Thread: Is this strange?

I will bring this up at DD's 2yr appt... but thought I'd ask you guys.

DD seems to want to eat non-food items. Specifically... licking lotion when I put it on her, eating crayons, paper, soap in the bath.

It's a pretty common thing... but not every day. Is that normal curiosity?

Kieran's the exact same way! I thought the same thing, that it was strange, but since he doesn't do it ALL the time/isn't obsessive about it it never occurred to me to ask. But for example, I can't give him lotion or anything like that because he'll lick it. Crayons also end up in his mouth usually. Also, his favorite lovey stuffed animal, Mr. Tiger, is getting pretty ragged and has a hole and all the fluff is coming out. He likes to put the fluff in his mouth, though he doesn't try to eat it. It almost seems like he's just doing it for a reaction because he'll kind of do it, and wait for me to see it and tell him to stop and then he laughs and acts like its a game. But another weird thing I noticed him doing, with the stuffed animal fluff again, is when he has his binky (he only has it for naps and bedtime) he'll take little bits of it and stuff it in between the binky and his cheek. I guess its pretty harmless but its just soooooo weird!!

Well, first of all I'll say that kids putting just about anything in their mouths is pretty common. Every once in a while something's going to go down, even if it tastes gross or has no nutritional value, or even a bit harmful. What you're describing doesn't really sound like that though. Does it seem like a craving or does she get enjoyment out of it, and exactly how long have you noticed this going on?

I would definitely talk to the pedi about this, she could have low iron or be missing another vitamin/nutrient from her diet. Vance liked to eat crayons, he would go after them and eat them. I talked to his pedi about it, she said it could mean his iron was low, they tested it and sure enough it was significantly low that he had to go on iron supplements and we had to up his iron rich foods. After getting his iron levels to normal he hasn't eaten another crayon to this day.

Originally Posted by Coconut2

I would definitely talk to the pedi about this, she could have low iron or be missing another vitamin/nutrient from her diet. Vance liked to eat crayons, he would go after them and eat them. I talked to his pedi about it, she said it could mean his iron was low, they tested it and sure enough it was significantly low that he had to go on iron supplements and we had to up his iron rich foods. After getting his iron levels to normal he hasn't eaten another crayon to this day.

Yeah, I couldn't remember the name of it earlier, but it's called pica. Like Stephanie said probably good to make an appt with your pedi, and maybe try keeping a journal of how often it happens and what the non-food item is for each occurrence.

Zoey puts things in her mouth but more to get my attention, or out of normal curiosity. The only thing that goes in regularly is a crayon or toy if she's watching a television program and zones out-she tends to hold something in her mouth when she's in a daze. Otherwise though it's very obvious her way of grabbing my attention, because she'll smirk at me and put it in her mouth just to get a reaction.

I agree it's worth mentioning to the dr. to be sure she's not lacking any nutrients. It could be an attention getting behavior, or it could be what Stephanie and Lisa are talking about. It's hard to say without seeing it firsthand.

If she's actually eating them and it's happening regularly definitely can't hurt to bring it up at the appointment.

Just last night I had given Cam some foam soap on his hands in the bath, and then I turn back around I see him licking it off like a cat. I know a lot of it is still just normal curiosity at this age. Cam will chew on crayons and his toy cars a lot, but it's mostly absentmindedly like a pp said while he's watching TV or something. And once he realizes that crayon wax is coming off in his mouth he says 'yuck!!' and starts wiping his tongue clean.

Victoria chews on paper all the time, and to me it doesn't seem normal because her brothers never did it. I am going to bring it up at her 2-year check-up. She does also try to taste lotion and soap, but not nearly as often as she chews on paper.

My first thought was pica (but I thought it only happened during pg) or a nutritional imbalance.

Hope you get some answers!

I would mention something to the dr. It is common for kkids to put things in their mouth out of curiosity, but not routinely. I'm interested to hear what the dr says.