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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

ds chewing (and therefore destroying) all his clothes. wtf do I do?

31 replies

ErnestTheBavarian · 02/12/2008 15:36

Driving me mad now.
ds is almost 8.
Chews everything absent mindedly. I watch him play football - he's chewing the vest. Most of his t shirts have teeth marks & holes all round the neck. All his cuffs are chewed to pieces. He has now chewed the zip off his brand new fleece.

It's costing me a fortune. He does it ll the time. I'm obviously not with him all the time. I can't make him buy new stuff - h can't affortd to replace these things.

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Pepa · 02/12/2008 15:38

I have the same problem with my 3yr ds - it is a pain in the butt!! I'll be watching this thread, hope someone comes along with some solutions!

NotBigJustBolshy · 02/12/2008 15:39

I don't have a solution, but if it's any consolation my dd used to do this too and she grew out of it at about 9. She is now 10 and a half and nothing has chew marks in it any more. (Sadly cannot pass any of the school shirts from first school onto ds 'cos she chomped so much of them)

RubyRioja · 02/12/2008 15:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MannyMoeAndJack · 02/12/2008 15:53

Have you tried using chewy tubes?

www.kapitex.com/dysphagia/chewytubes-range

The 'p' and 'q' ones are very tough (ds loves them) but the red 't' has less resistance (ds likes too!).

ohmeohmy · 02/12/2008 15:54

As well as chewing because of teeth, there are proprioceptors in the jaw which give sensory feedback to the brain which can be why they chew. You can get things called chewytubes in the UK and other things like chewy bracelets to try and divert the habit away from clothes. I got some from place in SCotland through ebay.

Original poster

ErnestTheBavarian · 02/12/2008 16:10

He is getting worse not better. So pissed off about brand new fleece which he now can't fasten up. He himself was gutted when he chewed through his favourite t shirt while watching television.

Hate chewing gum, tho thanks for idea

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Original poster

ErnestTheBavarian · 02/12/2008 16:40

MannyMoeAndJack & ohmeohmy - this sort of thing is exactly what I need - thank you - hadn't seen your posts. Ideal though would be this but in necklace form - he needs something always at hand so to speak, otherwise he'll lose it. ecactly right idea, but wrong format...

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ABudafulSightWereHappyTonight · 02/12/2008 16:44

My DS is the same although he hasn't destroyed anything as yet. Have threatened him that if he chews cuff of school jumper any more it will rip and I will still make him wear it.

Mine also makes funny noises in his mouth/throat when he is concentrating.

Is fussy about feel of clothes - hates waistbands with buttons and I have to cut the labels out of loads of his clothes.

Not sure if any of it is connected.

ohmeohmy · 02/12/2008 17:14

chewy bracelets & necklaces available from US. Can't remember where from though. Google chewlery

MaryBeWaiting · 02/12/2008 17:23

Mine keeps chewing his coat, and any shirt with a collar! He's 7. Argh! Its annoying. If its not that, he chews the cuffs.

MaryBeWaiting · 02/12/2008 17:23

Just a thought, can I give him chewsticks like dogs have?

misdee · 02/12/2008 17:25

dd1 also a chewer. drives me mad.

Marne · 02/12/2008 17:25

I was a chewer as a child (well still am .

WhereTheWildThingsWere · 02/12/2008 17:34

www.pills2u.co.uk/66483/Pills2U-Grannicks-Bitter-Apple-Spray.htmlThis is what I use to stop puppies chewing, is quite natural as I recall and odour free.

Just an idea.

Original poster

ErnestTheBavarian · 02/12/2008 17:35

ah, found lots of good ideas, thanks so much ohmeohmy - had no idea such stuff existed. All in US tho so far

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AnyFuckerForAMincePie · 02/12/2008 17:38

my son did this for a little while

all his school jumpers had holes in the sleeves !

he grew out of it after a few months

we had a zero-tolerance policy at home, but there isn't much you can do when you are not there

seems it was just a phase, as his friends did it too

he is nearly 9yo

stitch · 02/12/2008 17:59

wait patiently until he grows out of it.

MannyMoeAndJack · 02/12/2008 18:03

You could attach the 'p' to one of these:

shopping.msn.com/specs/coiled-cord-key-chain/itemid898698096/?itemtext=itemname:coiled-cord-key-chai n

(which are easily available from cobblers for about £1.50)

and then attach the keyring to his clothes?

Original poster

ErnestTheBavarian · 03/12/2008 07:57

key thing no bad idea, will investigate options when out & about in next few days.

stitch, I won't hold my breath re growing out of it. dh is terrible chewer & has constantly got pen top/paper clip/bottle top etc etc in mouth.

Problem is ds is destroying all of his clothes, which is a double whammy, as I have to buy him more clothes and I also can't pass them on to ds3, so it's costing me double. He seems to need to chew, so I'm gonna have a bash at re directing his teeth

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basementbear · 03/12/2008 14:03

I have a friend with the same problem. She told her DS that every time he ruined another school jumper she would ask Gran/Auntie etc to buy him a new jumper for Xmas/birthday instead of the toy he really wanted. Threatened with the prospect of opening nothing but new school jumpers on Christmas Day he soon dropped the habit!

Bramshott · 03/12/2008 14:16

You can buy a chewelery bracelet or necklace here although I can't quite see how they work and whether you get to choose the colour. Are all those circles bracelets, or do they link together?

Quite tempted to get one for DD1 as she chews her sleeves (as do many of her classmates). Aparently I used to do it too !

pagwatch · 03/12/2008 14:19

Can I just say - a lot of children who have ASD and dietary issues on a SN website I used to use had this.

They had connected it with a lack of certain minerals - a lot of children with ASD have limited diets and can have vit and mineral deficiencies. I think it might have been zinc ( from memory).
When the parents added zinc drops or a multi vit with zinc they stopped doing it.

Let me check.....

pagwatch · 03/12/2008 14:25

Yes
It is zinc.

Might be worth trying. Probably cheaper than new jumpers

ohmeohmy · 03/12/2008 14:29

Had call from teacher...she had written long message in contact book but DS had eaten it! Bit better than the toilet paper found him eating last night

Original poster

ErnestTheBavarian · 03/12/2008 14:36

The thing is, re punishing ds2 for it, I'm not sure it's necessarily something he could control that easily. ds1 is also a prolific chewer (of himself rather than clothes) as is his dad, He also has adhd, which may be linked. I think trying to do something contructive to redirect chewing would be better than punishing. Interesting to see mineral link. WOnder if/how I can address this? I know his younger bro, ds3 has low iron... i think he's just have a sitey Christmas and birthday, and still chew everythiing. This is not a new or sudden problem, but is getting worse.

thanks for link, bramshott, I can't quite work it out either, whether it's a job lot, in which case, who needs that many? or just 1, in which case, very expensive?

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