10 Bad Habits that Can Harm Your Child's Health

Certain bad habits are not only responsible for creating bad impression but also are harmful for the health. Read on to learn about the 10 bad habits that can harm your child’s health.Kids get caught having many bad habits in their early childhood. Bad habits develop due to various reasons, like stress, boredom, anxiety, attention desire, or habit from infancy. Have a look at the 10 bad habits that can harm your child’s health are listed below. In this articleSucking ThumbGrinding Teeth or Clenching JawsBiting NailsTwitchingBiting LipsChewing ObjectsTwirling HairHolding BreathPicking NoseFidgeting1. Sucking ThumbKids around 2-4 years old are seen sucking their thumbs. Few even suck their hands, fingers, or entire fists. They tend to do this to calm or comfort themselves. Thumb sucking beyond the age of 6 can cause finger or thumb infections and dental problems.2. Grinding Teeth or Clenching JawsKids tend to grind their teeth or clench their jaws mostly when they are in stress or when they are in deep sleep. Unaligned teething or an earache also leads to this bad habit. This can lead to increased tooth sensitivity as the enamel tends to wear down, and can result in broken or chipped teeth.3. Biting NailsNail biting goes on till an older age, mostly retained by boys. This is a bad habit because if your kids have not washed their hands properly, nail biting can lead to catching infections. Bacteria can easily thrive in the nail bed and get transferred to their mouth.4. TwitchingRepeated twitching movement in your kids is a bad habit caused by stress for which you may need to consult a doctor. Eye twitching can lead to squinting, vision impairment, and other eye disorders. Muscle twitching can lead to seizures.5. Biting LipsKids bite their lips due to anxiety or stress. Biting lips once in a while is not a problem, but repeated lip biting can cause damage to mouth. If your kids are too much stressed, they may end up biting their lips hard that can cause bleeding.6. Chewing ObjectsMany children tend to chew toys, clothes, or any objects that come handy. They tend to do this to calm or comfort themselves. This is a bad habit as the things they are putting inside their mouth can be dirty, which can thus cause infection.7. Twirling HairMany children mostly girls at their childhood tend to twirl their hair. They stroke, twist, or pull their hair. This bad habit leads to hair loss in the future. This habit usually disappears when they grow older, but if it does not, then it is a sign of depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder.8. Holding BreathWhen kids cry due to anger, frustration, fear, or minor injury, they tend to hold their breath as a reflex event. But holding breath for a long time can lead the kids to either pass out or have a brief seizure. You have to be careful if this habit persists for longer.9. Picking NoseChildren pick their nose when they are disturbed by some hardened dirt in their nostrils and wish to get rid of that. But when this habit becomes repetitive, it is bad. It may lead to bleeding, increase risk of infection, entry of foreign bodies to nose, and overall unhealthy personality.10. FidgetingMany kids are caught fidgeting while in class. It is a bad habit, because it leads to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). It is caused by boredom or anxiety. Although, fidgeting does not always mean that kids are not paying attention to the lesson.Few of these bad habits are not very serious as it is common for kids to have those habits. Eventually, when they grow older, those habits usually disappear. But it gets serious when they retain the bad habits even when they are grown-ups. You have to take serious measures of behaviour modification if they do not overcome these habits after a certain age.Why is it necessary to help kids get rid of bad habits as early as possible? How do children learn bad habits? How to help kids get rid of bad habits? Discuss here.