7yo dd is going through a spitting phase. any tricks to ride it out?

[megletthesecond]

She's started doing it at me or her big brother, at home, walking or in the car. I'm trying to find a balance between keeping it under control and calming her down .

She will do it after school or when we're heading somewhere she doesn't want to go. I can work around her some of the time (after a previous thread I am no longer taking her to supermarkets or busy shops) but there are times when we have to get things done.

The only thing I can think of is to give her chewing gum, which she loves and will hopefully not spit out. However she does tend to bite her tongue a lot so it might cause other problems.

I have reduced hitting and kicking by carrying her tightly and rubbing her back but the spitting is a tricky one.

[shazzarooney99]

Its a sensory thing, but what i would do is put a tissue in her hand,lead her to the spit and get her to clean it up, if she doesnt clean it up then use her hand to clean it, if you know what i mean.

[AgnesDiPesto]

with the really antisocial behaviours we would reward for not doing it
So for e.g. praise all the time not doing it - i might have to start with a tangible reward e.g. tiny bits of chocolate and hand some out every few seconds she wasnt doing it clearly stating getting chocolate for keeping her mouth dry (try and find something that is a positive statement rather than say 'not spitting' as the 'not' can get lost in processing!).
I'd then work on spacing out the chocolate and gradually replacing it with verbal praise.
I'd work on it initially for a short time period so perhaps deliberately go into somewhere you know will trigger it and just stay for a small amount of time, then build up
We find this tends to work - usually something else pops up in its place but if its not so antisocial i can live with that

[LEAIssues]

My ds used to do it a lot when he was 7. We thought it was a sensory/anti-social thing.

( 7 years later) We just saw an independent psychiatrist for a different matter but the psychiatrist think it is to do with tourettes, which makes sense, as ds sometimes say he cannot help it when he spits, especially when he is nervous.

[megletthesecond]

Thanks all.

agnes that's helpful. We had to pop into boots for shampoo yesterday so I was subtly passing dd refreshers for not spitting. I'd rather be judged for giving my child sweets than for having one who spits.

I was thinking back and she had a dreadful biting phase about a year ago and I rode that out so hopefully the spitting will stop in a few weeks.