babies eating paper

[acp]

Like most babies this age (I think) DD LOVES paper. Catalogs, basic white paper, newspaper, whatever. She loves to crumple it, put it in her mouth, whatever. I don't let her get at it all the time, but occasionally I do, and while I usually get it out of her mouth before she's actually eaten some, I'm sure I've missed a few pieces here and there.
I'm going under the assumption that it's not a big deal for babes to swallow occasional paper (after all, now that she's started crawling I'm sure she'll find far worse things on our floor that will end up inside of her), but thought I'd check and see what other mamas thought. Is it ok to let her eat the occasional piece of paper? How about newspaper? The ink worries me a bit - it gets all over her hands when she tears the newspaper apart - but I think it's soy ink, which I'm hoping means it's not toxic in any way.
Do you all let your LOs play with (and occasionally eat) paper?

[ann_of_loxley]

I cant say 'yeah its safe of course' because I have no idea!...But my son had ate paper and I have never fussed about it! I figured if I made an 'issue' of it then it would be an issue - forbiden fruits and all of that stuff! hehe

He once ate 6 cupcake wrapers in one go (you know the little wax paper cups)... lol

He also once ate our shopping list which caused a bit of a problem...lol

[cotopaxi]

Ooh, good question. I'm always fishing paper out of dd's mouth. I don't think a little would hurt them... DH is concerned it's a choking hazard, and I wouldn't think it's the best for little tummies (esp. since she eats so little solid food), but I try not to freak out too much if some gets swallowed. Interested to see what everyone has to say.

[Muminmamman]

My ds is a hoover on legs. I am vigilant and remove paper from his line of sight/mouth whenever I catch it, but sometimes he is just too sneaky. I have found pieces of paper in his poop that I could actually read! Honestly, there are so many other things to freak out about, that paper fetish is not high up there on my priority list.

[mamamirranda]

book worm

My lo chews the corners off ALL his board books. He loves them brings them to us to read to him, but most of the time he chews em to bits. Once he gets a corner started there is no stopping him other than taking it away. He is running out of books as we only have one cloth book and we threw away the neat bath book because it was plastic and MIC.

[MissMommyNiceNice]

Perfectly normal, and a lot more ink is soy based than you may think, which is non-toxic. HERE is a link to my ds around 6 mos and his huge paper issue. It hasn't gone away much, as christmas was a paper eating extravaganza!

[EstellesMommy]

Ha! I can't wait for the day when DD is more interested in reading her books than eating them. We too have had to put away almost all her cardboard books (sans corners, all of them). If my DD is any indication, a little paper probably won't hurt. Sometimes I worry that she's on a steady diet of paper and dog hair...

[spmamma]

DD LOVES paper. I try to stop her from eating it, but sometimes she swallows some... I've found some in her diaper as proof. I try to steer her clear of newsprint, but other than that I try not to worry about it, though.

Oddly enough, she's only gagged on paper once but has gagged on real food just about every time she's tried it.

[Meems]

I wish there was some type of paper books made for eating! Maybe a good $ making idea? My DD loves books, board books, magazines, you name it! And she has so much fun and is so content it is hard to take them away from her.

[Mommy2Haley]

DD loves to crumple paper and hear the noise ... and then eat it. Tonight she tried to eat the paper towel while I wiped her face and yesterday she tried to eat my knitting pattern while I was referring to it.

Nothing is safe anymore!! HIDE THE PAYCHECKS! :

[MommytoTwo]

I have 3 kids. Paper is the least of my problems. If I can keep that *(&@#^@ Polly Pocket *@&#@*! away from him, we are good. I discourage eating entire books or rolls of wrapping paper.


Edited to add- I see you all have young girls. Maybe you arent familiar with the particular evil that is Polly Pockets. They are miniature dolls complete with the perfectly chokably sized shoes and accessories. Hate them.

[richella]

Actually i think paper is pretty nasty, wont go into details cause it seems just about every baby eats some along the way. One time dd1 ate her medical card. i was so scared i'd have to explain that to some hospital bureaucrat . . .

[kewpie-o]

Originally Posted by Kimiko

I have found pieces of paper in his poop that I could actually read!

DD bit the corner off of a cardboard package. I found it shortly after in her dipe and it said "NEW!" in big bold red letters.

[steelymaam]

Have you tried giving your kids nori (the seaweed wraps for sushi)? Seems to satisfy lots of the same desires, while not being a potential toxin. Messy fun for little babes!

[EstellesMommy]

Originally Posted by steelymaam

Have you tried giving your kids nori (the seaweed wraps for sushi)? Seems to satisfy lots of the same desires, while not being a potential toxin. Messy fun for little babes!

That is such an awesome idea! I'm going to try that today!

[amyleigh33]

Not surprisingly, mine loves paper too, but I've never taken it away from her for fear that the paper or ink was toxic--I was more concerned about choking. Thoughts?

[mama_daba]

nak

my lo is not at this stage yet i have a friend who's daughter is though and she had to perform cpr on hr be cause she was choking on a pic of paper. told me about it in a cpr class we took together. so i think the biggest thing is to wath them carefully if they are going to eat paper and make ure they don't choke? that seems like the biggest danger anyhow

[sunnygir1]

Mine is all about paper! There is a cardboard box in our office that has been there forever : And she crawls over and bites on the corner every chance she gets. I don't let her do it, but I haven't childproofed the office yet (still books in her reach too). I think it is better if she doesn't eat paper, but not the end of the world if she gets a little. I fish everything out of her mouth...paper, cardboard, pieces of bark mulch the dogs drag in, clumps of dog hair, etc. but I know some of it will make it through. I just keep saying it will boost her immune system!

[Pumpkin_Pie]

My son thinks that paper (and leaves, and dust bunnies, and cat hair, and any other bit he finds) should be their own food group. I try my best to keep up with sweeping and picking up what I can see, but if he gets a bite or two once in a while, I don't stress out too much. I haven't found any in his diapers yet, but then again, he generally poops on the potty, so who knows.

[monkeybum]

I am LMAO, this is too funny.

For the record, my babe loves paper too, he's obsessed with it. He seeks until he finds it, bypassing all toys, rattles, teething rings, etc. He just wants to eat paper, paper and more paper.

Maybe I can find him some of that "edible paper", you know the kind they wrap around nougat?? hahaha.