My daughter gags herself. I can't take it anymore! Any ideas?

Question

Somebody please give me some ideas how to stop this. My 16 month old daughter gags herself when she's mad or when she is alone. She will forcefully shove her fingers down her throat and gag herself until she throws up. She does it for attention and to "retaliate" against you. The doctor says that it's a phase and she will grow out of it. She has been doing this since 11 months. I've tried smacking her hand and hot sauce and yelling and ignoring it but nothing works. She wakes up gagging every single morning. She will look you straight in the eyes and put her fingers in her mouth and fake gag. It's a game to her. I'm at wit's end. Everybody that I know has never heard of anything like this or if they have it's only lasted about 2 weeks. Does anybody have the same situation as me and know what I can do? If I ignore it, she will continue gagging herself until she throws up everywhere. Please help!

Answer 1

Ignore it. Clean up the vomit, and don't say a word. When it doesn't get her any attention, she will stop. When you make a big issue of it, she's got you exactly where she wants you, so stop giving her what she wants.

Answer 2

I doubt it is a game to her. At this age they normally don't play 'games' like that. Does she cry? Is it in special situations, indicating she may be retaliating? How about our overall family situation? I honestly believe if there is nothing wrong with your child physically , maybe the problem is with you, or what you do? I would take a deep breath, and look at the situation closely, start with the physical part: Is she being over fed, maybe she throws up shortly after eating? If she is feeding normally, does she lose too much nutrition by throwing up frequently? If yes, you need to keep her from doing it, in order not to affect healthy growth, holding her hands, getting her attention on something else. The latter is the best at this age, act as if it is of no concern, just get her to focus on other things, toys, a bird outside, whatever is handy at the moment. If she is growing healthily and she is not throwing up everything she eats, still get her attention on other stuff, at the same time relax, if it doesn't harm her physically, there is no need to panic! Just don't let her behaviour get to you, having you 'dance' everytime she does it. Just don't give it any direct attention, do something else and get her 'follow' you. I also think, this shows some disharmony in her development. I recommend some soothing massage, yes you heard right, massage. Soft strokes on her forehead(keep clear of the fontanelles)from the center of the eyebrows up to the hairline with your thumbs, and from the center of the eyebrows to the sides to the temples. Also light circling strokes on the tummy (clockwise) and strokes on the back(left and right of the spine up and down, all downward movements have a soothing effect). These techniques should be done in the evening before sleep when everything(-one) gets calm and quiet. The effects are sometimes surprising, try it out if you feel it is a good approach.
As a general rule, observe her closel, but sometimes we parents can be too anxious, so keep her being followed by a pediatrician. Look for a doctor who also has a good back ground in child psychology. I would never recommend psycho pharmaceutical medicines, if she is not in danger seriously harming herself.
Hope this helps. Cheers

Answer 3

Ignore it. Clean it up, and go about your way. As soon as she relizes "Hey, when I gag myself I don't get what I want!" she'll stop. The sooner she stops the better since it isn't exactly the best habit to have.

Screaming at her, smacking her, and using hot sauce won't do a thing. Ignore it, don't give in. Leave the room if you have to.

My brother (2 this month) does this. He's been doing it since he was about one. He'll do it for a few days and then stop for a month or two and then go right back to doing it. We all ignore him and leave the room when he starts it. As soon as he stops, we go back and give him all the attention he needs.

If it keeps going on, for another 2 months or so, have her see a doctor again.

Answer 4

Yes I had the same problem with my daughter when she was younger. If she got mad she would put her hand in her mouth and throw up. She would do it alot before. But she got over it. When she would do that I would get mad at her. i would not ignore it because she would keep on doing it. Now that she's two I haven't noticed that she's gag herself anymore.

Answer 5

I know how hard it is. My son gags and vomits off the sight of food or while eating a lot (he is now 5) it has become less of a deal now but really you can't get him to eat more then a couple bites without gagging.

His comes naturally though, he used to gag at the site of my breasts (yeah, that made me feel great, lol), he used to gag from bottles and babyfood, etc.

Just ignore the behavior, clean it up and try not to let it bother you or ruin your day. My son also gets very carsick and has ruined many trips but we just bring extra clothes and bags for the puke and try to keep him away from milk :)

Answer 6

She wants attention so give her the opposite. Pick her up and put her in a room that has absolutely nothing entertaining in it as soon as she gags herself. Don't even clean her up. No toys, TV, games, etc. Keep her there for at least 15 mins. which is a long time for a toddler. Repeat as often as necessary.

Answer 7

it is obvious that she is doing it for attention. totally ignore her.
also, it is something that she controls, and she obviously feels the need to control and is succeeding in controling you. So, ask yourself, are you controling? Lets give her some other things to control. IE, let her pick her clothes in the morning or whenever she changes clothes. you could select a couple (not more than 3) things for her to pick from. When you go out to eat, let her pick the restaurants, but you pick the selection, and so on. I did this extensively with my kids (now grown) and they are great at making decisions for themselves now, and they are not control freaks.

Answer 8

my daughter did this, but she got so good at it she didn't even need to put her fingers down her throat. as soon as we saw it happening we turned around and walked away, no response at all....she soon stopped on her own. she is getting the attention she needs by you yelling at her, and unfortunately using hot sauce, bad idea in every way possible.

Answer 9

Hey, she is still a baby, she needs a teething ring.
this is a teething stage, dont punish the child.
her gums hurt and all she has is her fingers.
give her a frozen teething ring and this foolishness will stop.
A frozen pacifier may help also

Answer 10

It's probably just a habit.