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Pre-School and Daycare
Has anyone here dealt with Pica?
I'll wait to see if I get a response before I write the long story part...
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Has anyone here dealt with Pica?
Well, he's already been to the dr for it several times, they've done blood work etc... he doesn't actually ingest anything he just chews on everything. He's not autistic nor does he have any other medical issue. His pediatrician, at his last visit, said that some kids just do this and that he'll grow out of it. My grandmother told me she did it when she was little.
We were told to not punish him for it, to just redirect him.... but he's destroying our house, lol! (not really funny, but I try really hard not to get angry about it) Like our window sills, etc. And we live in military housing... so it's not actually OURS.
He chews on his toys, everything.... it's just... exhausting trying to get him to stop.
I've only known pregnant women who dealt with it...
It's obviously different with a little one.
That sounds so frustrating (and frightening! One never really knows what kind of paint might be lurking on an older window sill.)
I'd be tempted to try rewards. Even sugarless gum to keep his mouth busy. Although I am obviously not an expert, I'm just trying to put myself in your shoes.
All the best. I hope you discover some little trick or that he grows out of it - quickly.
thank you. we do have a reward system. And the paint was the reason for all the blood work, luckily everything came out just fine. I may try the gum thing. It's difficult because it's not like he does it acting out. He'll be running one of his little cars on the window ledge and he'll be quiet and playing and then I'll look over and he'll be chewing on the edge. *sigh* I want to repair the window, but I'm afraid to do so since we will have to use chemical based stuff to do so and right now it's just wood..... I have no idea. but thank you for your kind words.
Hang in there!
My child wasn't much of a chewer but, erm, my puppy sure was. I'm still finding things that he'd gnawed through years and years ago. But a person is prepared for their canine 'kid' to do that and buys some Bitter Apple and chew toys. This is just so very different.
It seems like your little guy isn't really conscious of doing it. Just some sort of gravitational pull gets him.
Silly question, perhaps, but what does he have to say about this? A friend of mine has a 5 year old thumb sucker who wants to quit, (she was even enticed with ear piercing.) But literally sobs at the thought of it. "I want to quit so badly, but if I do I just know I'll die!" And she says this earnestly, completely without drama. Hearing her thoughts hasn't solved the problem, but it's helped them understand how deeply her habit is rooted. They're still looking for solutions, and their hearts have grown even more epathetic to their girl's plight. Last I hear they were going to consult a child psychologist. They are wondering why her fear runs so deep.
Anyway, the more info you have from him the better.
Yeah, I don't think he realizes he's doing it most of the time until we bring his attention to it. A year ago when he first started doing it we'd notice him chewing on something, like a cow chewing cud (bad comparison, but you get it, lol). And we'd ask him what was in his mouth and he'd pull it out and hand it over to us and say, "Window." .... NOW, because he knows he's not supposed to do that and probably a fear of having to repeat all the blood work he will take out and hide it behind his back and say 'nothing'
And he is almost 4 and at that wonderful age where we always seem to be on the brink of some kind of behavioral thing. Nothing out of the ordinary, just pushing his limits and junk so it's just a lot. He HAS slowed down on it, and for awhile there I thought he was going to stop, but now he's been doing it more and more again.
If we ask him why he does it he just looks at us like he doesn't understand what we're asking. Does it taste good? Does it feel good on your teeth? etc, etc... you pretty much get a 'yes' answer every time, followed immediately by a conversation about trucks lol. So, yeah. I have no clue. His pedi doesn't seem to be worried. I even asked about maybe getting him one of those chewing necklaces but his pedi said no, that wouldn't be good since we're trying to break the habit. But he had no advice beside don't punish him for it. Great work there doc, ha.
I don't have any experience with this particular issue, but my DD pulls her hair out. It started with twirling, and ended up with just pulling it out. Our initial strategy was to reward her for NOT pulling her hair out, but it didn't work at all. She's compelled to do it, sounds like your DS. She knows she's not supposed to, but she can't seem to stop herself.
I read an article by a developmental psychologist about the hair pulling issue, and she said that instead of rewarding for not doing something, give rewards for doing something different. For us, DD wears socks on her hands at nap time and nighttime (these are the times she pulls), and gets a reward for leaving the socks on. She has now successfully kept them on for the past two weeks and is no longer pulling. Maybe you could try a similar strategy? I know his doctor said not to make him do something else, but if he has a need to chew, you could tell him to chew this safe object, and he would get a reward if he does it. Good luck, I know our issue is different, but I know what it feels like to watch your child do something harmful and not know what to do about it.
My DD1 used to chew on everything when she was bored. At first I wasn't concerned because I figured it was similar to biting nails or something. Then one morning I woke up and saw she had chewed on the electrical cords to the portable dvd player while it was plugged in. I was so thankful she didn't chew through the cord. Anyway, what worked for us was buying chew toys for kids. Her pedi suggested them and they worked wonders. She knows now when she wants to chew on something to get her chew toy. BTW she rarely chews on the toys now.
This is where we bought our chew toys. You can also get them from amazon.
https://www.sensoryuniversity.com/ORAL-MOTOR-FEEDING_c6.htm
thanks so much you guys for all the great advice. Our son has also chewed through a wire.... I don't care what his Dr. says, I'm going to get him one of these chew toys. On the bright side, he'll grow out of it eventually.
I noticed with my DD that she really only did it when she was bored, watching tv or right before falling asleep. We always had the chew toys available during those times. I honestly don't remember the last time I saw her chewing on something. Thankfully, she seems to have grown out of it. I was really worried for awhile. I went around the house and unplugged anything within her reach that she could possibly chew. My DH thought I was insane because I was unplugging toasters, lamps, etc.
Good Luck!
I can't pin point a pattern with DS. I think I said above somewhere (excuse my laziness) that he will do it while he's playing. He'll also do it when he's watching tv, walking around the house, etc.... lol, like I said, no real pattern.
We even took him to the dentist to make sure his teeth weren't bothering him. I did order one of those X-shaped sensory chew toys though. Definitely going to go on that reward system and I was talking to him about it today so hopefully it will get here soon (ordered from amazon, it was cheaper).
We've been going to the dr for this for a year now. We do have a referral out for a specialist, still waiting on the paperwork to come in the mail.... so we'll see.