Child eating their clothes

[WitsEnd694]

I am at my wits end. My 12 year old child is constantly chewing on his clothes. It started ages ago, where he’d suck on the collar of his hoody or something like that, but it has escalated in recent months to total destruction. Virtually every t-shirt, jumper and pyjama top he owns has gaping holes in it around the neck. He has (or should I say had) some lovely clothes but I nearly have to bin them all, they are utterly destroyed.

The last straw was today. He wore an expensive football hoodie to school with a small hole on one side of the hood. He has just arrived home now and the neck has been chewed to bits, the hole that was on one side of the hood is now bigger and there is an even bigger one on the other side. The thing is only fit for the bin now. I just can’t sustain the level of replacement clothing and I can’t send him out in this stuff that’s only a rag now. I’ve spoken to the school about this and they are aware of what he’s doing but I have no idea how to deal with this or what I can do to stop him. Pleading with him not to do it, nor anger is having any impact…

HELP

Chewing gum?

Or some other chewing necklace thing (though he will feel too old)

Any SEN?

I assume he has high levels of stress and sensory needs that aren't being met. Is he 12 and just gone up to secondary school? The school won't do anything as they only care about kids who are disruptive.
You'll need to find a replacement sensory comfort that doesn't involve clothes and help his school understand they need to check what is unsettling him.

Take him to the doctors, some children get this condition where they eat inanimate objects. We've had several students at school, they often grow out of it. But it is a medical condition and needs to be managed, it could escalate to him trying to eat other things. Or it could be stress related, anyway you need to take him to the doctors.

To give you some more ideas on what it could be.
https://nationalautismresources.com/blog/why-do-some-kids-chew-on-their-clothes-hair-or-pencils/?srsltid=AfmBOorp9aiLbGtOZc-NYPoo9qII1QPEqENrGoJ8mC75VqTzDwjf9viA

I think you would need help from a GP to discover what the actual cause is.

Kids chew toy. My son is autistic. I got him those kids chew things on a necklace so he could chew those.
Surely, when you have a child who chews to release their anxiety, the literally first things you do is go and buy them chew toys for kids. They make them for older kids, not just toddlers. I actually can’t believe you haven’t bought them already…

Sorry to jump on the thread, but @Ivehearditbothways would you mind sharing a link for the chew toy? Mine chews her hair 😩

No answers OP, but agree it's a nightmare and can't be good for his stomach

It's a sensory thing. Incredibly common in ND children, but can still happen with NT kids.

@GiveMeVodkaPlease

You can get all different shapes so best to have a look at what you think would suit your kid.
Search “kids chew necklace” on Amazon. My kid liked the Lego brick shape because of the bump texture, he didn’t like the smooth long ones but he needed to chew something bumpy as he was chewing on his actual Lego bricks! With chewing hair, the long thin ones might be better?

Are you able to repair the holes rather than throw away the whole garment?
Could you paint some nail bite stopper liquid on the bits he chews?
Sounds revolting!

Wow. I’ve heard comments about certain behaviours usually attributed to SEN but revolting? Wow.

Could you stitch a flap of fabric to the inside of the collar of his shirts like a large tag? Then he can pull that out and chew that instead.

My 16 year old son has a similar problem. In his younger years he chewed holes in clothes but has grown out of that particular thing now that he wears nicer, more expensive clothes that he takes pride in or pays for himself. Instead, he chews plastic bottle caps, pens, the side of his phone case etc etc

I bought him some of the autism chew things for people who have an oral stim. He chewed through them like a rottweiler in an hour.

I don't have any answers but I will mention that at his last dentist check-up, she asked him "what are you chewing that you shouldn't' be?" Turns out, he's wearing away his teeth with the incessant chewing. She said it's common, hence her knowing right away it was caused by chewing plastic, or something. She's taken photos of his teeth and will compare at his next check-up but he's been warned he needs to stop or he's going to end up with little short teeth!

Edit: my son has dyspraxia. I believe he comes under the ND umbrella.

Looks like a sensory issue. Worth reading up on. My son is autistic and has chewy necklaces. He chews everything and as he’s 25 it’s cost an absolute fortune in clothes !

I'm guessing he is anxious? Definitely sounds like sensory needs. Is he autistic/adhd?

My kid has pica and there was a phase of him ruining his clothes. I kept the old ones and Mede them into cuffs/wrist bands he was allowed to ruin or just gave as a square like a baby comforter for him to destroy (he was younger though so didn't stand out as weird at school quite so much as it would age 12).

I'd be focused on when he does it. Ask him when he did it and what was happening. Try to work out what's causing the stress and change that. If you have other things that make you suspect autism push for assessment for that.

School probably won't be much help. They are too busy with the disruptive children with additional needs to help the quiet ones

Spray with something that tastes nasty, but not poisonous! Hypnotism (not joking it works for compulsive behaviours)? Give him something else to do when he feels the urge (coping mechanisms), worry beads, squeezy balls.

Don't his peers give him hell for doing it at school?

Why does he wear an expensive jumper? Makes no sense.
We have a child that age close family with this issue. A necklace designed for this has helped a lot. His clothes isn't expensive. I often repair it to make it last longer.

Ds 7 has a chew necklace. It doesn't completely stop him biting holes in his clothes but it does help.

How about a fabric bracelet type thing that he can chew if he likes the feeling of chewing fabric.

Chewy or cut the old tops into rings and give him one to wear and chew assuming he is old enough that it's safe

Special Pencil toppers glued to pencils can work well for chewing needs in school

Do you think he might be teething OP? My 12 year old is - it's driving her mad - she chews or bites down on pencils for relief. Bonjela helps her.

Maybe a neck muffler?
Preferably in natural fibres then he can chew that and not destroy his clothes & be eating nasty plastics like polyester.
Have you considered SEN or ND?

This would be very concerning to me. Is he responding to some kind of stressor in his life?

People are suggesting you get him something else to chew on, but I don’t see how that would be a good solution. He can’t go around with a saliva-covered “chewy necklace” all the time, it’ll make him a prime target for bullies. And like someone else said, it’s bad for his teeth.