DD started school in August and immediately started chewing her hair. I told her, as kindly as I could, that she’d have to get a bob at Christmas time if she didn’t stop. She did, but has moved on to chewing her clothing. There is a hole in her school coat and mishappen collars and cuffs on all her polo shirts and jumpers.
She quite likes school, although I do think she thing she has found the transition to sitting and being expected to do tasks a bit stifling, she only turned 5 in November. Academically she is coping very well, her teacher is happy with how she is getting on. She plays with anyone, but hasn’t really made any close friends, although I don’t think this bothers her at all. I think she is a happy girl, although I am worried that the chewing signifies some sort of underlying anxiety. I know it can be linked to ASD/ADHD, but I’m not worried about that, there are no other indicators.
What have other people done to tackle this? Did anyone discover a trigger/root cause for their child? I’m thinking of buying her a special bracelet to chew, not sure if that would be helpful. I’ve explained to her that we don’t have enough money to buy replacement clothes if she is chewing them, she is sorry but I know she’s not really aware of the fact that she’s chewing, although I guess she did manage to stop chewing her hair.
What have others with chewy children done?