How do you break your childs habit of putting things in their mouth?

Question

my daughter is 2 and a half yrs old and she is still putting anything and everything she can in her mouth! cryans, markers, books, paper, baby wipes, flash cards, chalk, toys, stones and pieces of wood, etc.! Ive slapped her hands, tooken the things away from her, yelled at her, but she just keeps doing it, even does it after ive told her to stop, like she'll be sitting or laying with me and she'll have a book and she'll start chewing on it, so i'll pull it away and tell her to keep it out of her mouth, and then she puts it back in her mouth and looks at me like she's gonna do it rather i tell her no or not! I don't want to put hot sauce or anything that will harm her on the stuff, and besides i really dont think that will even help! what can i do? i almost feel like calling her dr and seeing if they can test her for lead poisoning or something!

shes not autistic or anything, shes very smart for a 2 yr old, but i just dont understand why she just keeps putting everything in her mouth, its an all day thing she does, i feel like a broken record trying to tell her that the things she is putting in her mouth is yucky and they are not food that you eat!

mick, i tell her NO firmly everyday all day long, i take the things away from her too, but it's just a non-stop thing she does and it's very irritating for me, cuz she should know better by now, i swear sometimes she even does it for attention, and i pay attention to her as much as i can! I have called her dr and told them im concerned about her and want her tested for lead or something, and they are looking at her chart now and will be calling me back!

Answer 1

you know I have this same problem and my daughter is 3! I actually have tried the hot sauce thing and it didn't work. So her daddy came up with an idea and told her when she wants to put her hands in her mouth to put them in her pockets, that only works when we are around and paying attention but I have no idea what to do when we aren't around! I am hoping that if I get her in the habit of putting her hands in her pockets she will stop! Good luck I know its frustrating!

Answer 2

The sucking/mouthing reflex is twofold. First, it is a comfort mechanism. Second, the mouth is the most sensitive part of the body at that age and gives quite a bit of information on objects. This reflex is lasts usually through age 3. This is why most pediatricians tell long-term nursing mothers to stop at 3 and parents of binky users to take the pacifier away at 3. This is also why toys with small parts are inappropriate for children under 3, because they put EVERYTHING in their mouths.

I would discuss this with your doctor, as it is a developmental and not a behavioral issue. She may start sucking her fingers or thumb to compensate for the emotional trauma of being told not to do something instinctive as well (the harder you are on her, the more likely this will occur), and that can be a major hurdle to get over later.

Answer 3

Kids will be kids and need to develop certain skills. There are certain stages kids go through that you can't do much about. It's part of the growing process.

At this age they are exploring their world. This is what the senses are for. Sight, feel, sound, smell and taste; this is not only anoying to a parent but potentially dangerous. Smaking or yelling at her for putting things in her mouth is obviously not the answer. It's not working because this is a need she has. And as she grows her needs will change and once she's learned what she needs to learn at this stage she will grow out of it.

My suggestions would be to educate yourself first. There are plenty of of websites devoted to parenting as well as books in the library that speak of the different developmental stages you child will go through. Once you know what your child needs you can facilitate her development and make it less stressful for the both of you.

Provide her with toys that have different textures, toys you wouldnt mind her putting her mouth. Remember we know our world, she's just discovering it. She's only been around for 2 years; this place is still new to her.

Baby proof your home. Make sure al dangerous chemicals are out of reach or locked up.

Finally, RELAX!!! And enjoy your baby! Try to see the world through her eyes. You'll find you have more fun that way!

Good luck!

Answer 4

i would firmly say NO instead of explaining it is icky , asking her to stop , or telling her to keep it out of her mouth . children learn to grasp NO easier than discussing it with them .
firmly say NO and take the item away for a few minutes. if she does it again , you do it again . may take a while , but soon she will start realizing no means no .
children explore things by using all their senses they can with an item , touch , sound , visual , and taste . it is their way of finding out as much as they can about the item .

Answer 5

she's not a pica or autistic or anything is she?
http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/pica.html
I would check with your doctor. At 2.5 she shouldn't be putting things in her mouth anymore. My daughter is 2.5 and understands that only food goes in her mouth.

Good Luck

Answer 6

b very stern and put her on time out every time she chews somethng. and it has 2 b consistent, it has 2 b EVERY TIME. if u let her get away with it once, its no good. b specific 2. tell her u r going on time out because u r putting the book in ur mouth. dont let her sit there over 2 mins though.

Answer 7

We don't leave anything toxic out for our son to put in his mouth.
When he gets a hold of something we say "yucky" and fake spitting and if he still doesn't drop it we thump him on the hand (enough to sting but not hard enough to hurt him as we are against spanking)

Answer 8

"They" say that's how youngsters explore. We are lucky, our 15 month old son doesn't test much out with his mouth. Throwing everything though. He's famous though so it's ok, born on national TV - A Baby Story.

Answer 9

Some people would say that if you ignore the behaviour and not give it so much attention that she might stop doing it on her own, like picking the nose.

My 2 year old son just stopped doing it on his own, I don't think we did anything specific to get him to stop doing it.

Answer 10

Continue to re enforce the no issue by saying yuck. continue taking things away when she does the inappropriate behavior by following thru you show her it is not ok.