My 18Month Old Eating Paper

Wow, you too are the Mother of a young, biped goat! Awesome. I also have one of those. I used to have 2 but one grew up into a boy who does not, in fact, eat paper any more. My 2 y/o does not eat AS MUCH paper as he used to, but he still does occasionally eat a book, newspaper, or magazine! Best I can tell its a normal phase for young kids. A love of being able to change the state of something (tearing, crumpling,folding the paper) then its off to the mouth like everything else!
Many people eat non-edible things because of vitamin deficiencies, but in the case of a toddler and paper its just a thing they do. Try to keep it away from her, stick to board books (harder to eat, yet not impossible!). Its not good for her to swallow paper, so try to get it from her if she gets a wad in her mouth...this too, shall pass! Have fun!

My now 6 year old (who is totally normal and brilliant :)) loved to eat paper too when he was that age!! Toliet paper, books, regular paper- I think it was more of a need to chew issue, he totally grew out of it, I had even forgotten about it until I read your post- now at this point it seems quite funny! All of our books from when he was a baby look like we owned a dog! I am sure she is just fine!

Ha, my daughter did the same thing when she was younger. I asked the doctor about it thinking she was lacking something, vitamins or something. He said not a big deal,kep it away from her but it wont hurt her. I was still freaking out about it, now she is 15 & does not do that anymore. Good thing becasue how would i explain that in high school. Maybe exchange the ppaer for something that she can eat, cracker, apple something. Or maybe even a teething ring. Those were the type of things we did, and we just told her that the paper was icky, hopefully your little girl will grow it as mine did.... Good luck

Hi M.,
My 7 year old daughter has PICA. She isn't always eating everything in sight, but sometimes she will eat crazy stuff. Paper has always been a favorite every since she was just about a year old. Whenever her iron levels are low, her symptoms increase. Also last summer she had really high lead levels and her symptoms were out of control. She was eating half of her paper at school before she would even begin her assignment. Needless to say, it was problematic. Once her lead and iron levels are where they are supposed to be, she hardly has any symptoms at all. Early on she would eat stuff like lotion and news paper. But the doctors didn't ever think it was PICA until she was about 5. Her levels always looked fine when she was young. It's really strange. I would just keep a close eye on your daughter and keep ALL paper out of her reach. even books. only let her look at them under your supervision. Just because eating things like this can cause lead poisioning if she gets the wrong thing in her mouth.
Hope this helps a little.
PS - the previous poster is thinking of prader willie syndrome and not pica.
A.

for a toddler that is normal, don't freak out
it's eating large quantities of dirt, chalk or poop that worry the doctors, not paper

I do know eating paper while pregnant is a sign of an iron deficiency. As odd as it sounds, some pregnant moms will eat pica, ice chips and paper to satisfy their cravings for iron. Do make sure his diet has enough iron, if she is drinking more than 16oz of milk per day, that will deplete iron stores. Does she take a liquid multivitamin? Is she taking fish oils? If her diet is not well-rounded (as most are not, she does need both)
I recommend ChildLife Liquid Multivitamin and Nordic Naturals Liquid DHA for brain development. (75% of the brain develops the first 2yrs of life starting 30wks inutero).

Hope that helps.

J. W. MPH
Maternal and Child Health Educator
Chicago Examiner Family Health Expert
http://www.examiner.com/x-7158-Chicago-Family-Health-Exam...

i remember reading that there is lead in most newsprint ink, and colored ink is unsafe, too. i would keep the newpaper away from your child. if you google the topic you will find info on it. also, pica disorder is eating everything in sight... not just a few favorite items. most people who have this disorder need items (ie. fridge, cabinets) padlocked so they don't eat everything.

Relax, its totally normal for kids to explore things with their mouths, especially at this age. Trust me, I have been doing daycare for years, and have had many paper eaters! If you catch him doing it, take the book away and say no. Teach him the proper way to treat his books. He is big enough to learn books don't belong in his mouth. If he doesn't stop, I would put the paper books up for awhile until the phase passes. Let him have the plastic or soft books or teethers for him to chomp on. It is exhausting sometimes, but just keep reminding him to keep things out of his mouth. I wouldn't worry about him being deficient in vitamins or anything.