is this a nervous habit? what should I do?

[santander]

My ds has developed a habit of both blinking and wiping his face with his hand or his sleeve. He does the face wiping thing constantly. He doesn't have a runny nose or eyes, he just looks as if he is wiping his eyes or nose ALL the time.

My dh says he noticed him first doing it after having a cold about 3 weeks ago. I never noticed, I'm ashamed to say. It seems as if it is a nervous thing. I'm worried. I will speak to the HV about it, but in the meantime, has anyone experienced anything similar and did it resolve itself?

How old is he? MY DD is 6 and she has had a few of these...but then so did I as a child!

I think in general they correct themselves...I never said a word to my DD about her habit of whispering the lst word of each sentence she said...even though it is a classic Aspergers sign! She stopped doing it after 6 months.

As your Ds habit is physical you could give him a hanky...and when he does the wipe...say "Where is your hanky?" and then give it and make him use it...it could change the habit?

Also have you thought about getting his eyes tested? If they feel strained then he could be reacting to that.

It sounds very much like your son has a simple tic - they can be transient or sometimes last longer. Tics are involuntary movements or vocal sounds, so if they are tics, your ds is not consciously blinking or wiping his face. Advice is always to ignore simple tics, they tend to resolve over time. Boys more commonly experience tics than girls and the usual age for them to present is from 6 yrs or therabouts. Blinking, sniffing and making movements in the head/neck region are classic symptoms.

Summer11 my ds1 gets these. Latest one is blowing. I do try to ignore. Is that the best thing? Do you know of any info on the net about it? Is it common?

My ds had a blinky tic when he was 6.

Have to say I was worried sick that it was going to be permanent but took advice from wise friends and ignored (God, that was hard) and within about a month it was gone.

Has had very rare recurrences (beginning of new school year usually), but only lasts a day or 2.

DollyTwat,

There's lots of info on the web - just google 'childhood tics'. It is more common than you would realise and yes, you are best to ignore it. Excitement and stress can be triggers so not making an issue of it makes sense.