I'm seriously over DS and his fascination of putting EVERYTHING into his mouth. I thought it was bad enough when he was a baby and he would go outside and put the rocks in his mouth.
Its not getting any better - he must put EVERYTHING into his mouth, and quite frankly, I'm over it. Shirts, socks, pants - freakin everything - he will suck on it. He bites down on things. I've lost count of the number of sippy cups and teats that have been destroyed because he has bitten them. Or toys - they will get bitten, sucked on - as well - and I'm freaking over telling him 100x a day to STOP SUCKING ON THAT!!!!
Grrrr - why does he do it? He had a dummy till late last year, and has given it up fine, doesn't even mention his sister having one, doesn't show the desire to want one back either. Its just everything that goes into his mouth and I'm sick of the wet t-shirts, sick of everything being wrecked as well because of it (ie, like toys, books, furniture )
What the heck is wrong with him????
ETA: He also licks everything - us, cats, dog, toys, shopping trolleys - I won't take him grocery shopping anymore cos its just embarrassing that your 3 year old will NOT stop licking a disgusting trolley.
I've got two mouth explorers too.
Darc is getting better, but I reckon I tell her about 50 times a day still to 'take it out of your mouth!', "x doesn't go in mouths...', 'Darc! there's germs on that!'
Then Nate is coming right on up with exactly the same types of things....
Oh thank god its not just mine - I'm so sick of telling him to stop chewing on it, stop sucking on it - GET IT OUT OF YOUR BLOODY MOUTH!! I don't know how else to deal with it - its ok if its just his clothes he's sucking on, I can take that, its just wet - he has to wear it - but its cos he's actually wrecking stuff... thats what makes me cranky!
DD1isn't like it at all, didn't even like a dummy - I wonder if that is an indicator? DD2 likes a dummy to sleep with - so god help me if I get 2 out of 3!!
DD is going through a stage of putting everything in her mouth too. She even eats sand at kindy and puts her own foot in her mouth at story time There are a few kids in her class who are going through this stage apparently and the teacher was going to look into why they do it. Will let you know if I find out . . .
My ten year old is exactly the same, and always has been. She's always chewing on *something*. Interestingly, she also has trouble eating enough to keep weight on, and doesn't particularly like eating. She has some kind of sensory seeking behaviour, but is then overwhelmed if it tastes of something! She'll only eat the blandest of foods.
The best thing I can think of is to find them something they can safely chew on, and to help them develop some stress maintenance technique for when it is inappropriate to put things in their mouths. My dd for instance has taken up drum corps this year and her fidgeting seems to have transferred from sticking stuff in her mouth to tapping out rhythms on the table... equally aggravating LOL but easier on her teeth!
Oh Mel... I have a friend who's little boy is also 3 and OMG he's a SHOCKER!! He started licking things in the past few months also and GROSS! He's ALWAYS been one to "taste" things and chew toys etc.... apparently like TMTM said it's a sensory thing. There are 4 groups of people, mouth and touch are the only 2 I can remember straight off the top of my head.. but the mouth explorers is exactly that... they MUST taste and feel the world with their mouths and touch well... I think Oskar might be a bit like that... touch and feel the world. Not overly helpful to you, but as he gets older you'll be able to redirect him a bit like TMTM suggested... sorry hun!
If you google Chewlery it's these necklaces and bracelets that are made of this chewy stuff designed to keep busy mouths away from other things... Might be worth considering.
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3 year old - mouth issues?
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There are a few kids in her class who are going through this stage apparently and the teacher was going to look into why they do it. Will let you know if I find out . . .
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