crayon/random non-food item eating, when to worry??

[GreenMonkies]

DD2 is 3 now, but still eats crayons, wax crayons, chews doll shoes, pens (and sucks the colour out of them) and pretty much anything else she can get her hands on, including electric cables.

She eats normal food and is in pretty much every other way spot on, out of nappies, sleeping in her own bed for most of the night as a general rule, but relentlessly chows down on all manner of revolting and potentially dangerous things. DD1 never did this, so I am at a slight loss as to how to handle it.

Reassurance/advice please!!!

[mrsmaidamess]

Some children seek 'oral stimulation' to help their sensory input.

There are things available like 'chewellry'

do not panic that it comes from an autism website, they are sometimes the only supliers Could that help? The one thing she is 'allowed' to chew?

[GreenMonkies]

Thanks MrsMaidamess,

She is the most contrary thing, I swear!! She'll eat her fill of food and then go and play, and I'll find her chomping on a doll's foot or something 5 minutes later. And of course, she ignored teethers when she was a baby, preferring to chew on an old dummy that a friend left behind at our house (she would never take a dummy to suck, rejecting them in favour of my boobs, but happily chews on dummies until they fall apart) Earlier this morning I had to clean her teeth and tongue to get the blue crayon off them, someone suggested she may still be teething, but she has all her teeth and the way she chews is not like a teething chew, if you see what I mean?

Can you get vile tasting crayons etc? Perhaps I should just coat everything in chilli oil!!!