So my son is going on 14 months and he is still putting EVERYTHING in his mouth. I keep my home fairly clean, but he seems to find the smallest molecule and puts it right in his mouth. Pretty much anything that is in his reach goes in that little mouth of his. At first I thought it was due to teething, but now that he has 12 teeth, that might not be the case. Does anyone have any idea when this will come to an end, or what I can do to distract him from doing this?
Thanx guys! I guess I'll just let nature take its course and see what happens. :)
It may never end! I still catch my 7 year old with stuff in his mouth.....his shirt, his finger, the cord to his DS....it's always something! It's some sort of oral fixation that I haven't been able to break yet! On the plus side, at least it's not stuff off the floor anymore! That's something for you to look forward to...Lol!
Probably not until they are about 2 years! Normal..He'll figure out what's yucky! Just do all you can to watch him to make sure he doesn't find anything he can choke on. My 14 month old last week put his mouth right on my german sheperd and got a mouthfull of hair...Yuck! He learned quickly not to try to taste the dog....! LOL
Lol this is funny. Sorry I feel your pain. I was changing my sons diaper today and there was a sparkly pink heart in his poop. I hope it ends soon.
. . .he's still a baby, maybe??? It's going to happen no matter what you try and do. If it goes past 3, that's when I would get worried. But I think around 2 is when it will slow down and he realizes that he can explore things with his hands.
It is something they dont give up until twos...threes...sometimes four. Babies are born with the oral since that everything goes into the mouth..they have to see if its food or not. If he takes a binkie...youre looking at a bit longer. If you think about it, this is a bad example but even grown-ups have this problem. most smokers smoke for two reasons. The addiction to nicotene and the hand mouth repitition. Just make sure you keep things up off floor and be very one places like the kitchen or where medicine cabinet is. i dropped a pill once and didnt notice. I got up that night to get a drink and just happened to see it outta the corner of my eye. That would have been the first thing my 2 year found in the morning so i am glad I did and not him.
Good luck!!
-Libby
It may not ever stop. Seriously. But it will change over time. At some point (probably before age 3) he will stop swallowing things, and just mouth them. Some kids are more orally (I hate to use the word 'fixated') inclined than others. My son gave up his paci on his own at 6 months, but put all sorts of things in his mouth. He didn't swallow much, but he mouthed a LOT. And when he was older in K and 1st grade, he chewed the collars of his shirts. And when he was older (2-4th grade?) he chewed his pencils and erasers. Now that he is in middle school, he just makes weird noises with his mouth/throat when he is concentrating, lol.
I remember doing things like that myself, maybe you do too? I didn't chew my pencils, but I sucked on the front collar of my shirts and even my HAIR (I had long hair). So, don't worry about there being a problem with him, just worry that you'll miss something dangerous... Sorry... that sounds more scary than it should. ;)
C.,
Your son is still so young, this is normal behavior for this age. If it concerns you I would ask your pediatrician about it.
Older kids that mouth things constantly may have other issues or be looking for oral stimulation and a vibrating toothbrush can help with that.
Good luck,
R.
This is his way of learning about the world. It is perfectly normal and as long as tiny objects are kept out of reach, very healthy. Don't make the mistake of worrying so much about dirt and germs that you keep him from using the sensitve feel of his tongue to learn all about the world around him. It will end in a few months.
When mine was that age, he ate a band-aid that was on his finger... Next day, there it was, a bright green band-aid in his diaper. He has aslo eaten a pincher bug and a dead wasp! Hes 23 months now, and pretty much over putting random stuff in his mouth... Good luck :)
I would say around 4 years old. My son is turning 4 God Willing this June and sometimes I have to remind him how sick he and get and most of all he could choke. So for now you have to keep a close eye on him with putting things in his mouth.
That's the reason that you should keep kids under three away from anything they can choke on. He's only 14 months. You have some time yet.
at three, my daughter was chewing on everything and a little after 4, finally stopped for the most part. Although I do catch her chewing on stuff every now and again.
