My son is 8 years old and has recently developed a motor tic in his fingers. He bends them in and out as if stretching them. It doesnt sound so bad but it is so frustrating for him. He is constantly trying to sit on his hands or put them in his pocket for fear of someone seeing him do this. I have tried as well as the pediatrician to reassure him that it is ok to do this and the more he tries not to, the more it will probably happen. He has cried several times over this and we are at the point of not knowing what to do. I hate the thought of a daily pill for something so benign but I dont want his self esteem to suffer either. Any help?

I would at least look into this further. Does he do this because his fingers hurt or jerk or anything (possible joint-related)? If so, definately get this checked out by an orthopedic specialist or a rheumatologist.
Or does he do it when he's nervous or excited about something (a possible nervous tic)? If your son is uncomfortable about it, it may be time to look into a counselor to see if they is a pyschological reason for his need to do this repetitive behavior. If other kids notice this and make mention, it is going to cause more frustration in your son which could lead to his impulse to do it more often.
His uncomfortableness with it is the main issue I see. He is heading into his middle school years where "fitting in" is crucial.
Just my two cents (which isn't even worth 2 cents),
hrtofluv

My 10-year-old started having facial tics last year. Before that, he often drummed his fingers on the table, or cracked his knuckles. It wasn't until the facial twitches started that we asked the ped.

He referred us to a neurologist who recommended Tenex. We hated the idea of medication, but he will be in Middle School next year and we wanted to stop this before he got there. We are currently at 2 pills a day, but it only has taken the edge off. We can go up to 3 per day, but aren't sure if we will.

I can't possibly tell you how much we agonized over our decision to medicate. But we talked to many other parents who went through the same thing and decided to at least try it. (I've heard 1 in 4 boys have tics, but most are mild.) We were so worried it would affect his personality.

The results were good and bad. He was always a fast runner, and it's slowed him down BIG TIME! He plays soccer and has lost all agressiveness in the game (although he wasn't too aggressive before.) The good news is, his grades have improved greatly. He always did OK before, mostly A's and B's with maybe one C per report card. This year, he made Principal's List for the first time ever. I think the the medication is helping him concentrate. I'll take that over soccer anyday.

We're thinking about putting him in some type of martial arts. The neurologist thinks the disipline will be better than soccer and he won't need the endurance.

My recommendation to you would be to ask for a referal to a neurologist and see what they think. Normally, I would wait to see if facial or vocal tics start, but if he's bothered this much, you may want to look into it now.

I greatly appreciate both posts. As far as there being another reason for the behavior, we have discussed this with our pediatrician in depth (who himself has a tic). My son showed him what he does and he thought before a tic that it could be too much calcium in the blood but that was ruled out. My son had a gamet of bloodwork done around the same time this was going on so pretty much everything medical was ruled out. Also, the reason I believe it is a nervous tic is because when he was around 5 and just starting school, we noticed when he would get nervous he would pull on his shirt and kind of shrug his shoulder. He would do this in anxiety situations like playing in a T-ball game or at his classroom plays. He outgrew that and kind of moved into this finger tic.

I think my struggle with the whole medication is, he is a straight A student, he has a ton of friends, he thrives at sports, and it really has no impact on his life or his self esteem now. He definately hates it but is so easily distracted from it as well. When he would cry about it, and we would talk about it, it seemed like it was out of control cause he was trying so hard to control it. On those occasions, I often found myself sitting up at night observing him to see if he did it while asleep and of course he never did. I as well as the pediatrician and my husband are constantly reassuring him that it is ok to do this and kind of relate it to like "trying to hold in a sneeze". It is something that you have to do so just do it and dont ponder on it" . He is satisfied with that now but I pray he does outgrow it or medication I guess will have to be considered more in depth.

Thanks again for the reply.

It does sound more like a tic now. And it is more common than you think in an elementary age child. There is a girl in my daughter's class that has a "cough". It comes every minute or so when she was nervous or anxious about something.
She was also on my daughter's softball team and she would do this before you got up to bat (when she was on deck), but once she hit the ball and starting running - you didn't hear it again.
Reassuring your son that there is nothing wrong with him is great - I think you have done everything you can as a parent (ruling out medical issues) and talking this through with him. I love the explanation of holding in the sneeze. It is an automatic response to his nerves and needs to be done. The more he tries to control it, the worse the "need" to do it - and it becomes overwhelming. Just wanted you to know - you've done a GREAT job with handling this.
I think you and your son will know if and when the time for medication comes. You won't question it.
Best of Luck!

The little girl you talked about has vocal tics, which can be worse because everyone hears it. My friend's son had these and she honestly believes that some of his teachers discriminated against him because they would get aggrevated by the noise. (Medication completely stopped them. He's now in high school and off the tenex.)

Also, the neurologist suggests that team sports can add more anxiety (the root of the problem) and cause the tics to get worse. That's why he likes the martial arts because it causes them to focus more and maintain more control of their bodies.

One more thing our neurologist recommended is to come up with a line to use when someone mentions it. If another kid asks my son why he does it, he shrugs and says, "Everyone has a habit, this is mine. It's better than picking my nose." As long as they act like it's no big deal, or make a joke of it, the other kids will be less inclined to pick on him about it.

hrtofluv,
Thank you so much for such kind words. Our kids mean everything to all of us and when they are hurting, we hurt. It is nice to hear reassurance that I (and he) are not the only ones going through this. I think that is why I posted, just for emotional support because I certainly do not want him to know I am stressing over this. As for my plan, I think that we will hope for the best and just see how things progress or regress. Thanks again. NikkiC

mitspatmom,
That line is fabulous and my son actually does call it his "habit" but it is cute when you add the picking your nose. Especially with boys, they have that potty humor down pat! I will definately pass that one if the need arise. Thanks, NIkkiC