22 Month Old Spitting - How to Stop

At 22 months old the world is still such a new and exciting place. They are learning how to talk and communicate, they are better able to understand things and are discovering so many "cool" things about their bodies. Can you imagine what it would be like to be that age and discover that you can make things "fly" out of your mouth? How about setting up "spitting zones" to satisfy his curiosity and amazement? You could make areas that are ok to spit in, for instance, you could get him a bathroom stool and let him spit in the bathroom sink. The bathtub would be another great spot or the backyard. Eventually the novelty of it all will wear off and he will be on to bigger and better things that will start to freak you out, like ripping off his clothes during a playgroup and streaking through the living room (yep, mine did that!). Just remember that this a time when they are learning about themselves and their world, they are full of great curiosity and it is ok to let them play with that.

Hey I am having this problem as well. My little guy is 26 months and started doing it 2 or so months ago as well. We tell him it's rude and not to do it or just ignore it as well. Hopefully you other mom's can help us both out.

I have 4 1/2 yr old triplets and I use this for spitting, biting, swearing, ect. 1/4 tsp of vinegar. They HATE IT. I tell them it is biting/spitting medicine. It wont hurt them and it tends to work. We dont have to do it very often. Good luck.

Hi L.,

I think you nailed it when you said that maybe you should just ignore it. My son is 19 months old and he does all sorts of strange, gross things. (I used to have issues with him reaching down into his diaper area when I was changing a poopy diaper, and the more I told him "no" and the more I became upset about it, he would literally do it more and more. Once I started to ignore it, it didn't take long for him to stop doing that completely.

Spitting is just something your son discovered that he can do (maybe by accident) and does it "because he can". It is probably very fascinating and fun for him. I'd say just TRY to ignore it (I know it's hard) and see if it goes away eventually (give it some time). If it does not, you can always try to put him in time out, if you feel that strongly about it. I am already working on putting my son in time out and it's working out pretty good,but honestly, I only put him in time out for things that I feel are absolutely necessary, such as biting my dogs or for slapping Grandma in the face!

I'm sure you'll get some pretty good advice from other people as well, this is just how I would personally handle my own son. Try not to worry, I'm sure you will find a way to resolve the situation sooner or later. Good luck!!

Have you tried teaching him that there's a time and a place for spitting? Like brushing your teeth. This seemed to help my son, and he soon looked forward to brushed.

I also encountered more of this behavior when he was cutting his 2 year-old molders. I found soft foods, pop-cycles, orijel, tylenol, etc. to be a big help during this time.