Booger picking and eating - make it stop!

[chinaKat]

DD 3.5 is constantly mining boogers and eating them. PLEASE share your gentle suggestions for getting her to stop.

Yes, I know I can just "let it be" but she already has social problems fitting in at school... I'm afraid that this habit probably won't help her any in that department.

We use a humidifier at night in her room, which sometimes cuts it down. But I'm still catching her picking and eating probably a hundred times a day!

She seems to do it more when she's bored... it seems I might be able to redirect that, but with what? Help!

[emmasmommy]

My 5yo dd still does this, but not as often anymore. I found that ignoring it worked best in the long run. Making a big deal about it made her want to do it more just to bug me! Her preschool teacher when she was 3-4 would just matter of factly tell her or children to get a kleenex if she caught them picking their nose - no shame or anything. Since she wasn't the only kid picking her nose, fitting in or not wasn't an issue then. I've now taught her that I prefer she use a kleenex, but if she MUST (for whatever reason she thinks is necessary) pick her nose, that it should be done where no one can see her - and I don't think she picks it at school anymore, since at 5-6 kids probably would notice and say something about it. At 3.5, she is probably far from the only kid picking their nose!