Our two-year-old son "discovered" his nose a while ago, and his fingers seem to find their way into it often -- so much so that his nose often bleeds from all the attention. I'm guessing that a lot of mamas have faced this issue.... Any clever strategies for helping him to stop?
My daughter did the same thing and she just grew out of it. We would always tell her "no" and that putting her finger in her nose is yucky. We would always then had her a tissue if she needed to blow her nose. She will be 3 next month and rarely if ever does it. So I know it's a pain but if you just keep telling him "no" he should get it after a while.
Kids respond very well to anything that is a game. Make it a fun game to put his bugers in a kleenex. Afterwards he needs to wash his hands so he does not get sick. You can try this and see how the boy responds.
We explained that everyone gets boogers, and that when you need to get one out, you get a tissue. She will still sometimes dig, but she at least looks for a good place to put her "find", and she's pretty good about blowing or digging with a tissue. I thought it was important to explain that we all have to deal with boogers, rather than just "keep your fingers out of your nose", 'cause it's not like it's fun to have stuff stuck in there!
Make him wash his hands every time they wander up to his face. Explain that germs travel on fingers and when they reach your nose, can make you sick. Eventually he'll get tired of washing his hands so often.
My 5 year old is still fascinated w/his nose, so I can't offer help to get him to stop. To help avoid bleeding, I'd swab his nose w/some vaseline or Aquaphor on a q-tip. It moistens things up-he's probably got sores in there if he's a frequent visitor.
I make my 6 (he's just turned 6, whoops!) year old sanitize every time I catch him picking. Every 3 or so times he's got to go to the bathroom & wash his hands w/soap & water.
Our son was starting to do this, and it was pretty easy because we simply told him that putting his fingers in his nose, mouth, or eyes would make him sick. We went so far as to say it might make him sick enough that he would have to go to the hospital. He is 2.75 years old, and this strategy seems to have worked.
Good luck.
Right now I am just ignoring it. My son is at the stage where if you react in any way, he does whatever that is for the reaction. When I do see him do it, I get a tissue and wipe his nose. I like the washing hands idea too, but he also really likes that right now, so I just get a wipe.
