both my difficult children are chewers, the 13 finally stopped at about 10 and I think my 9 yr old is tapering off now, finally. It drove me crazy though, they chewed on plastic constantly, and i kept thinking the chemicals you are leaching into your system, and oh yor poor teeth. none of my easy child's ever chewed on plastic.
Oral fixation
- Thread starter crazymama30
- Start date
1 Day At a Time
Member
Our difficult child's current favorite is water bottle caps...He has always needed to chew. We plan to move him to chewing gum once the braces come off - he just can't have it now.
I think this is a very common problem. I was in a meeting at work some time ago, and I noticed that one of the participants (our chief judge no less!) was chewing on his pen so hard that it was halfway into his mouth! This fellow is a serious smoker, the kind who scoots out the door at least once a hour if not more often. I know that hearings are a real challenge for him. I suddenly realized ..... he was once someone's difficult child.... LOL . Actually, it gives me hope .
I think this is a very common problem. I was in a meeting at work some time ago, and I noticed that one of the participants (our chief judge no less!) was chewing on his pen so hard that it was halfway into his mouth! This fellow is a serious smoker, the kind who scoots out the door at least once a hour if not more often. I know that hearings are a real challenge for him. I suddenly realized ..... he was once someone's difficult child.... LOL . Actually, it gives me hope .
B
butterflydreams
Guest
I have always been annoyed with the chewing thing. difficult child is always constantly chewing on things, putting things in his mouth that shouldn't be there, and won't ever stop when told to - maybe for long enough for you to turn your back, thats it. He had the cross necklace with a chain, he constantly would put the whole thing in his mouth. After repeated telling him not to do it, I found it laying somewhere one time and snatched it up and hid it. He will chew on anything, and almost always has a piece of paper in his mouth. easy child likes to chew on straws. If she has a soda with a straw, she will chew on the straw even after the soda is long gone.
Hmmmmmmm.
Hmmmmmmm.
trinityroyal
Well-Known Member
My little easy child chews things like crazy. Shirt necklines, sleeves, the collar of his winter coat.
Strange as it sounds, one of the things that seems to have worked very well with Little easy child is to chew on a neoprene bathing cap. Durable fabric that he can't tear, not a choking hazard, and it seems to feel good in his mouth when it's wet. Sometimes he'll bundle the whole thing up and stuff it in his mouth, other times he'll just nibble on the corner.
Little easy child is a bit of a class clown and can often pass off the behaviour as just goofiness, so his friends don't tease him about the chewing. I do try to keep him away from smaller things that he can choke on.
Definitely sounds like Sensory Integration Disorder (SID), and I do agree with whoever suggested a neuropsychologist evaluation to look into this.
Incidentally, when I was a girl I used to soak washcloths in cold water and then chew on them until all the liquid was wrung out of them. As an adult, I have replaced chewing with brushing my teeth. A lot. For some reason it has the same effect, especially when I use baking soda instead of toothpaste. Don't know why the toothbrushing works, but it does, and I have a pretty good dose of Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) myself.
Trinity
Strange as it sounds, one of the things that seems to have worked very well with Little easy child is to chew on a neoprene bathing cap. Durable fabric that he can't tear, not a choking hazard, and it seems to feel good in his mouth when it's wet. Sometimes he'll bundle the whole thing up and stuff it in his mouth, other times he'll just nibble on the corner.
Little easy child is a bit of a class clown and can often pass off the behaviour as just goofiness, so his friends don't tease him about the chewing. I do try to keep him away from smaller things that he can choke on.
Definitely sounds like Sensory Integration Disorder (SID), and I do agree with whoever suggested a neuropsychologist evaluation to look into this.
Incidentally, when I was a girl I used to soak washcloths in cold water and then chew on them until all the liquid was wrung out of them. As an adult, I have replaced chewing with brushing my teeth. A lot. For some reason it has the same effect, especially when I use baking soda instead of toothpaste. Don't know why the toothbrushing works, but it does, and I have a pretty good dose of Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) myself.
Trinity
