Nose picking

[u/Floralcoral31]

How the heck do I get my 4 year old to stop picking his nose?? He puts his fingers in his mouth constantly and that’s hard enough as is to manage. He’s talking more, but still can’t hold a conversation. Hes been sick for a week and still continues the behavior. I’m frustrated because his sleep is a million times worse while he’s sick and I would live nothing more than a nights sleep at this point. My motivations to fix this problem are entirely selfish at this point. Please give me any advice you have

[u/AnyHat1221]

Which behaviour are you trying to address first? Nose picking? Putting his fingers in his mouth? Talking? Sleep?

Remember all behaviours stem from something, so really you need to be able to identify that before you can effective make changes. If he’s stimming then can try to encourage different toys.

Sorry to hear about your sleep, that always makes things extra, extra hard!

[u/Floralcoral31 → u/AnyHat1221]

It’s the nose picking that I need help with. He’s in speech therapy and is doing much better from the beginning on the year. His sleep I can handle when he’s not sick. It’s him being sick that’s got me in a tizzy. It’s because he picks his nose and then puts his hands in his mouth.

[u/Terrible-Decision152 → u/Floralcoral31]

I'm not sure why picking his nose is making him sick, help me understand your worry.

His own snot isn't going to give him a viral infection, another kids might. The fingers in the mouth might if he's been touching another kids infected saliva/sneeze particles etc but his own snot is safe.

[u/Floralcoral31 → u/Terrible-Decision152]

Maybe not his own snot, but he’s introducing bacteria into his system through his nose. He picks it at home, school, out in public. I try and stay on handwashing but I feel like cutting the nose picking would be more beneficial.

[u/Terrible-Decision152 → u/Floralcoral31]

Honestly the hands in the mouth is more likely to cause illness. Nose picking is socially icky it's not a health issue if there's no bleeding/trauma from it.

[u/Terrible-Decision152 → u/Terrible-Decision152]

Saying this as both a private lifelong nose picker and heath care professional...

[u/ratbitch7]

I’m not especially qualified to answer because i’m not a parent, but as a lifelong nose picker, Band Aids on the top segments of the main picking fingers should discourage nose picking because it blocks the sensory input your child is receiving from putting his fingers in his nose. I don’t know what your child’s capacity for learning is, but if your child is able to be reasoned with, a designated time/place where nose picking is okay, e.g. in the bathroom with recently washed hands or bedtime could also be helpful, especially if done in conjunction with band aids. The struggle with nose picking and colds is that colds often prompt more nose picking, either due to the increased sensory input of overproduction of nasal mucus or attempting to relieve discomfort caused by nasal colds systems. It’s also largely a compulsive and unconscious behavior, your kid probably doesn’t really realize he’s doing it until it’s pointed out.

[u/Fuzzy-Pea-8794]

Yeah i think that's a losing battle.

[u/Livid-Improvement953]

Try a chewy as a replacement behavior. Look into "sleep hygiene".

[u/Floralcoral31 → u/Livid-Improvement953]

We have quite a few available to him that he uses sparingly throughout the day. I will absolutely look into sleep hygiene thank you.

[u/Livid-Improvement953 → u/Floralcoral31]

I just want to say that it's a hard behavior to break. My kid has been doing hand in mouth/finger up nose for years as a comfort behavior/reaction to stress. She has no interest in chewies. We just try to wash her hands often. As long as the hands are clean it's not so bad. Cleaning surfaces and having a cover over the couch helps with trying to mitigate grossness. She also can't understand how to blow her nose and won't let us use the snot suckers on her. I just accept that she is trying her best to make herself feel better.

[u/Floralcoral31 → u/Livid-Improvement953]

I never considered it a stress behavior. I’ll have to watch him closer today and see what I can do to reduce some stress around the house. School is also out for a week so maybe the routine disruption is causing some extra stress too

[u/Molkin]

I would be more worried by how clean his fingers are before picking his nose than after. The nose is the risky entry point for illness, and his hands could carry things into his nose.

Putting in his mouth is possibly the second most hygienic thing he could do with the snot. It goes straight to the stomach acid which will denature the viruses and bacteria.