Help! My 9 y/o 3rd grade add/ld/gifted son won’t stop picking his nose in public. I volunteer regularly at school and it breaks my heart to watch him pick his nose then eat the product. I usually quietly give him a tissue when I see this happen, or try to shoot him a look to remind him to stop. His teachers have confided that this habit disturbs them. He usually only does this when he gets really spacey. At home he does it when he thinks no when is watching. I’ve had serious conversations with him about the behavior - that it is never okay to do it in public - right up there with farting, butt scratching, and adjusting your underwear, all the activities which, if they absolutely have to be done, should be done in private and with hands washed afterwords. All that’s done is made him self conscious about the habit (when he’s aware of doing it), so sometimes now he’ll try to hide his head when he picks his nose.
I’ve heard some of the other children commenting among each other about this although I’m not sure he’s heard it yet.
Please, any suggestions?
Re: nose picking
Maybe he needs to hear it from someone else. Parents say so many things to children that I think that the kids eventually tune some of it out. His feelings may get hurt at first if someone says “that’s gross” when he’s doing it, but it may get his attention because it somes from someone else. If that works, then the benefit of stopping this habit may well outweigh the initial shame.
If that doesn’t seem likely to happen, perhaps you could volunteer a friend of yours to comment on how disguting it is when he’s in the room. That way, he’s not the direct target but is still hearing the message from someone new.
nose picking
My child used to do this too when she was that age. No amount of talking on my part would get her to stop. A friend told me her child did it too and he even told her that he liked how it tasted because it was “warm and salty”. My child agreed. Eventually she just stopped on her own (4th grade?). I just now asked her what made her stop and she said that two other kids in class had this same bad habit. Even though she never heard anyone making fun of her, she did hear the other two being made fun of and (rightly) assumed she was too so she stopped.
does he have sinus problems? Is their a phsyical reason? possibly?or has it just become a habit? It could be a self stimming thing he is doing,have you given him a more socially acceptable alternative?