15 month old chews toys, books..everything!

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

ilovetochatupsanta · 05/12/2008 13:09

dd 17 months is the same, i don't worry too much.

chuckeyegg · 05/12/2008 17:36

DS is 25 months and only just started to chew less.

dairymoo · 05/12/2008 21:26

One of my 15mo DTs is exactly the same - has strange attachments to inappropriate objects (credit card, jam jar lid ) and then wags her finget at me saying no no no when I ask her to take said object out of her mouth. And oh the dribble......

dairymoo · 05/12/2008 21:26

finger, obviously

ToThrottleaRedRobin · 06/12/2008 14:40

DD 15months chews everything and puts everything in her mouth. At soft play she picks up food off the floor. Yesterday she picked up a 2p and had that in her mouth

Victoria72 · 08/12/2008 13:29

DS15mo, exactly the same. Strokes cat and then licks his hand, resulting in black fur all over his tongue. Nice. Pulls the hair from my hairbrush and eats that. Grit, filth, anything on the floor - in the mouth. Drinks soapy bath water too. Obviously a food critique in the making.

Kelix · 08/12/2008 13:40

My DD is the same tho only almost 11 months. She does take things out of her mouth when I tell her No but then puts them back in about 2 seconds later! She also loves the shampoo bottles and will scream the house down when I take it off her (god knows how she actually finds the shampoo bottle in the first place?!)

Victoria72 - sorry but and lol at the same time at you DS stroking the cat and then licking his hand! You will have to remind him of that one when he is older

I dont really have any advice (sorry) its easy to put things away when at home but at toddler group/outside etc theres only so much you can do. I imagine she (and my DD hopefully) will grow out of it soon. Untill then make sure you have eyes in the back of your head.

MrsBadger · 08/12/2008 13:42

absolutely normal

the only thing I would advise is to stop wagging the finger as it drives you insane when they do it back to you

if it is dangerously chokeworthy (eg bottle top) say no and take it away

if it is too precious for chewing (eg dh's bank statement) say no, take it away and put it out of reach

if it is just you going eurgh (newspaper, shampoo bottle, own sock) let her get on with it

it will probably abate once all her teeth are through

The only other thing i can think of is if she's thirsty - apart from anythign else the spout of a sippy cup is a good (safe non-choky, easily washable, portable and socially acceptable) chew toy

StephanieByng · 08/12/2008 14:13

Agree it's a normal stage of development. Think it's pointless to say no; if it's not as Mrs B says, chokeworthy, let her get on with it. No point trying to go against nature, cos nature will always win! If she COULD stop, she would have done by now wouldn't she? Let it take it's course - if she's chewing something she shouldn't, replace it with something she can.

Original poster

henjen · 15/12/2008 21:14

Oh well, it sounds like its completely normal. At least I am cheered up by your comments, some of which were actually quite funny..cat fur and soapy bathwater

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Vittoria123 · 04/07/2024 18:16

henjen · 05/12/2008 13:08

My 15month old dd1 chews toys, books and will put anything in her mouth that she can reach..chews spines of books, paint off wooden toys, if she gets the chance eats wipes, nappies, paper, letters, cd boxes, tv remote, sponges, chews the top of the shampoo bottles, etc etc. She doesnt seem to care if things taste horrible or she has shampoo in her mouth.
She has a rabbit that she chews the ears of when she is wanting comfort or going to sleep and we encourage her in this as it is her comfort thing (The ears used to be soft and fluffy but now are bald and a bit crispy with repeated washing!) The only thing she doesnt seem to be interested in is fabric (except the rabbit). She has never had a dummy.
I can't do anything creative with her as she will lick paint off her hands, eat crayons, pens etc.
At toddler group she seems to find something that will fit in her mouth then wander around with it there and play at the same time.
I have said no but she continues to do and now just waves her pointing finger back and forward like we do so she does recognise its something that mummy doesn't want her to do.
She did go through a phase of biting me (not other people) but I think she has stopped as I recognised she would only do it when she didn't want me to hold her and now know the signs.
What should I do? I am at the end of my tether today and fed up of saying 'no'.

How’s your little one doing ? Any more concerns. Mine is 17 months and occasionally she licks her hands

Original poster

henjen · 01/08/2024 11:18

This is a very old post, my 'little one' is now 17! It has been a big journey since then with lots of hard work and many tears.

I raised my concerns with a GP (that didn't come to anything) but when they got to nursery I raised them again and we started our journey on the NHS 'system'.

My child was diagnosed with Autism (spot the sensory needs!) at age 4 and ADHD at age 12. However they are starting their last year at secondary school this term and we are currently waiting on a bunch of exam results so I think they have done pretty well so far. We still have a long journey ahead of us. Things aren't smooth and life stages don't happen at the same time as for other teens/ parents but I think with our experience now, we will manage one way or another.

From the sounds of it, your little one is 'occasionally' licking her hands, doesn't sound like a big worry to me but you know best.

For anyone who suspects something is not quite going the way the books say it will I advise you to raise your concerns as early as you can, learn everything you can, don't expect the NHS to provide a quick fix (they can't), do everything you can to protect your child's mental health but also try to keep them in school or at least some kind of in-person gathering, think outside of the box (other people are doing this, how can we get to that stage in a different way), break everything down into small steps and congratulate yourself for tiny bits of progress!! Good luck. x

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Vittoria123 · 01/08/2024 11:26

henjen · 01/08/2024 11:18

This is a very old post, my 'little one' is now 17! It has been a big journey since then with lots of hard work and many tears.

I raised my concerns with a GP (that didn't come to anything) but when they got to nursery I raised them again and we started our journey on the NHS 'system'.

My child was diagnosed with Autism (spot the sensory needs!) at age 4 and ADHD at age 12. However they are starting their last year at secondary school this term and we are currently waiting on a bunch of exam results so I think they have done pretty well so far. We still have a long journey ahead of us. Things aren't smooth and life stages don't happen at the same time as for other teens/ parents but I think with our experience now, we will manage one way or another.

From the sounds of it, your little one is 'occasionally' licking her hands, doesn't sound like a big worry to me but you know best.

For anyone who suspects something is not quite going the way the books say it will I advise you to raise your concerns as early as you can, learn everything you can, don't expect the NHS to provide a quick fix (they can't), do everything you can to protect your child's mental health but also try to keep them in school or at least some kind of in-person gathering, think outside of the box (other people are doing this, how can we get to that stage in a different way), break everything down into small steps and congratulate yourself for tiny bits of progress!! Good luck. x

Thank you so so much for your reply . May i ask if you had any others concern regarding her development around that age ? ☺️

Original poster

henjen · 01/08/2024 12:36

I expect I voiced all my concerns in the post at the time. She did later start what I now know is 'stimming' at around age 2.

What the 'specialists'/ NHS person will do it assess your child's behaviour in relation to others. (Sorry, I don't work for the NHS, this is just my own observation, if anyone has more correct information, please tell!!). From what I gather if 40% of children are still licking / chewing at the same age then that probably wouldn't be a red flag concern. it just means that the stage is being grown out of and everyone does it at their own pace. However if only 2% of children are doing it at your child's age, then that might be a red flag.

My child was given an 'attention' red flag around age 10 because up until that age more than 5% of children her age still had poor attention. Children often grow out of stages, it's a wait and see thing. I know it can be hard though as you wait but there's no harm in raising it anyway.

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