Although it is considered abnormal, it is extremely common in that age group. The first nose-pick no doubt occurs when the child is annoyed by the hardened or crusted contents of the nose and wishes to remove them. Unlike thumb-sucking, nose-picking requires a fair amount of hand coordination to be successful, so repetitive nose-picking is not seen much before age four or five.

Though parents may be driven crazy by thumb-sucking or nail-biting in the school-aged child, repetitive nose-picking is the least acceptable of all such behaviors and the behavior that parents most want to stop. But young children have not yet learned social conventions so they pick away, and may even eat what they have gleaned, without realizing what the adults are fussing about.

When you see the behavior, get down to the child's level, look right at the child, gently put your hands on the child's shoulders and in a quiet voice say, "Tommy, people don't like to see nose-picking. If you must pick your nose, do it in private."

We all have a responsibility to socialize our children so that they are acceptable to the society in which they live. It is unfortuante, some parents leave this all up to the teacher.

I give teachers a huge amount of credit, they say it takes a special person to be a nurse, but I have to disagree- Teachers deserve all the respect and kudos!

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