[LynnS6]

Can anyone help me understand what our 3 year old is doing? (She turned 3 in May.) She was a pretty 'oral' baby in that she put tons of stuff in her mouth and needed to nurse constantly when she was teething. But after her 2 year molars came, that decreased markedly. In the last 2-3 weeks though, I've seen an upswing of things going into her mouth again, including:

-bouncy balls (which have now been banned)
-something she found at the bus stop, put in her mouth and then threw up. She wouldn't tell me what it was, but was pretty upset.
-the handle bars on her scooter
-countless little toys

and she drank bubble soap recently, and wanted to put other soap in her mouth.

I actually have been playing 'puppy' with her where I toss a nubby ball and she fetches it and carries it back in her mouth. I got out the baby teething toys and have had to tell her several times recently "If you want to chew, get the chew toys please." And she HAS. She's currently carrying around some plastic links in her mouth.

What's UP????

:

 

[bdavis337]

Well geeez. My SIX YEAR OLD still puts stuff in his mouth. It's usually gross, and often has been found outside on the grass or sidewalk during a bikeride. I can't STAND IT. On the upside, it's boosting his natural immunity, right?

I seriously don't have any advice other than to keep little stuff out of her reach (again), and perhaps have some consequences for continuing to chomp on things. Oh - has she gotten her 2 year molars yet??

 

[ledzepplon]

My three year old never STOPPED putting things in her mouth, and my little one eats dirt and sand almost daily. I don't have any advice, other than to take the item away. Kids are gross!

 

[lilylidou]

Never mind. My three year old likes putting things in her mouth.

 

[loraxc]

My 3yo also does this. We have also taken out the baby teething toys again so we can offer them as a safe alternative. It kind of weirds me out, but there seems to be a need there. (And DD also carries the links in her mouth!)

However, if we see her mouthing something really inappropriate, she gets warned once, and then the item gets put up for 3 minutes. We have actually had to remove some small toys (even though I don't think she'd actually put them all the way in her mouth, it makes me nervous).

I think DD is a sensory seeker, and this is one aspect of this. She still uses a paci at night and still had a bottle before bed until age 3. I think this behavior increased when we eliminated the bottle--which was done very gently, but still.

 

[LynnS6]

Interesting... we've been working on weaning (down to 1-2 times a day). I wonder if it's related to that. She doesn't have sensory issues (that I know of - she's so much more sensory normal than her brother that it's possible I've overlooked it). But she is very sensitive with things that go in her mouth. She never took a bottle/pacifier, and she's very cautious around new foods and is probably a super taster (like my mom) - she is very, very affected by taste .

We've had to put up several toys as well. Nice to know it's not completely out of the range of typical.