My 5 year old son is constantly chewing on and sometimes swallowing non-food items. Anytime he is out of my sight he puts something in his mouth For example, toys, tiny pieces of paper, he will chew on his shirt, we can no longer have foam toys becuase he literally eats them, he picks at things like the filling of furntiure and animals fillers, beads from crafts, his fingernails and (gasp) his toe nails. I've even had him chew on the woodwork in our home like a puppy. He does this when he is alone in his room, in his carseat, and sometimes just when our backs are turned. Sometimes he swallows items someimes not. I would not rule out nervousness or stress as a cause, but it seems to be more related to boredom and stillness. Nothing is especially stressful in our lives right now and the behaviour has been fairly consistent since about his 3rd birthday. He is an otherwise normal child, bright, happy, and cheerful. EVERY time we catch him at it we talk to him about why it is not safe or healthy for him to put that item or all items in his mouth. We try to treat it calmly and not harp on it so that it doesn't become a battle. We have also tried the approach of describing what would happen if he had to go to the ER. I am seeking advise on how to help him kick this habit because eventually he is going to hurt himself by chewing on something dangerous? Does he need to see a phychologist or maybe a occupational therapist? Recently he grabbed some leaves off a tree while we were on a hike and ate a few before we caught him which scarred me to death.
Some other details:
We discussed it seriously with his DR at his four year old appointment. She tested him for Pica and lead. She suggested we get him something safe to chew. I chose to get him a chewy tube which is an item designed specifically to meet the chewing needs of kids with special need. He likes his chewy, but he frequently loses it and then reverts to chewing other things.
The behaviour seems to be compulsive, he doesn't seem to be able to control it. The typical consequesnce of us finding him chewing is to take away all similar items for a long period.
His new DR at his 5 year checkup didn't seem to take it seriously.
He gave up his paci easily at around 18 months. From age 2-4 he had a plastic doll that he liked to chew on, but he didn't do it frequently.
He eats normally.
So far so good on his teeth, his dentist hasn't noted any issues.
All of my children and my husband show some degree of sensory seeking behaviour, but my 5 year old is much more extreme.
When questioned about why he chews on things he says either he doesn't know, it smelled good, it tasted good, he was hungry (the last time he told me that it was 30 minutes after he had his favorite dinner), or he was curious
We've thought about trying gum and haven't done it yet. It will take a bit of work to get him to get it as he tends to swallow or spit gum out almost immediately. I am really concerned though about trusting him with gum on his own as he tends to be destructive in a slightly more than normal boy way, and I afraid of the gum ending up in the carpet or other areas (we rent) so mostly we would have to at least start with gum only under supervision which is when he is the lest likely to chew (but maybe his needs would be met that way anyway??)
Our DR is great, my going in again may be all that is needed for him to be more concerned. He's just very relaxed and old school. We live in an area with very few Doctors and therapists (I know the speech doesn't do feeding here) so that is a limitation, but I will try to find out.
What about using a chewy necklace(might be easier to keep track of). My son's school tried this with him and it seemed to help. I like gum, but I only allow my son to chew it if we are out somewhere because he forgets to put it in the trashcan at home.
As a parent educator, I find that a pediatricians have certain specialties like the flu, colds, etc...
For this, you need to seek out a nueropychologist, OT for the sensory, or a center such as this one TLTC.org---- in CT.
Please do not wait. Sensory usually overlaps w/ some thing else...like ADD or ADHD, etc, etc.
I could write a book about families I have helped that did not know where to turn after seeing their pediatricians!
OT, by the way, is beneficial for all children.
Gum would be wonderful to help the sensory---not for just the chewing--but for the sensory input, too.
If your new doc isn't taking this seriously, find another one who will. You at least understand the sensory seeking issue - your doctor should not be ignoring this.
Have you had an OT with sensory and oral issues experience work with him? Please try that. I would definitely do that before trying a psychologist. If you have a children's hospital in your area, talk to them about it. They may have a team work with him - OT and speech therapist (there are speech therapists who work with feeding issues, so it's not necessarily about speech.)
Good luck!
Dawn
Any compulsive behavior that cannot be stopped should be taken seriously by his pediatrician. If your health plan has behavioral health coverage I would ask to see a specialist in Obessive Compulsive behavior. But I would maybe first get a 2nd opinion from a doctor who does take your concerns seriously, since to me it sounds like it needs to be addressed.
I think it's time to make an appointment with a psychologist that does all sorts of evaluations. Certified to do these testings. Something is not right. You have sensed this. It's not normal for a child to do this ans as you said, it's more of a compulsion.
I think there are certain signs here and if this child lived in my home he would have already skipped the pediatrician who is not trained to do this type of testing nor is he qualified to even give advice on this type of behavior.
If you have a teaching medical college nearby that has a children's section call them and find out if they can recommend someone in your area or if they have a children's diagnostic center where this type of evaluations are done.
Your child needs you to do this for them. If nothing is wrong then he may just need some meds to help with the compulsion part of it. But you are right. He is going to take a bite out of something that is poison.
Time to take him to a psychologist.
There is no test that can confirm pica.
They merely check for a deficiency or poisoning - but some people swallow darn near everything and have no nutritional deficiencies.
The problem here is he's chewing/swallowing things with no thought about the dangers.
Keep magnets away from him!
Forget having house plants - many of them are poisonous.
A psychologist should be able to help with this.
http://www.theravive.com/therapy/child-psychologist-ports...
So you have my now 11 year old.
A few of my kids were 'chewers', but nothing like my son was/is. He chewed the railing on his bunk bed, it was wood also and by the time I realized what he was doing he had it so chewed up we couldn't fix it.
Even at 11 we still find him putting stuff in his mouth, he's just an oral kid, when we do, we tell him to spit it out and put it away. I try not to make a big deal out of it. I'd like to think he will outgrow it but my 18 year old dd still tends to put things in her mouth that don't belong there.
I do feel I should add that my son has ADHD, my other kids don't so I don't think it's a product of that cause like I said a few of the others are 'chewers' also.
It's possible that what you have in front of you is a little boy who has crated a habit, one he doesn't do intentionally.
Have you tried gum? We give gum to students who have oral sensory issues. Lots and lots of sugar free gum.
Not to the same extent, but my son had similar behavior. He has been in therapy since he was 5 and it has helped soooo much. He is now 6 going on 7 and although he still has come compulsive behavior, it's nothing like before and he didn't need ANY medication. The therapy sessions have been wonderful. Good luck.
