My son keeps chewing things

[DrBeatt]

how can I get him to stop?

he’s 8 and he’s always putting things in his mouth that don’t need to be there;
paper, pencils, rubbers, the chest area of his tops
he does it at school, home, anywhere he can get his hand on something

its getting really frustrating and can sometimes even be a safety risk - today he had a whole pen lid in his mouth

I got him those chew toy necklaces to help with this oral fixation but for whatever reason (embarrassed/doesn’t like the feel) he doesn’t use it

but he’s ok to have bits of pencil and /or rubber in his mouth that he’s chewed up.

I don’t really know what to do. I’ve tried explaining from the safety/germs angle, how it’s really quite gross to put these random things in his mouth and I’ve also said it’s nasty habit.

he used to bite his nails but stopped he was about 4.
any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Could you visit the GP or speak with the health visitor? This may be Pica? Sorry I don’t have a lot of advice, but It sounds like it’s possibly a comfort thing too?

Ideally take him to OT, it sounds like he needs high sensory input. You did the right thing buying him the necklaces, usually they are available in pencil tops and other forms too. My boy is the same, we just roll with it mostly and let him have chewing gum when he likes. He has a blanket that he chews when he gets tired or stressed or just gets the urge. The blanket is destroyed but at least he isn't chewing his school jumper or tie. He is 10 now and it much improved since 8.

Look up sensory processing issues especially oral sensory seeking, there's a lot of info out there. If he has a lot of other sensory issues he could have sensory processing disorder, it's often part of other ND conditions and I think its not recognised as a stand alone ND condition but that info may be out of date. if there are no other issues with him then don't worry too much, it's most likely something he will grow out of. I would really really recommend even 1 OT consultation though, to help you both manage and understand it.

I'd try some different chewy things. You can get pencil toppers which are more discrete than a necklace. He might need a different level of hardness, different sensory chews feel different to chew on. It can take a bit to find the right one.

My son does this, he has sensory processing disorder as part of an autism diagnosis. To be clear, I'm not diagnosing your son! If he's not got on with chewygem type things could you try towelling wrist bands? They saved many a school sweatshirt and are cheap and easy to replace (and wash). I'd also perhaps find him some other sensory toy or fidget that he can safely chew. It does get better, my son is not quite so obsessed with it as he's got older.

My son did exactly this for years - destroyed so many t-shirts, socks, stuffed toys, bedding. It got particularly bad in lockdown when he was eating toilet roll and carpet. The GP's advice was to keep him away from things he might chew/eat (that'll be everything then?? 😩). He was looked at for ASD but nothing diagnosed.
He is almost 11 now, and is thankfully growing out of it.
The health visitor advised to go with it and encourage him to replace what he's chewing with something safer - the chew bracelets and necklaces, chewing gum or raw carrots/frozen carrots to give the deep oral pressure he's craving.
Good luck Op

My children in school love the Lego chews - some look a bit twee but the Lego ones are usually v sought after.

My son did this around that age and since diagnosed with autism. He did grow out of that though then acquired other habits which weren't especially an improvement. He used to say he was cleaning coins putting them in his mouth and would laugh at suggestions it wasn't a good idea. Sounds like could be anxiety driven and / or sensory driven. I did get big teddy bears and that seemed to distract him out of it.

Thanks everyone for your very constructive help.
whilst it’s not great that others have been similar but it’s good to know we are not alone.
i am finding the whole thing very frustrating.
as well as putting things in his gob, I didn’t mention he also just picks at things.
so like a PP mentioned, he picked away at his duvet, picked out threads in his school ties, any drawstrings on his trouser waists get picked apart.
its really hard because a part of me knows he can’t help it but things get ruined so quickly. I can’t replace everything.
today new PE trousers (which weren’t cheap) the tie around the waist is all picked apart. brand new! Meant to last a whole year!

Anyway - I have done an econsult today and hopefully that’s a step in the right direction getting him some support.

thanks again.