My toddlers nails stopped growing

Log in / Sign Up

List of Forums + New Post Recipe Box Usergroups Following My Posts Bookmarks

Private Messages Advanced Search Rules New User Guide FAQ Advertise Contact Us

Forum -> Children's Health

1 2 Next

View latest: 24h 48h 72h

amother

Tue, Mar 09 2021, 7:34 pm

My toddler turns 4 in a month and a half. I didn't need to cut his nails in almost 2 months. They are very short right now. His hair is growing and he had a wound from falling on the asphalt that healed really quickly so I don't think he lacks keratin. He's taking a multivitamin. His behavior is normal and he seems bright. His brothers' nails grow fast. Did anyone ever have a kid whose nails stopped growing?

cbsp

Tue, Mar 09 2021, 7:36 pm

Is he biting or peeling them off?

amother

Mustard

Tue, Mar 09 2021, 7:37 pm

Yes but only for a week or two when he had a bad virus.

More likely they are growing but he’s biting his nails or filing them down by handling rough materials.

amother

Goldenrod

Tue, Mar 09 2021, 7:49 pm

I just recently realized that my toddler is biting most of his nails. He’s 4 years old

amother

Pearl

Tue, Mar 09 2021, 7:55 pm

my 20m baby always had and still has real short nails I never cut them yet

HeartyAppetite

Tue, Mar 09 2021, 8:09 pm

I haven’t cut my 4 and half year olds nails in a year.
First he started biting them so I applied bad tasting nail polish. He stopped biting and now he’s constantly peeling them. I have no way to stop
Him from doing that.
Maybe that’s what your son is doing.

amother

Tue, Mar 09 2021, 9:29 pm

OP here. He doesn't bite his nails. Never has. He does play in our yard, but his brothers do that too and they have long nails.

amother

Gray

Tue, Mar 09 2021, 9:44 pm

My daughter picks her nails when she's alone. I've only caught her a few times. She denies it 100%. A couple of times she let me paint her nails and sure enough, she liked the look and left them alone and her nails grew back. But then she changed her mind about polish and now it's been so many years and they never grow past the nail bed. She has super long hair and is, BH, the healthiest child. She just picks them in secrecy.

amother

Amethyst

Tue, Mar 09 2021, 9:46 pm

Just b/c you don't see him bite his nails doesn't mean he doesn't. I knew my dd bit her nails by the way they looked, but I never saw her do it except once when she was in her teens and I saw her fwhoof something out of her mouth.

justforfun87

Tue, Mar 09 2021, 10:52 pm

My daughter is 4 and I never cut her nails either! Only my son who is 9 gets his nails trimmed.

amother

Coffee

Tue, Mar 09 2021, 11:28 pm

My 12 year old has been like this for years. He bites his nails. I never see him bite them though. But I know he does. He told me so.

Kiwi13

Tue, Mar 09 2021, 11:54 pm

OP, do his toenails grow faster than his fingernails? If yes, I second the opinion that he’s either biting them or filing them down in some other way.

Do his nails look unhealthy? Are they brittle? Discolored? Those are some warning signs to look out for.

amother

Wed, Mar 10 2021, 12:41 am

Kiwi13 wrote:

No his toenails don't grow either but I didn't cut them as short. He's home with me since he was born, he doesn't go to day care and I watch him closely. I would have noticed if he was biting.

His big toe nails had a little dip in them a few months ago but after the vitamins that seems to have disappeared. I had a doctor check his nails in the past but there was never any concern she had.

To clarify, his nails used to grow and I'd cut them once a week or every two weeks, but now it stopped.

He does have a slower metabolism than his brothers. His brothers are lean and have 1-2 bowel movements a day, but he goes every 3 days approximately.

Did anyone have similar experiences?

amother

Denim

Wed, Jul 26 2023, 3:37 pm

amother OP wrote:

Bumping this up…
Op did you ever figure it out?
I just noticed my 3 year old sons nails stopped growing. I used to cut them every other week and they would be nice and long, now it’s been 3 weeks and they haven’t grown one bit since the last time I cut them

amother

Forsythia

Wed, Jul 26 2023, 5:19 pm

I never cut my 2 year olds either, nor his toe nails. They do seem brittle. What could this mean?

amother

Wed, Jul 26 2023, 6:22 pm

amother Denim wrote:

I found out he ate them at night lol

amother

Denim

Wed, Jul 26 2023, 7:44 pm

amother OP wrote:

I found out he ate them at night lol

Haha. Ok at least nothing was wrong. My kid is only 3 though. Wonder if he’s doing that too

amother

Denim

Wed, Jul 26 2023, 7:45 pm

amother Forsythia wrote:

I never cut my 2 year olds either, nor his toe nails. They do seem brittle. What could this mean?

Never ever cut since birth?? Normal nails need to be cut every week or two

amother

Clematis

Wed, Jul 26 2023, 7:50 pm

amother

Forsythia

Wed, Jul 26 2023, 8:07 pm

amother Denim wrote:

Never ever cut since birth?? Normal nails need to be cut every week or two

As a baby they grew, not since he was a few months. My baby is like this as well. I mentioned it to my pediatrician a while back but I guess I should mention it again. It became so normal that I haven’t even realized that it’s been a year and half since I last cut them. Any idea what this can be?

Page 1 of 2

1 2 Next