Advice on Hair Chewing / Sucking... Yuck

has she always been especially 'chewy' and now she is choosing her hair?

is there something new going on in her life that would be causing her stress?
it does NOT have to be stress related, just something to consider

my niece had sensory issues (went to an OT) and also has long hair that she chewed. my sister got her the letter P to chew on. sounds funny, but true. she'd try to gently re-direct her chewing to the letter- she even put it on a string as a necklace at times.
here it is:
http://www.arktherapeutic.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Scre...

HTH (hope this helps)

I had this terrible habit as a young girl as well. I remember exactly what my mom told me to get me to finally stop. She told me about a little girl who died and when they tried to find out how she died they found a huge hair ball in her stomach. My mom had the story linger a little bit, and it totally wasnt true, although it doesnt sound impossible. And that honestly made me stop. Thinking about it now that I am a mother myself, my mom may have been a bit morbid telling me that, and maybe she said it nicer and the effect was just strong enough for me. But maybe this can give you some ideas or something. Good luck

Here is another website for the chew items.

http://nationalautismresources.com/psqs.html

My daughter used to chew on her hair in the shower and I was able to transition her to use these instead. Good Luck!

It's probably just a phase. I can remember sucking on my hair when I was a child. And on the front of my shirts, too. But I don't NOW. I also used to chew my nails... not NOW. My own son went through a brief phase where he sucked/chewed on the collar of his shirts. It was less than a year or so.... then he quit.

You might try offering her something ELSE that is acceptable to chew/suck on when she feels so inclined. It is a mindless activity that she probably is not very conscious of doing.. so suggesting she use an alternative object(s) might prompt her to notice the behavior more (and curtain it) without a lot of intervention on your part. Let her know that it is damaging to her hair and ask her if she wants to use something else to chew/suck on (offer her some ideas and go shopping for the item if you need to). Then give her a little space and time. She'll probably cut back or quit altogether in a few months.

See if there's a way to help her relieve/release any tension or insecurity she has that may be fueling the sucking behavior. You could cut her hair, though with that not available she might find something else to suck on.

I had to cut my daughters hair for the same reason. You don't have to get a boy cut, hers was a short "page" cut. If you have to go this route, it grows back, and it grows back healthier. For my daughter this was enough to break the cycle after keeping her hair short for six months. Once in awile I will catch her starting again, and I remind her, then it stops.

This too shall pass. Probably when another child her age tells her that it is yukky. Or the teacher has a talk with her at your suggestion. It will work out.

Good lord, girl, what a dilema. I agree, it's a gross habit. But what does that say about a kid who sucks on their hair? It appears to be psychological, and what does your pediatrician say?
Have it cut already; and get her into some activity that takes her out of this senseless habit...like gymnastics, art classes, science, reading club at the library, arts and crafts, any and all activities that keep her hands busy. Teach her to knit, collage, help you with folding laundry, etc.
And blessings to you, you deserve it for being a saint...

My friend's daughter has that habit so they keep her hair in a roundish bob that's just short enough in the front to not reach her mouth. I see her chew on her collar of her coat and other clothes. She's 5 too. Since the haircut she doesn't chew her hair anymore. Some kids are prone to it. I'm not sure what would help but the haircut. she may just chew/suck on something else though.

Hi J.
My daughter did that quite a bit when she was about 5 also. She is now 7 and I can't remember the last time I saw her do it (it was gross and drove me nuts). I think as they mature they don't want to be seen doing things like that. She also just stopped sucking her thumb at night on her own. She just said she was going to try to stop and did. She has grown a lot in a year or two! So I am sure yours will stop soon too. Good luck!

I don't know if this would help, but they make a spray to prevent birds from chewing on things called 'Better Bitters.' It's made out of natural ingredients and tastes extremely sour and bitter.

At least she's not eating her hair. My sister-in-law's daughter went through a phrase where she would pull her hair out and eat it. She had several bald spots for a while, but eventually grew out of it....

Good luck!

Hi J. - I fully understand how you feel about the situation. OK. I have an 12 year old nail biter - feet included! - how gross it that? I have a 9 year old destroying machine when it comes to clothes - chews off buttons, collars, t-shirt neck bands. They are not going to stop until we can figure out WHY they are doing it. For some it really is just a phase though.

Last night I caught my 10 year old putting her hair in her mouth - this is a new thing. I can remember doing it too when I was probably between 7-10 (somewhere in there) I am 47 now so it is hard to be precise!!

My son has bad ADHD, plus he has nervous energy and he stutters, so he has an oral fixation. The speech teacher at school gave him a rubber "P" that is made especially for special ed students. He stopped chewing up pencils once he got that. I have to sanitize it daily but he likes it. I will not allow gum for my kids but that could be an option for some.

Trust me I have tried talking to them, shaming them, the eating germs thing, paint on polish (nails), putting tape on the fingers at night, taping gloves on to hands at night,
spraying "bitter" spray on to clothes accessible to the mouth, a giant reward program, extra allowancs, treats and so far still no nails growing, still chewed on clothing in the laundry. Habits have to be changed. I fear that if you cut her hair she might replace that with something else - then what?

Some times we, as parents, have to learn to ignore it - providing they are not hurting themselves or anybody else.

Have you tried putting food coloring on the end of say braids? if she is blond - use yellow, dark haired use red and when she puts it in her mouth it will turn her mouth that color - at least you will know if she has done it or not.

Good luck with what ever you decide.

M. F

Hi J.,

OCD and Sensory issues come directly from neurological toxins. My daughter was diagnosed with ADHD when she was little and when I detoxed our home and put her on an absorbable multivitamin, the doctor removed the diagnosis. I homeschool so I didn't have a school system trying to get me to medicate her. I just put up with the behavior. I didn't even detox specifically to help her, I was naive and didn't know anything about the synthetic chemicals in my house and I used a lot of them (cleaning, bath and body, over the counter meds). When I got rid of them for cost savings, my daughter's behavior changed drastically. She was a hair chewer (so I cut her hair). She put every small thing she could find in an ear or up a nose simply out of what I thought was boredom. She bounced like a Jack Russell Terrier looking for a treat. She even tapped her feet while she slept. ALL of these things are gone, she's an A+++ student, focused and has even thanked me for helping her.

I don't know if all of Brynn's issues come from chemicals but it's a cheap test to try...If you'd like any more information, please feel free to ask.

God bless,

M.
www.squidoo.com/ifyourbabycouldtalk

Try holding it back with barettes, bows, cute accesories, even gel. Try a princess crown! If that doesn't help, cut it. It doesn't have to look like a boy's cut. Your beautician has lots of ideas on cute haircuts for girls.

Personally, I wouldn't dream of cutting my daughter's hair, unless she wanted it cut. Drastic changes to a girl's hair is tramatic. What if it was you?

Have you considered "fixing" her hair everyday into a style that would not allow her to get her hair into her mouth. You know, like pigtails, then braided and bobby pinned. Cute and unaccessable. Check out his ladies blog - she takes pix of her girls fabulous hair styles. http://shedoeshair.blogspot.com/ I wish I knew this gal, cause me and her would be friends. I just know it....

Now that I've thought about it for a minute, I think I would put her to bed earlier to make sure she is getting sleep (sleeplessness causes stress). Monitor TV and video games(can cause stress in kids). I would make sure she had a great breakfast and a multivitamin (to make sure she has the nutrition she needs). Then, I would have a hair dressing session (to get it out of her reach).

Good luck, this is a tough one. Sucking hair would drive me crazy, so I feel your pain.

S.

Cut her hair. If you go to a barber shop, they will butcher her hair and make it ugly. Take her to YOUR stylist and explain that you need it cut short enough to keep it out of her mouth while looking girly. My girls had short hair and neither of them looked like a boy. Girls can have their hair cut short too!