3 Year Old Weird Habit

My son does this too, and the drier the skin gets the more he does it. I think it makes it feel better. I get the Eucerin in the cold cream type container. It's really thick and seems to stay on. Try putting it on before bed (rub it in really well), and usually by morning the skin isn't so dry.

Hi, My daughter who is now 8 went thru this phase , what we did is always carried chapstick, and any time we saw her doing this pulled it out and gave her , her own and kept one on us, so it made her feel like she was special cus she had her own grown up chapstick it worked after a couple of trying days .. and haven't had any problems since ..we just had to really keep pushing the chapstick . hope this helps =)

Hi Zule!

I have a nephew that had this same problem. We put some carmax all around his mouth. He didn't like the tast of it and stoped doing it. It also helped to heal the area. Hope this helps!

M. B

Not a weird habit, maybe its a boy habit. My 11 year old boy does the same thing, I have found that if I use Orajel (toothache pain reliever) and Carmex, he doesn't lick his lips and they heal. Just use a little of the Orajel around his lips (it numbs the lips)and then put on the Carmex, it works. Good luck.

Try vaseline. Usually that will take the pain away, and it won't hurt for him to lick it. But you might look into it he might have somekind of food allergy. good luck

A.,
It isn't a weird or unordinary habit at all.My 3 year had the same problem. Most toddlers do it. But the reason why toddlers lick their mouth or lips is because of the dry, cold season and because they need chapstick 24/7. So I would go with a kid-friendly chapstick or even Vaseline (love that stuff!). What I did was put BABY lotion around her outer lip, and that stopped her from licking her lips because of the taste. It is totally safe. It wouldn't harm him at all if you used BABY LOTION. Vaseline (potrolium jelly- same thing) would work too. If my daughter wouldn't let me put it on her, I would make sure I carefully put it on her during naptime or bedtime. It worked well for me. Good Luck!

I had the same problem with my child. What helped with the chaffing and the redness was to put on some Aquaphor ointment around her mouth throughout the day and before she went to bed each night. As for getting her to stop, we really didn't do anything, it was a temporary phase and it went away on its own after about a month. The Aquaphor was a great help in soothing the dried area though. I hope that helps at least with the dryness and redness.

My son used to do this same thing when he was 3. I never did figure out how to stop him from doing it. He just quit on his own one day. He must of got sick of it always being sore.

My 7 year daughter does this all the time. I use really good lotion called Renew Intensive Therapy because it has no chemicals in it that will harm her health. It works great, but more importantly than that, my daughter has a little sensory issue going on. That is why she does it. She needs to feel her mouth move so giving her gum to chew has tremendously helped the problem. She doesn't have to lick when she is chewing. She goes to a charter school that approved her chewing gum in class as long as she was quiet about it.

Good luck.
J. L.
www.livetotalwellness.com/janislanz

Zule,
I have a 5 year old that does the same thing. He has for a couple of years now. A friend of mine with a kid the same age also does the same thing and they recommended I use Aquaphor for it. I have tried it and it does help to clear up the readness. I have not found a way to get him to stop, but thought I would suggest this for the pain and to help clear it up. I have pasted a link below for more information on the medicine. Hope this will help.
P.

http://www.eucerinus.com/skincare/moisturizingandhealing/...

Hi there, It sounds like your sons mouth is chapped, which is typical for this time of year. Have you tried lip balm or chap stick. My 3 yr old daughter just loves this vitamin lip gloss, maybe they make it in a clear color too, It keeps her lips shiny and chap free!! Now if I could only find something for my dry cracked lips...

Is it possible that your 3 your old is congested, with a stuffy nose and is breathing through his mouth. If he has to breath thru his mouth, this would make his lips dry and would cause him to lick. Just a thought.
Best of luck to you. Heidi

Well start with the simplest, put chapstick around the area of the mouth, I wasn't sure if he is just licking around the outer area of the lip line or not, but I know that area gets chapped on me and my daughter often and we wet around our lip line of our mouths just to get some releif. We've learned to put chap stick on for a couple of days until the chapped area goes away. This may not be his problem, but it won't hurt him.

Thanks,
LW

Hola Zulema,

My children sometimes do that "licking the lips" habit... I think it all starts out with their lips being dry and they start licking them...this dries the lips out more, so the kids lick them more... It's an ongoing cycle.
What I did to help stop this habit was to buy some medicated Balmex (or Carmex) lip balm [NOT chapstick!] and put it on the child's lips several times a day. (I kept it with me so that I could apply the lip balm during the middle of the day wherever we were...) As I put the lip balm on their lips, I explained that since he had been licking his lips they are now dry and chapped and that if he continues to lick his lips that they will continue to get worse. It doesn't matter if the child does not understand every word...Sometimes the child likes to apply the lip balm themselves--that's OK if you put the amount you want them to have on their finger and not let them "eat" the lip balm. The lip balm will moisten the lips and help prevent the lips from getting more chapped, plus it will help the sore lips to heal. It takes several days to completely heal.
Good luck! !Buenas Suerte!

L.

A little about me: I am 37 yrs old and mother of 5 children ages 10, 9, 7, 4, and 2. We've learned LOTS through our experiences and am happy to share my knowledge. :-)

I have a 5 year old that has this habit. I have found that lotion is a good deterrent, and since it is not really harmful or poisonous. It is a good way to stop her from licking.,

Both of my kids have done this, my 3 1/2 year old still does. The best thing is to ignore it, put aqua phor on it at night to heal and try to not point it out to him as habits like these get esculated if you point it out as I have learned the hard way. Try keeping chapstick on it if he goes outside too to prevent further chapping, but yes, it is a phase. With my 6 year old I am going through her wiping her mouth with her sleeve and her mouth is constantly chapped, red and her sleeves are stained, hee hee!!!!

Both my boys had what we called"Piggy Lips." The doctor suggested we get some really strong Carmax that tasted bad and keep their lips moisturized. Lots of kids lick their lips especially when they are stressed. Make sure your home life is calm.

Hi Zule,
I am a grandmother of a 5 year old grandson. It started when he was 2 he would lick his lips and get it red and irrated around his lips. We conquered the problem by using chapstick. Have you tried chapstick? I am sure there is nothing harmful in it since it is applied directly to the lips. We gave him his own tube of chapstick, but was controlled by an adult when he could and couldn't use it. Do not give him a flavored chapstick that will encourage him to lick his lips more. Each time he starts licking have him apply the chapstick to his lips. I don't think you can use it to much. My grandson still has to use chapstick quite often and has control of his own now that he is 5. Hope this helps. Wanda

my dad threatend to put cow poop on my lips and it worked, i neve licked my lips again after that. he said he was going to put it on while i was asleep so i would just like it off when i woke up . i never knew if he did or not probably not but just in case i didnt lick anymore

Hi,
Interestingly enough my 10 year old son does the same thing. He has been doing it for years now, though he only does it in the winter. I think he does it because his lips get chapped and he is trying to moisten them, though he is only making it worse. I would get a very gentle lip balm and keep that on there to heal the irritated skin. When it is completely better if he is still doing it, I would then use a bad tasting oil around his lips... ie put a drop of pepper in some olive oil and put that around his mouth. Be sure not to put too much though so it doesn't iriitate his skin.

Hi Zulema. I used to do this as a child. I would be red and swollen and cracked all around my lips. It was very painful but if I licked them, it would relieve the pain...for a few minutes, then, I'd lick again. CHAPSTICK! That is the only suggestion I have. Well, chapstick or vasoline. I wouldn't use any flavored ones. That may cause him to lick for the flavor. Get him his own and tell him to keep it in his pocket. When you see him licking his lips, remind him to use the chapstick. I hope you all find a solution soon. I'm sure it's just a habbit that he'll outgrow.

Hi Zulema,
May I recommend increasing your sons water intake.
Reduce salt and sugar and see if this clears his redness.
In the cooler weather dried lips and chapped lips are common.
You may also put some alo vera chap stick on his tender lips.

C.
http://www.lose7-15lbs-9days.com

Rather than lotion, a healing herbal salve to sooth the skin, and though it doesn't taste as bad as lotion, it is safe and a little waxy. And Nutritional Yeast (B vitamins), there is probably a constitutional Homeopathic remedy, maybe Phosphorus, check with a local homeopath.

not sure how to cure him of it- but aquaphor- something like vaseline- would be the best thing to try to clear it up. It is fabulous stuff- you can buy it at the drug store or supermarket in small or large containers. I use it all the time- no diaper rash ever!
B.

My son did the same thing when he was younger. It was a nervous habit that probably started with chapped lips at some point in time. I guess just trying to keep it moist so your child does not have to. When you see him licking his lips, divert his attention through play or reading to him.

I don't know how you feel about this but I would suggest getting a boy doll that he can identify with and bond with it. Role play, put some splotches around the doll's mouth and sit down with your son and role play. At this age usually they want to care for items they can identify with. Tell him that he is doing the same thing and he has an owey and he wants him to care for him. There is a psycholigical reason he is doing this, does he do it when he's nervous or uncomfortable or is it just an all around habit? If you can get to the root of when it occurrs it's no different than thumb sucking. It's just one of those things as parents need to see the whole picture. At this point it's probably itching which is perpetuating the situation. Put medicine on it while he is sleeping and praise him when he makes a conscious choice not to do it. Reward progress with his favorite drink or cartoon. Hope this helps and good luck!

My 9 yr old used to do this when he was your sons age...it was just a bad habit (He used to suck on the collars of his shirts too).
We used to call him "chapped chin."

I used the Madela Lanolin nipple cream that I had left over from when I breastfed. It was very concentrated, so it stayed on pretty well even when he was licking his face and I wouldnt have to worry about him consuming it.

Good luck!

My 3 year old daughter does this sometimes too. We are not sure why. We notice the problem most often when she's been at daycare all day. Recently we gave her some chapstick to take with her to daycare and that seems to have corrected problem. When it was really bad, we slathered her lips and face with lanolin (used for breastfeeding) at night. It's kind of greasy, but it works well!

I use Lanolin for Breast Feeding Mothers, in the purple tube. I've used it since I was in college and now use it on my own family. Also, A & D ointment is a miracle salve. You may try it.

Try giving him chapstick. Tell him it's a big boy priveledge and it gets to stay on, not get licked off. My kids like it.

I agree about the nipple ointment. Lasinoh or something similar. It'll stay on, it doesn't taste great so it won't make him want to lick it but it is completely safe as long as he isn't allergic to wool. Otherwise maybe vaseline or something else that is thick and unappealing but digestable.

Try chapstick. It won't hurt him. Even if he licks it, once he tastes it he won't keep doing it and it isn't enough that would be digested that would harm him.