How To Know If Your Child's Habit Is A Serious Problem

How do I know if my child's habit is a serious problem?

Habits such as nail biting, and hair twirling, and picking skin and those kinds of almost self-destructive behaviors have to be looked at. They have to be looked at from several angles. The biggest angle is, are they self-destructive and are they preventing your child from being able to function? And that's becomming the way that they're coping with their stress, their anxieties, their fears or whatever it is that's driving them. You want to be able to talk to your child and ask them what is the understanding behind it for them. What are the triggers? Notice when your child is doing it. Is it when they're watching a scary movie? Is it because they are nervous and don't know how to answer a question? Is it because they are thinking, and that's how they self-soothe themselves? So trying to understand the triggers of that in helping to take that apart for your child and giving them, maybe, better coping skills is really the answer.