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Original poster

5 year old won't stop chewing his t-shirts

118 replies

Jumpers268 · 18/02/2021 18:17

I know it's probably not the right place to post this but I'm at my wit's end.

My 5, almost 6, year old son, will not stop chewing his t-shirts. So much so that he gets through maybe 5 a day as they're soaking wet and all of them have holes in by the collar where he's chewed them so much. This has only been the past month or so and I can take him out for a walk and play with him but it only distracts him for so long. Quite often I don't even think he realises he's doing it.

He does have sensory issues but mainly with food textures so he can't have mashed anything or heavy or anything as he'll gag so much he'll throw up.

When I Google it indicates autism but he's the most social little butterfly (pre Covid). He was referred by nursery when he was 2 for possibly having autism as he didn't speak and was obsessed with numbers (I mean spending an hour staring at a tape measure) but he was signed off.

Any advice would be appreciated? I really want to help him stop as I can't keep buying new clothes and worry it's anxiety that's causing this. Please no horrid comments. I'm clearly desperate.

OP posts:
Original poster
Jumpers268 · 18/02/2021 19:48

@Angel2702 that's great to know! Thank you!

Mad how common this is and how I really had no idea. I thought my child was the only one walking around with a wet t-shirt and holes in!!

OP posts:
Crackerofdoom · 18/02/2021 19:48

It could be a transient tic. My DS has them and goes through phases of chewing. I give him something suitable to chew on and keep it all as low stress as possible. It is one of his easier tics as some of them are quite painful for him so I don't mind it at all when he is chewing.

I wouldn't try and stop it, just make it as stress-fre as possible for you both.

DS also struggles with food. He is always allowed to eat bread and fruit if he doesn't want to eat the meal. I know some people would disagree but he is not angling for treats and I just want him fed and happy.

MyLittleOrangutan · 18/02/2021 19:51

I'm autistic. I did the same, and with my jumper sleeves, and pens. Something to actually chew is a Brill idea.

sadpapercourtesan · 18/02/2021 19:53

My DS1 has ASD (diagnosed with Aspergers at 6) and is sociable and gregarious. They're all different. I would pursue assessment if I were you (they won't diagnose him unless a consultant is very sure!) DS1's diagnosis came in very handy later on when we ran into problems with schools.

We had a special box with bits of fabric he was allowed to chew. If he liked a particular texture, we put a bit of it in the box. He could help himself when he wanted it. It didn't stop him chewing his school uniform etc, but it certainly helped.

Original poster
Jumpers268 · 18/02/2021 19:53

@Crackerofdoom he will only eat dry pasta, toast, bread, cheese, yoghurt and instant noodles (I call it the beige diet). I'm not fussed at this point if I'm honest, I'm just glad if he's eaten at least something for each meal. I've never heard of transient tic though, I'll have a look. I'm sorry that this is obviously the least of your worries when it comes to your son.

OP posts:
Original poster
Jumpers268 · 18/02/2021 19:56

@sadpapercourtesan that's so good to know! A few people have mentioned Asperger's to me but I've always been essentially frowned at by professionals due to his great social skills. It has been tough with school though, especially with his eating.

OP posts:
Theotherrudolph · 18/02/2021 19:58

My DS did chew at school. A lot. School never made a big deal about it and just quietly prompted him to use his chew toy instead (he actually caused a fashion trend, at one point half his class had little Lego chewy necklaces!). My view and his teacher’s was better a child with a wet shirt who’s otherwise holding it together and learning and participating than one who’s hitting, refusing to take part and a huge ball of anxiety. He’s outgrown it now, he tends to twiddle his hair or handflap instead.

cakeflower · 18/02/2021 20:01

My son age ten has been chewing his tops since around age 5. He is autistic (Aspergers), very expressive and chatty and engaged with others. We never found chewellery that helpful as he likes to chew soft fabric rather than hard plastic. So on the advice of OT he now wears a soft fabric neckerchief (like a circular scarf made of stretchy cotton). It looks cool and you can get lots of different patterns.

Clymene · 18/02/2021 20:04

Oh @Jumpers268 - I wish I could give you a hug.

I had so many years of people saying 'oh don't worry, we've had fussy eaters before, sure we can get him to eat something!' and they couldn't. I felt so alone. It was horrible.

But there are loads of kids like your son. And loads of mums like you. Smile

You might want to hop over to the SN kids boards. You'll get loads of advice and support.

Original poster
Jumpers268 · 18/02/2021 20:05

@cakeflower what a great idea! I hadn't even thought of that!

@Theotherrudolph I've ordered some Lego chew necklaces which will come tomorrow!

Honestly the difference this has made to my day!!

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Daisychainsandglitter · 18/02/2021 20:06

I'm so pleased for you and your son OP!

eggandonion · 18/02/2021 20:06

We tried lovely star wars and Simpsons tshirts, but they got chewed too! Ds had retention and overflow issues, but nt.

Original poster
Jumpers268 · 18/02/2021 20:06

@Clymene I'd ugly cry if you gave me a hug Wink. SN kids board? Sorry I'm likely being dense.

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TheresAnEyeInMeSoup · 18/02/2021 20:09

My 5 year old has just started chewing his clothes. It has only begun recently since he lost his two front teeth. I didnt know it was something to worry about

GloGirl · 18/02/2021 20:11

I bought a discovery box by Chewigem, it was great for him to try them all out

www.chewigem.co.uk/product-category/discovery-boxes/

AlwaysLatte · 18/02/2021 20:25

My oldest did that. Chewed clothes, teddy bears, drawstrings on pyjamas, books (he actually ate half the Hungry Caterpillar board book when he was a toddler which was funny so we kept it!) in the end I thought he was not going to stop chewing so I need to find something safe to chew. I looked online and was surprised to find there actually are things made for chewing, called Chewbuddies! So I bought some and they really helped. I also bought some things to go on the end of his pencils at school. Nowadays at 13 he still chews his drawstrings and shreds pens and pencils, but it's definitely better.

5 year old won't stop chewing his t-shirts
Original poster
Jumpers268 · 18/02/2021 20:25

@TheresAnEyeInMeSoup honestly if he didn't want me to change his top a million times a day and have holes in every top he owns I wouldn't have posted here! I'm sure it's nothing to worry about but I just needed to find some way to stop him chewing all his clothes!

@GloGirl I've got the Lego necklaces arriving tomorrow and I've also ordered some neckerchiefs in case it's more the chewing of fabric he likes. Hopefully that'll help but if nothing else I feel a lot less alone with this all.

OP posts:
Original poster
Jumpers268 · 18/02/2021 20:28

@AlwaysLatte I used to chew on drawstrings on stuff. Cor. Never thought about it before! Thank you loads!

OP posts:
Crackerofdoom · 18/02/2021 20:34

[quote Jumpers268]@Crackerofdoom he will only eat dry pasta, toast, bread, cheese, yoghurt and instant noodles (I call it the beige diet). I'm not fussed at this point if I'm honest, I'm just glad if he's eaten at least something for each meal. I've never heard of transient tic though, I'll have a look. I'm sorry that this is obviously the least of your worries when it comes to your son.[/quote]
It is hard when he can't stop moving his body in a way which hurts him but up until now, those have been pretty brief. We just go with it, although he did ask if I could tape 2 of his toes together as he couldn't stop rubbing them against each other and the joints were really painful.

DS has similar tastes to yours. He takes a multivitamin and I asked him to write a list of all the foods he likes. It was actually longer than I expected and I try to have lots of those things available.

Do look at transient tics and if it turns out to be that, or even Tourette's don't panic. The stereotype of shouting out swear words is a tiny fraction of sufferers.

It may also just be that he likes the taste of his tee shirts Grin

FoxyTheFox · 18/02/2021 21:22

If its specifically cloth that he likes then I can recommend this from Chewigem

www.chewigem.co.uk/product/kiki-comforter-chewigem/

It's a textured swatch of cloth with tags on it. DS has one for when it's cloth he wants to chew, he has a thing where he chews until its soggy then sucks the soggy part until its dry again. Boak. This is great though, machine washable and he hasn't yet managed to chew a hole in it.

Lunariagal · 18/02/2021 21:59

My now 15 year old ds used to do this. I think it started when he saw his bestie do it, when they were both 5.

He grew out of it. Definitely NT.

Original poster
Jumpers268 · 18/02/2021 21:59

@Crackerofdoom oh that does put things into perspective! He does have a multi vitamin daily (which I have to admit was a case of have it, or you'll have to eat properly but he does take it every day).

@FoxyTheFox that's great! Had no idea these things existed! That would be fab for in bed I think. He's got a comforter type thing that he's had since he was a baby but he's chewed the label and edging to shreds so I had to take it away from him.

OP posts:
Original poster
Jumpers268 · 18/02/2021 22:00

@Lunariagal that's really comforting to know! Thank you.

OP posts:
grannyinapram · 18/02/2021 23:21

We had to deal with this- don't change the t-shirt because ots ripped/ wet. These are the things that he needs to help remind him to stop; a wet t-shirt is unpleasant. wearing a t-shirt with holes in is unpleasant. I will try to stop chewing my t-shirt because I don't want holes in or a wet t-shirt.

Hopefully it will stop in a year or 2 like ours. Absolutely nothing would stop ds chewing and he would chew through pencils, furniture and anything else he could! stopped of his own accord but only after everything stopped being replaced amd he had to live with the consequences- wearing ruined clothing, using chewed in half pencils, etc

grannyinapram · 18/02/2021 23:22

oh and my thoughts are with you! very frustrating! Star you're a star for putting up with it