earlier years; however, as they get older, boys are more likely to be nail biters.

Hair Twirling

If your child is a hair twirler, the odds are that it's your daughter. The majority of children who twist, stroke, or pull their hair are girls.

Hair twirling may appear in early childhood and may be a precursor to hair pulling, either with or without hair loss. But many hair twirlers and pullers stop as they get older. For those who don't, simple behavior modification can help them break the habit. However, for people who start hair pulling as older children or teens, the habit is harder to break and may be a sign of anxiety, depression, or obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Nose Picking

Nose picking appears to be a habit that, although it usually begins in childhood, may actually linger into adulthood. If you find that hard to believe, consider that a 1995 study of adults found that 91% picked their noses on a regular basis - and about 8% of those people reported that they eat what they pick!

Thumb Sucking

The popularity of the thumb as the preferred digit to suck might suggest that it's more flavorful than, say, the index finger. But the preference for thumbs appears to be an accidental choice, resulting from the thumb coming into contact with the mouth during random movements made by an infant.

Some children also suck their fingers, hands, or their entire fists in addition to, or instead of, their thumbs. Most thumb suckers are younger children. In fact, anywhere from a quarter to half of 2- to 4-year-olds suck their thumbs.

Many children suck their thumbs to calm and comfort themselves. But frequent or intense thumb sucking beyond 4 to 6 years of age can cause problems, including dental problems, (such as overbite), thumb or finger infections, and being teased.