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Parents find many habits and behaviors of their children annoying. Bad habits are often just a coping strategy. Your child may fall back on these behaviors when they are stressed, bored, frustrated, unhappy, insecure, or tired. Many of these “bad” habits are calming and soothing to the child (1).

Common childhood bad habits include the following:

1. Thumb or hand sucking
2. Hair twirling
3. Nose picking
4. Cuticle picking
5. Body rocking
6. Foot tapping
7. Head banging
8. Teeth grinding (bruxism)
9. Breath holding
10. Self-biting
11. Self-hitting
12. Object biting
13. Compulsive scratching
14. Tics like blinking eyes (2)

Dr. Bilal Dhayni

Pediatrician

^{https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/914071-overview#:~:text=The%20history%20consists,Compulsive%20scratching}

^{Bad Habits | CS Mott Children's Hospital | Michigan Medicine https://www.mottchildren.org}