Hello everyone. I'm new to mamapedia and I'm so happy I found it! My daughter bites/chews on her clotes and rips them as well. I got a note from daycare telling me she is not eating, she chews (bites) on her napkin, her sheets, and her clothes. My daughter is 4 years old. Any comments about this? Thank you!
Thanks so much for your input everyone! I have not spoken to her pediatrician. I made an observation though, she misses her grandma!!!! My mom works away during the week and comes home on the weekends. My daughter misses her terribly! I think she expresses her anxiety and sadness through chewing on things. I will make an appointment with a counselor because I don't want her to grow up anxious or insecure. Thanks again! I will update once I take her to counselor.
My daughter likes to put her clothes in her mouth too. And she has ruined some shirts doing this!
I can't wait to hear what people have to say about this.
Your mouth is the calming and organizing cavity of your body so she may be trying to calm herself or settle down from stress or anxiety. She may be having a hard time transitioning between things and she is using her clothing to calm herself. That is why babies suck on pacifiers and grown adults chew on pens. You may want to talk to your pediatrician about it to see if there are some things you could do to help her. Perhaps different strategies might help calm her a bit so she doesn't have to chew to relax. Good luck!!
Could be stress-new daycare, changes at home, etc can cause it. She has seen someone else doing it, gave it a try and likes it (now a bad habit) or if she is doing it to eat the things it could be PICA. It where people and animals eat non food objects which normally means there is something wrong internally with us. Once you find the reason for it, then you can begin to help her stop doing it and make her aware when she is doing it too, or take her to the Dr if need be.
Good luck!
S.
My son has major anxiety. He went thru a period of clothing chewing for about a year, his shirts were all ruined. Finally we got him to a psychiatrist and therapist and on meds to control his anxiety and it has stopped. I don't advocate just throwing meds at kids obviously but my son had a lot of other things going on to that were interfering with his daily activities. Maybe find out what times she is doing this? Does she do it at home. We couldn't stop my son. Literally the school would call me at 10 and ask me to bring him an extra shirt. He did it everywhere we went. Good luck.
My 6 yo son does this too! Drives me crazy b/c he ruins his shirts! never a problem eating though-still does that. Sorry no advice though. I think it is a subconcious stress thing. He bites his nails too.
Hi S., both my boys were shirt chewers. They did not chew on other things though. I did nothing about it (didn't know WHAT to do about it) and they both eventually stopped. I'd say it went from kindergarten til about the end of 1st grade (my guess is it stopped due to other kids saying something mean to them, tehehe). I believe they used it as either a coping mechanism or as a means of focusing, or a little of both.
They are 18 and 16 now, have no psychological problems, are great kids and excellent students and have not reverted back to shirt chewing past the 1st grade.
Hope this helps, have a great day!
My first thought is a sensory integration disorder. But that's just a thought. My son chewed like this and I believe he has mild SID (he also likes to be laid on and LOVES to fall and walks on his toes), though I've never had it diagnosed. It sounds like the worst thing you'll run into (if you don't see any other issues) is that she will be more likely to get sick. I'm going to read other posts to see what they think.
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I still hold to the thought of Sensory Integration Disorder. Basically it means that they don't get enough or get too much sensation from sensory input. My son was a very "oral" baby (he put things in his mouth well past 3), chewed his shirts and hair. He did stop chewing his shirts around 1st/2nd grade, but moved on to pencils and fingernails. At 13 he continues to chew his nails to the point of pain. He hates it, but it is a stress/anxiety coping mechanism that he hasn't been able to shake.
I volunteered at a special needs school for a few days where kids with SID had special "chewies" (for lack of a better term). Since kids can't have gum, it gives them something to work out anxiety. Maybe you can get something for your daughter to chew on that you both agree on. I do agree with the one mom who urges not to harp. Children rarely do this to get attention.
I hope my comments have helped.
Have her seen by a healthcare professional to rule out any disorders, such as, Pica-
My 4 year old chews on her shirt sleeves! her long sleeve shirts are getting holes in them and our daycare provider is concerned because it may spread germs. I know it is a nervous habit, I have only seen her do it once, her first time at a birthday party at chucky cheese. I kept harping on her the whole time we were there to knock it off. later I realized that this was caused by anxiety and felt bad because, seriously, chucky cheese would make anyone anxious! She started doing it at daycare after a new 4 year old started, and usually only does it on the days the kid is there. It is her first "BEST FRIEND"ship, and I'm sure she is nervous about developing this relationship.
I told them to roll her sleeves up and I am going to do everything I can to NOT harp on her or let them nag her. I'm sure she will grow out of it eventually.
PS I have anxiety. It makes me feel so guilty to realize that I am passing it on to her.
Good luck!
My daughter is also 4 yr and occasional bites her shirt. She does when she gets mad. I get down at her eye level and tell her this is not acceptable. If she continues to do this she is put in time out for 4 min. I min for ea yr of the childs age. 1 yr gets 1 min and so on.
