I'm not sure what to do... My daughter has discovered this really neat new trick -- that she can stick her finger or thumb down her throat and vomit! It's gross... but more than that, it's worrisome, and I don't know how to handle it.
I know she is probably just discovering her body and what it can do, and she is never upset or anything when she does it -- she's done it about five times in the past week -- but she's doing it, nonetheless. I don't want to overreact, but how do I stop her from doing this without encouraging her to do it for attention? Up to now, I've been distracting her. When I see her start gagging herself, I divert her attention. Also, she likes to play with the vomit.
Is this normal?!
N.
Thanks to everyone for their responses! I feel lucky, but within a week of posting my question, my daughter just seemed to lose interest with making herself throw up. Phew. I just kept distracting her in the meantime, and it's been a while now with no incidents!
My daughter went thru that stage as well. Now she still likes to put her fingers in her mouth from time to time and when she starts to gaga she has learned to pull her fingers out. It used to really bother me but the more I told her to stop the funnier she thought it was...
I so have my hands full with her !
thank you lissa for your response!
i laughed so hard!
:)
Dear N.,
I think it's clear your daughter has body issues from watching too much America's Next Top Model while eating Pizza Express. Maybe you should try exposing her to some more healthy, positive television like The Daily Show or some of the quality shows on MTV. Good luck!
My daughter did this too, and I started disciplining her for it every single time I heard her gagging herself. I would knock her hand out of her mouth and say "NO!!!" She stopped...just don't allow the behavior, and she will move on from it.
N.,
I remember reading several articles about "annoying and weird" things that toddlers do that are totally normal.
I also remember seeing that making themselves throw- up was one amongst, picking their nose and stuff like that.
Maybe you can research it a bit.
Thee, I looked it up and found one interesting one:
http://forum.baby-gaga.com/about354275.html
:)
my son figured out he could gag himself right around a year. he never puked, but I kept worrying he would. I spent a whole grocery trip trying to keep his hands out of his mouth because every time I took one out, he'd stick in the other. I think it's just something they all go through and grow out of.
my daughter will be 1 on the 26th, when she was around 8 mo. she discovered how to do that. i would just clap my hands as loud as i could one time to get her attention and tell her NO while i pulled her fingers out of her throat. after about 2 constant weeks of doing that she quit & hasn't picked the habbit back up, Thank God. good luck, i know my washer wasn't too happy during that time.
My son used to do it. It's normal and will pass. Not so pleasant for the Mommy! My SIL has a story about a child she was bbsitting and the child had put her contents of her diaper in her mouth!! OMG!! gross!
I'm wondering if she might figure out that it's not so pleasant to do it after drinking something high acid like OJ? Just a thought. . .
I think this is pretty normal and that you are right about your daughter discovering what her body can do...My friend has a 3 year old and a 17 month old and both her kids would make themselves throw up..i believe thats how they would get attention..throwing up causes mommy to go get them and clean them up right?? so i think you shouldn't worry too much and just keep up with the distracting her this will eventually go away.
I would tell her it is nasty and clean it up immediately. Yes, I would definitely try to distract her from doing it. Don't make an issue of it, just nasty in a discouraging tone, the one you use if she is doing something else you would prefer she not do.
My son used to do this, minus the actual throw up part. I hated it - it freaked me out. He loved the gagging sensation. I eventually stopped paying attention to it and it eventually went away.
Ohh. I remember this stage. My daughter would do this in the car. I don't know why, she never did it anywhere else except for in the car, the little stinker! It would freak me out every time she did it, but I had to yell NO loud enough to distract her, and then I'd start to sing or something to keep her distracted. She never vomited though, but she kept gagging. Then, after I was practically going to have panic attacks over it, one day she just stopped.
It's a phase, although I know it doesn't help you when you're going through it. It will pass, and from what I know, it's normal. Hang in there!!!!
Hi N.,
I don't really have any guarenteed solution for this problem, but wanted to let you know that you're not alone. My 16 month old son loves sticking his finger and sometimes whole hand down his throat until he gags. He hasn't actually thrown up yet, but he has done this enough to make his face turn red and his eyes tear up. I try not to overreact when he does this. I usually give him something to play with, or switch his toys. I usually tell him "Look Owen has tears. It doesn't feel good. Let's not do that. Let's play with this toy." I'd keep diverting your daughter's attention whenever she does it. As for playing with the vomit, she probably finds the texture interesting. I'd try to find a substitute. My son has lots of books that have places in the story with different textures to feel. I totally understand your worrisome feeling when your daughter gags herself. Every time my son does it, I pray it will be the last time he finds it interesting. You can't really stop them from doing things, make them do things, or make them not do things any earlier than they are ready. You can stay calm and try to teach them appropriate behavior. This is what I do to handle all the surprises that motherhood has thrown me. Someone gave me some advice when I was pregnant and learning about labor and delivery. The woman told me this about labor and delivery. "It's only one more contraction. You can make it through one more contraction. You can do that. You know that there is an end goal. You can make it through just one more contraction." It got me through 10 hours of labor, 6 hours pushing, with no painkillers, and the only person in the room with me who could speak English was my husband. Since I gave birth, this advice has helped me so much. I just substitute the words "just one more contraction" with "just one more sleepless night," "just one more poop explosion diaper," "just one more time my son gags himself." The list is endless... Just think, one day you will look back on everything and just laugh. It also helps us to live concentrating in the moment. Hope that helps.
D.
