HELP! My Son Won't Stop Chewing on the Walls!!

You may want to look up information on "Pica." Pica is a diagnosis given when people eat inedible things, like pencils, coins, etc. There may be more to it but hopefully you can find out more on the diagnosis and possible treatment if that is what is appropriate. Good luck.

Have you tried putting something that tastes horrible on the wall? I know hot sauce would be going a little far but something with a horrible taste like straight ginger or something, something that wouldn't stain the wall but has a bad taste.

I just wanted to suggest one of those little pacifier-looking things with a little mesh bag on the end for putting food into. Have you seen those? It's for a baby with little to no teeth to chew on foods but not get a chunk in their mouth they can choke on. Maybe put an apple slice in there or something hard he can bite a chunk off of, ya know? Maybe it's the sensation of sinking his teeth into something and getting pieces off that he finds interesting. I don't know, just a thought.

I am wondering if he has a deficiency in his diet, maybe? I know this sounds completely wacky, but when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter I had this strange compulsion to eat chalk. (I did not actually eat any chalk, I just really felt like I wanted to.) Anyhow, I called my doctor, who said that wanting to eat non-food items is a sign that your body needs something. He guessed it might be calcium that I was lacking, so he told me to go buy a big bottle of Tums and eat as many as I wanted (being that they are made from calcium). That did the trick! Who knows, maybe that's what your son is after, what with the texture of the drywall, etc?

Or it could just be that he's 1 and is getting a pretty exciting reaction from Mommy and Daddy for chewing the walls, so it's a fun game. In that case, my advice is to go get clear corner guards for all your walls! =)

Hi M.,
I would think, especially given the other moms responses re: PICA (something I was thinking about too) you might want to consider meeting with an early child development specialist of some kind so that you feel supported, practically and emotionally, until this behavior resolves. Perhaps your pediatrician can help you find someone who works with young children on these kinds of behaviors, if you're feeling stressed being in this alone. That would be understandable.

My 8 year old daughter ingested napkins, so I talked to nutritionist friends and a therapist and got ideas that I was able to use. It helped so much to nkow I could go back to these people if I needed more support or assistance -- my team. I was able to work out with my daughter, substituting either chewing gum, chewing her sheet, or preferably an herbal tea ceremony as a chewing and/or stress reliever, because she was older -- obviously, your child is too young to be reasoned with. My son chewed his shirt for awhile and then outgrew it.

Both my children have some anxiety issues, so we needed to take the route of talking about self-soothing strategies, and finding safe ones. Our relaxed and open stance towards anxiety and self calming behaviors has been a great help.

Keep us posted.

D.

Hi M.,

Are there plastic strips that you can attach to the wall (like what you attach to a coffee table or the crib rail for babyproofing)? Otherwise go for the padding that is used to cushion and babyproof fireplaces. It won't necessarily be pretty, but when go goes to chew he will be biting plastic instead of wall. You should think about have him tested for lead at the pediatrician so that can be treated if the paint he has managed to get his teeth into has any lead in it. In terms of containment, have you considered a "superyard", which is basically a large baby-gate enclosure you can set up in a room?

Good luck!

I don't know if this could be the same but my nephew was eating dirt and I said something about low iron. My sister-in-law took in my nephew to the Dr. the next day and he was diagnosed with Pica or Pika, which is when you iron levels are so low your body tells you to eat dirt. Weird I know but the Dr. also said he had high lead levels which would cause the body to not absorb the iron. The lead was from the old house paint that they scraped off for their remodel. The treatment was to remove the child from the back yard where the paint chips might not have been completely cleaned up and a liquid form of iron. His iron levels are up and lead levels are down and he is no longer eating dirt. I know it is not dirt but dry wall but still you might want to talk to the Dr.
Good luck.

Hi M.,
I've never heard of this! But, I'm a speech therapist and it sounds to me like he is in need of oral stimulation and, for some reason, the texture of the wall is providing him with satisfying that need. I would try to steer him toward some more appropriate things that are safer for him to chew on. There's a water bottle called the Camelbak that has a "chewy" straw that's good for this type of thing. Also, there are these things called "Chewy Tubes"- we use them with school-aged children who are constantly chewing on their shirt sleeves and pencils. They attach to the end of pencils, but I imagine you can affix it to something more appropriate for his age so as to avoid choking. I believe the Camelbak can be found at sporting stores like REI and if you googled Chewy tubes, you could probably find the site for them.
I would give him these things before his chewing behavior begins so he doesn't go seeking it out. Give him a few minutes to chew on something periodically throughout the day so his need is satisfied. As he's older and is exposed to more foods, you can try giving him foods that take more effort to chew, such as beef jerky or hard bagels.
I would also try to steer him from the wall behavior by giving him something else to do with the walls... possibly by covering them with butcher paper and let him finger paint or color. Or, Target sells "aqua doodles" (a bit old for him, but??) which you can hang on the wall and kids can color over and over without the use of paint or crayons. Just a thought, but it would also protect the walls and him from potentially harmful material.

Good luck!
K.

Hi M.,

I am a wellness consultant and it sounds like he may be deficient in some nutrients. I used to eat dirt when I was a little girl and later my mother found out I was missingg iron.

I have my granddaughter on some great supplements that are wholefoods. She has been on them since she was 2 weeks old and she will be 7 on the 28th of this month.

If you want more info check out my page. www.nikken.com/ninamarie Let me know if there is anything I may help you with.

Have a blessed day.

N. Marie

M.,
Your little son may have some kind of mineral deficiency which is causing him to actually crave non-food substances there are different types such as Pica, Geophagia,Amylophagia,plumbism. I would discuss this with your babies doctor. Good Luck

Never had this problem myself but it does sound like its not good for your baby. How abt painting that corner of the wall with something that tastes nasty but is harmless like vinegar or lemon juice or maybe even salsa?

L.--a Gramma

Ok, so with a bizzare question, here comes a bizzare response. Even once you rule out why he's doing the chewing, it may still be a habit. So you may want to go to PetSmart or PetCo and buy something called Bitter Apple. Spray this on the corners and I can almost guarantee that after one bite, he will stop. It's actually used to teach pets to leave things alone. However I got some on my hands once without realizing it, and tasted it. Let me just say it's downright nasty. Make sure that he does have something that he is allowed to chew on too though. Good luck.

You sound overwhelmed, and extremely frustrated. Chewing on non-food items is known as pica. Often pica can be caused by a vitamin or mineral deficiency: most often this is an iron deficiency. A simple blood test can rule this out. Chewing on walls with lead-based paint (usually found in older homes), can lead to lead toxicity. This can be quite dangerous. Hopefully, the "chewing on the walls" phase will disappear by the time your son is 2 or 3 years-old. Nevertheless, you should probably make an appointment with your pediatrician for further testing & advice.

I don't want to alarm you, but my 8 1/2 year old son has been dealing with Pica since he was about 15 months old. He has chewed on & ingested things like flowers, small pebbles, hair, crayons, pencils, erasers, bits of toys, clothing, dirt, lint, paper, etc. He honestly cannot stop. It has become quite a habit. Iron & mineral deficiencies, in his case, have been ruled out. His doctor thinks this behavior may be caused by anxiety. When my son feels the need to chew, we usually give him a pretzel rod instead. That way, his need for chewing has been met, and we have redirected this behavior so he learns to associate a need for chewing with food.

Maybe when your son starts chewing on the wall, you could offer him some type of food instead - possibly a teething biscuit, dry cereal, a cracker, or whatever you have available.

Good luck with your son. Please let us know what happens.

Hi M.
It sounds like hes missing something in is diet and go see a doctor it like when kids eat dirt there missing something in there diet good luck D. mother of 4

I agree with the others about a possible deficiency in his diet. My daughter did not have a deficiency in her diet but she did chew on any books, boxes or paper things. We found several tethers she liked and pined it to her with one of the passifier straps. We also found one that was a bracelet. She is now 4 and still occasionally chews on her tethers.

Hello, It totally has to be something he is missing. When I was pregnant I chewed on toilet paper, could not be scented just regular toitlet paper, Dr said I was missing something. Went on a vitamin and it stopped.

Good luck

I concur with previous advice. First have child seen by pediatrician to rule out vitamin deficiency (particularly iron). Once you have ruled that out, then you can try other suggestions that have been offered on how to help your son with this behavior. Let us know the outcome.

I've heard of this being done with other things children shouldn't be chewing on: try putting/spraying something on the wall with a bitter or sour flavor (I think they have special sprays in the stores). Another idea: when my friend's baby was teething, she used to give him small pieces of ice to suck on. It was safe to swallow and relived the pain of the teeth coming in.

Wow. The only thing that would really freak me out is if you're living in an older house he could be taking in lead from the paint as well. Maybe ask the pediatrician about checking him for lead? Or having the paint checked to be sure. Because lead for babies is dangerous.

Have his blood checked for Iron defficiancy (Anemia). There is a sympton called PICA which involves eating chalk, dirt, clay, ice, "drywall". My favorite was flour right out of the bag........

Sounds like he has a deficiency of some sort. Have a talk with his doctor about it.

To stop the chewing in the meantime maybe you could try restricting him to a play pin during times when you are not able to give him one on one attention. Stick him in there with a chew toy and a couple books and go do your laundry or dishes or whatever. Every time he starts chewing on a wall say "No!" firmly and return him immediately to the play pin. He'll get the point eventually but at least until then you can minimize the amount of paint he is consuming. Also, if your house was built before 1978 you should get him tested for lead poisoning.

As the other two people mentioned it could be a diet issue. I was addicted to brass and chrome when I was around 7. My mom gave me a multi vit and it went away, although I still like the taste. I think it’s gotten nostalgic for me. Any way considering his age it probably has more to do with teething or with texture. Get some of those pool noodles and cut a small wedge out of them (or foam pipe insulation which already has a slit in it) and attach them to the corners to keep him from chewing off your wall texture. You’ll probably have to screw or nail them to the walls but small holes are easier to fix than missing wall texture. You’ll still want to keep an eye on him incase he bites off a chunk of the foam (don’t want him to choke). This also works well as a bumper on coffee table edges.

Someone may have already told you this, but you should have him checked by the pediatrician as it sounds like something called Pica which indicated iron deficiency anemia.
MLand

my daughter chewed on metal at that age - we finally discovered her iron was low... what vitamins/minerals are in wood/paint???? Just a crazy thought...

Do you get excited when he does it - maybe you look silly and he is just enjoying your reaction...

I thought the exact same thing as Catherine. I would contact his doctor to be sure he's not lacking something in his diet. When my sister was younger, she craved pool water...something about the chlorine. I don't remember exactly what the outcome was, but it was diet related.