What is the child lacking when he eats his nails?

The physical health of children can be seen from their usual behavior. For example, if parents find that their children always grind their teeth when they sleep, it may be caused by calcium deficiency. Similarly, biting nails also means that the child may lack a certain element in the body. Many babies tend to eat randomly, which may cause worms in their stomachs and cause children to bite their nails. So what is the lack of children who bite their nails?

What is the child lacking when he eats his nails?

1. Children may bite their nails because they lack the trace element zinc in their bodies. These children may also be addicted to eating other things, such as paper, wall paint, soil, etc., which can be confirmed through laboratory tests. Those who are zinc deficient should supplement zinc, those who have worms should deworm them. Once the cause is eliminated, the child will naturally stop biting his nails.

2. In addition, experts from the child psychology clinic pointed out that nail biting is a neurotic habit, a symptom of anxiety and insecurity, and a way for children to comfort themselves. Therefore, for most children, chewing their fingernails is not a sign of lack of something, but rather a sign of habit or other problems.

What to do if your child eats his nails

1. Children chew their nails because they are zinc deficient. For babies with mild zinc deficiency, they should eat more foods high in zinc. Foods with high zinc content include lean meat, eggs, pork liver, animal blood, fish, oysters, herring, dried shrimps, seaweed, fish meal, fungi, walnuts, peanuts, chestnuts, radishes, etc.

2. Don’t make complementary foods too fine, otherwise it will lead to the loss of the mineral zinc in the food. In addition, do not feed your baby foods containing too much sugar and fiber, as this will affect the absorption of zinc. Babies with severe zinc deficiency, in addition to dietary supplements, also need to take zinc supplements as prescribed by a doctor, and the symptoms of nail biting will improve.

If a child chews his nails, it is very likely a sign of zinc deficiency. For such children, just supplement the baby with zinc-containing foods according to the above method. But what is more important is that babies may also bite their nails due to psychological reasons. Parents should not ignore the psychological education and care of their children. Only in this way can the problem of children biting their nails be solved.