dd1 why have you eaten your homework?

[SheSellsSeashellsByTheSeashore]

dd; because i like eating paper. i have told you.

she is right, she has told me we have had this conversation before many times but i thought it had had stopped.

me; dd why wont you eat you will get very poorly
dd; i do eat. i eat paper i like paper

me; dd what has happened to the bathroom wallpaper
dd; i pulled it off
me; and put it where and we will stick it back on before daddy sees
dd; ive eaten it

i have told her not to eat paper. she has said she wont. i have told her it might make her poorly and she should ask for food if she is hungry. she said she would. i thought she had stopped. she now says she likes eating paper. she doesnt want to stop eating it.

should i be worried? does she need counselling or something? she is five in december btw.

.

OK, don't know if this will help, but knew someone who had a compulsion for eating strange stuff - wood, paper, plastic etc, not just e.g. chewing bic biro but would eat it all. Every book was missing pages. He had eaten so much of his bunk beds as a child that they had to be replaced as were unsafe. He couldn't stop himself and didn't seem to notice when he was doing it.

Turned out it was something to do with anaemia (it was either a rare symptom of it, or a rare form of it).

It might be worth taking her to doctor just to see if anything medical or to get advice on how to 'train' (for lack of better word) her out of it.

I used to eat paper.

Sound advice from Armadillo. Sorry if this is a bit obvious but could you also keep a massive stock of rice paper (sweet sheets) in for her in a place she can easily access, should she feel an urge?

DD (now 18) used to eat paper - especially thin paper, like receipts & the edges off that old fashioned printer paper. I just asked her about it & she said she liked the texture - she can't remember when she stopped - said it was when she discovered gum. I know I didn't let her have gum when she was five, so it might have been about 7 or so. It never seemed to do her any harm, but it might depend on the type of paper & the ink on it.

thats a good idea re the rice paper.i dont know about the anemia. she has never eaten well but had all her bloods done when her weight was low to see if there was any problems. and she has tonnes of energy.

is it worth getting her tested again?

I remember tearing the corner off each page I read and eating it.

Get her a book called "The Incredible book eating boy" my dd loves it.. it won't help your dd (of course) but it is quite funny/sweet and your dd might find it funny..

..It's a bout a boy.. who eats books then goes back to eating broccoli

lol mascara she probably would like that book. this isnt just corners of books though she has eaten half her homework and full strips of wallpaper have gone missing in her room and the bathroom she says that she has eaten them

she just keeps saying that she likes paper. she likes paper better than sweets.

Is it you who have had serious probs with your dd's eating?

If so and she seems to be filling up on paper rather than proper food I would bring it up with doctor and see if there is any tests they can do to determine whether it is medical or behavioural. And then you can see what would be best course of action to take.

yes she is getting better and seemed almost normal wrt her eating after starting school but has begun to wane again now. she left a perfectly good piece of cake to eat her homework.

how am i going to explain that to her teacher "sorry dd cannot hand in her homework she ate it"

i think you are right ill mention it to the doctor and see what he has to say about it. it does seem like an awfull lot of paper.

anyone else have any ideas why she eats paper? or is it just one of those thingd kids do?

I ate loads of paper as a child - every book was missing strips of the pages. I still eat it occasionally, I like the texture and the flavour of certain types. My Dad used to have lovely paper in his study and I used to creep in and eat whole sheets.

As a child I also ate vaseline, wax, flaky bits of brick walls, erasers and chalk. I have stopped eating all those now!

google "pica" this is the medical term for eating non food items. Might find something useful.