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Children's health

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Anyone’s child have or had Tics?

42 replies

CocoBean22 · 22/04/2026 15:46

DS 8 years old started blinking hard with both eyes around 2 months ago. Then over the last week he has started shrugging his left shoulder upto his chin like he’s rubbing his chin against his shoulder.
He also had a sniffing tic a few months ago that disappeared as soon as it came.
Ive spoke to the doctor who isn’t worried and said that it’s super common in school age kids and that he will very likely grow out of it.
Has anyone else had or have a child with a tic and they disappeared in time?

Just stressing about it being Tourette’s 🤦🏻‍♀️

OP posts:
Natsku · Yesterday 08:09

DS started having eye rolling and squinting tics when he was 6, doctor referred to a specialist who just said its very common and no need to worry yet. They have faded away and come back a few times, more so when he's excited or stressed. He's 8 now and still has them so going to bring it up at his 1st grade check up, he also has some adhd symptoms and I understood the two can go together so more reason for me to bring it up.

burgerbunz · Yesterday 08:13

DS had some mild tics, he grew out of them but was later diagnosed with ASD.

inigomontoyahwillcox · Yesterday 12:35

My daughter has chronic tic disorder; she started with a grimacing tic when she was about 11, she also has one when she raises one shoulder and her head tips to connect with it - this causes pain after a day or 2. It waxes and wanes dependent on stress and tiredness. Her neurologist said that it will also rear its head when she goes through significant hormonal changes such as puberty, pregnancy and menopause.

She also got diagnosed with ADHD at around the same time and her paediatrician mentioned that they are common co-morbidities.

WhatAMarvelousTune · Yesterday 12:39

I did, I grew out of them. For me they were stress/anxiety related, and although I don’t have the tics anymore, I do have an anxiety disorder and panic attacks.

Yabbadabbadooooooo · Yesterday 18:39

Look up PANS / PANDAS in case it’s that.

Bobbi73 · Yesterday 18:43

My son has had tics since he was about 6 or 7. At nearly 12, he has almost grown out of them. When he’s really tired or stressed he may tic a little now but it’s nothing like it was. Best advice is, don’t mention it unless he does and if he does, minimise it. Tell him lots of children have them and it’s normal. My son has a magnesium gummy every day which I think helps. Tell his teachers just so they are aware and that he’s not being naughty. Most teachers will have seen it before but it’s good to mention it. Try not to worry, most children grow out of it or learn to manage them.

AuntChippy · Yesterday 18:46

Our 6 year old son developed a blinking tic. I was (silently) very worried, but it just stopped after about 2 weeks. My SENCO friend at the time, told me it’s incredibly common at this age, especially in boys and instructed me to ignore it (that bit was hard).

Fatiguedwithlife · Yesterday 19:00

My DD2 had a sniffing and throat clearing tic aged 3/4 but it was during Covid so I assumed she was absorbing everyone’s stress. She doesn’t tic now Aged 9 but has recently started biting her nails. She’s not an outwardly anxious kid, seems happy enough.

minisago · Yesterday 19:02

Yes! Mine! DS9, they tend to come and go. If one ends, it’s replaced by a different one. First ever one was a verbal tic during early lockdown whilst nursery was closed, he was 3.5 then. Since then we’ve had more physical ones. Current one is eyes closed whilst doing this odd hop/skip/shuffle thing. And he repeats words and phrases. I also worry about Tourette’s tbh. Reassuring to know your GP says they’re super common. I’m not too worried, hoping he will just grow out of it.

minisago · Yesterday 19:04

Like PPs have said, I also don’t draw attention or mind to it and they tend to just fade, until the next one!

liveforsummer · Yesterday 19:51

Dd had loads throughout nursery and primary. Eye blinking and shoulder shrugging and nodding being the main ones and worse when tired. She’s 13 now and basically vanished from really rare occasions where you might notice a super subtle nod if in a new situation where she feels nervous.

liveforsummer · Yesterday 19:52

Oh a op has just remedied me of the skip when walking too. I’d forgotten about that, it’s been gone a while

StormGazing · Yesterday 20:03

Tourette’s needs to be at least a year of tics. My eldest had tics which are TS, my DS is younger and also has both motor and vocal tics, they went, but he had them on and off for ages, especially the vocal tics, coughs … they have disappeared again now, your GP said the same as mine, common in kids, often goes away.
DD17 with TS manages it well with drugs, it’s not that big a deal

sociableintrovert123 · Yesterday 20:19

My DS had tics from about the age of 8 I think and they have now gone age 15. He rolled his shoulders a lot (he says his shirt collars irritated him) and blinked and rolled his eyes up. He probably had other tics but I can’t remember. All motor tics, no verbal. They were much worse when he was tired, stressed or excited. He’s not an anxious child at all. We had a paediatrician appointment for a different issue and we mentioned the tics. The doctor said they are common, he should grow out of them and not to draw attention to them. I tried not to mention them but sometimes I blurted out and asked my DS to stop doing whatever tic he was doing at the time. I felt awful afterwards as it just upset my DS as he couldn’t help them. I know it’s worrying as the portrayal of Tourette’s in the media is really extreme but I’m sure your DS will grow out of the tics. Just try to ignore them.

Monvelo · Yesterday 22:34

My 8 yo has had various tic habits, blinking hard, a habit cough, going round with his pointing fingers on his incisor teeth constantly, currently he's into putting his fingers in his mouth then onto his nostrils repeatedly. Each time it's worn off and something else has come in.

pasanda · Yesterday 22:35

My ds had tics from aged 4. Diagnosed Tourette’s aged 22. His neurologist said that 70% of people with TS have ADHD.

eastegg · Yesterday 23:10

I have 3 DSs, both eldest and youngest, who are now 16 and 8, have had tics where they move their eyes to the side, with a bit of a head/neck movement with it. I’d kind of forgotten that my eldest had done it until youngest started recently, and got a bit worried about youngest as I was already looking out for eyesight issues and linked it potentially with that. Happened to have my own opticians appointment this week and mentioned it because it’s eye related, and as part of his answer my optician said the blinking one is really common, it was the first thing he mentioned when telling me about common tics in children to do with eyes. My eldest grew out of his btw, although I would say he has a slight tendency to do it sometimes, but at one point when he was about 6 he did it loads.

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