Well I know this isn't about food but my child keeps chewing his shirt. My other two older boys did it too but outgrew it. He seems worse. One day he came home with blue dye all over his face and neck and trunk from doing it. Anyone else have a similar story. My daughter never did it.
hi..i don't have a solution to your problem, just lettin ya know you're not alone. my boys and my 2 nephews all chewed on thier shirts when they were younger. Why? i will never know. They said 'it taste good" things like that. but they did out grow it, and they were between 7 and 10 when they did it. good luck :) its frustrating and ruins good shirts, but he will out grow it.
My oldest son, now 15, used to chew on his shirt all the time. In 3rd grade, he actually played an entire quarter of basketball with his shirt in his mouth. It was a very close game and he was very nervous. When I asked him about it after the game, he didn't even know he was doing it. From then on, when I noticed him doing it, I reminded him to take the shirt out of his mouth and asked him if he was nervous about something. Within a couple of months, he stopped doing it all together, except when he was really agitated and stopped all together a few months after that. My youngest, age 9, started doing the same thing at about 6 years old and with the same technique, he stopped in a matter of weeks. Hope that helps!
Sounds like a nervous habit to me. I would suggest trying to figure out when he does it and when he doesn't do it and work from there. Make a deal with him and give him something else to do when he feels nervous, or bored, and set up some type of system to reward him for not chewing on his shirt. He has the urge when nervous or bored to put something in his mouth, have him use something else. Gum might be a solution for during the summer and a note to his teachers suggesting they allow him to use gum during school instead of his shirt. This would satisfy the urge and help him overcome the shirt chewing habit.
My 5 year old does this too, drives me nuts! Everytime I see him doing it I tell him to stop. It seems to be a lot less frequent now that I've been watching for it.
My grandson went through this last year at age 3 and his teachers at preschool gave him a piece of flexible tubing to chew on ( something like clear medical tubing you might see in the hospital, probably an inch in diameter), and he does not chew on anything now.
Eleven seems a little old for such behavior.
I have an 11 yr old boy that also chews. But he chews his fingernails and toenails. When he was in kindergarden I told him that if he stopped and I was able to cut his nails on Fridays he would earn a dime for every nail I cut. I cut maybe half of the 20 two weeks in a row and never again after that. It started as a nervous thing and turned into a habit. He also picks at his earlobes or scabs he may have when he is nervous or bored. But will quit when reminded. Good Luck with this.
I don't have any advice for you, but my son is the same age and does the same thing. I will be happy to see the advice others have offered. I feel like i am constantly telling him to get something out of his mouth (like a baby).
We shop for shirts at goodwill until he can stop biting them. They always seem to have a nice selection, but I dont want to waste $$ on clothes wthat will have holes in it.
hi~
it is difficult to stop a "habit" or "behavior" without replacing it with something else. Since your son is old enough to talk to about this ask him what he thinks about his habit, if he knows when/why he chews on his shirt (BUT do not make him feel guilty or ashamed that he does this), if he wants to change his habit and tell him that you can work with him on trying to replace the habit of chew on clothing with something else. Also come up with a cue with him to remind him when he is chewing (since it is very likely unconscious) – a word such as “gum” or a silly word like “bananas” – or a tap on the shoulder.
When thinking about what to replace it with try oral activities. Provide these “oral” experiences frequently throughout the day such as:
* chewing gum
* in school (or homework time, etc) possibly try using a chewease pencil topper -- http://www.pacificpediatricsupply.com/cart/index.php?main... FYI - if you use this see how he does. you may need to remind him to swallow his saliva so it doesn't get caught up in the tube.
* during meal times try krazy straws, drinking thicker drinks from straws (such as apple sauce, fruit smoothies, etc)
* use sports bottles
* play blowing games (e.g use a straw to blow cotton balls across the table – you can set up “goals” worth certain points)
hope that helps – good luck!
