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November 10, 2009
4.10: Fingernails
A while ago, I noticed that Jamie's nails weren't just short, they were bitten-down-past-the-quick short. I tried having a few talks with Jamie about her habit causing pain and infection. I was about to start down the road of threats and punishments when I had an epiphany: I could reward her for good behavior.
At first, I started with a contest. I bite my nails, too, so I thought we could keep after and encourage each other. I quickly realized that I was too competitive to let my kid beat me, so I put an end to the bet in favor of manicures for both of us when we had a few weeks growth.
Somewhere around here is when Katie started piping up with "I don't bite my nails!" and "Look how long my nails are, Mama!" She certainly shouldn't miss out on the fun because she never had the bad habit in the first place, so I agreed that she could get in on the manicure.
Here's where things go wrong. For weeks, maybe a month, I didn't bite my nails a single time. Jamie made it about a week, got a second chance and blew it, for a third chance and lied about blowing it, and lost her chance at her manicure, at least this go round.
So Katie and I are due to get a manicure, but it's been a good month and we just haven't had the time for the two of us to take off. In that time, most of my nails have broken off and aren't really worth painting. Plus, I bit one. Just one, I swear!
I still owe Katie her manicure, and I'm fine with that, although a little chagrinned at having let things go so long. But I also need a different plan to break Jamie's habit. Anybody have any suggestions?
Posted by me at November 10, 2009 10:12 PM