Advice on How to Stop a Chewer?

Google chew time, chewy foods, hot to stop a biter, etc....each of these topics will deal with a child who is chewing or biting.

In child care we first figure out what's going on, are they starting that dreaded biting phase or are they teething and in pain. Chewing makes teething pain basically go away since it makes the gums around the tooth stretch and sometimes even tear a bit so the tooth has more room. It can also make that first hole so the tooth can erupt.

I would take the little one to the pediatric dentist and get the regular check up, he may have a cavity starting or a tooth that needs assistance. He may just be fine too and one of those kids that like to taste every thing and in this case likes the taste of paper.

Give him several chewy toys and hand them to him to chew every time you see him chewing on something he's to not chew on.

Ditto the ideas below especially the idea of taking him to a pediatric dentist pronto. He may be a ferocious teether and need some help you don't know about yet.

I want to add -- he is at a risk for choking! Paper pages can choke a child just as much as anything else, and imagine if he got a splintery chunk of wood off his crib into his throat.

Frankly you can't have it both ways at this time -- you can't have books out and available to the kids and also not have him chewing them. He will not respond to being told "no" on this very basic need he has to chew; he can't control it yet. I'd ensure today that the books all have their own special place and your daughter must go there to read. I know you hate to deny her books anywhere and everywhere, but for a while that may have to be the case or he will end up choking on, or swallowing, paper. Read to him a lot, but do not leave books out where he can get them on his own. You don't want to have to explain that to the ambulance crew.

Double check all toys too - his chewing may have loosened parts of toys or put tooth cuts into plastic that could weaken the toys, and next time he chews on them he could break off a part that goes into his mouth.

He can't play with the things he's not supposed to chew if he's chewing them. He's not old enough to read, and playing with the books doesn't have value. Get the non-chewable bath books or something that will stand up to it. Your pedi or pedi dentist may be able to recommend age appropriate chewing tools - they make chewies for kids with sensory issue which you can google.

Get Bath books! We used those with our chewers. If you want to raise a reader you never want to make books forbidden, but chewing and mouthing toys is also a normal developmental stage. So go for the bath books. They have plastic pages and are virtually industructible. And then can be washed and wiped clean so that they don't start to grow bacteria from his mouth. (Just make sure to leave them open to dry out after you wash them or they can mold.) You can find bath books at Barnes and Noble or at Amazon.com or Target--most places that they sell books.

And playing with books has plenty of value! As a children's librarian and parent, I know that you want to make books something that are fun and enjoyable from the time they are the tiniest babies. At first they are something that gets them cuddle time with mom while she reads to them. Then as they get bigger they explore them on their own--often with their mouths. Eventually the pictures mean something to them and then later the words. You want to let them explore books and see books as something FUN! If you make them forbidden now then you may find that you have a reluctant reader when he gets to school. Sorry to get on a soap box, but I just had to respond to the person below who said that "playing with the books has no value" when they aren't old enough to read. That just isn't true. Just because they don't understand the words yet, doesn't mean that they aren't getting any value from the book!

My daughter is also a book eater. Her entire book collection looks like it was attacked by a ravenous shark. We get on to her about it, but she just can't help herself. And it's all about wood/paper products. No chewing device helped. She has destroyed her brother's homework. We had to take her out of her crib at 23 mos (she's 27 mos now) because she had ripped chunks of wood slat railing off her crib with her teeth, and it had become unsafe.
We have just resigned ourselves to the fact that she is the kid that the warning labels advertise for. We just keep things put up that she loves to chew on. It's a phase, and will soon pass.

I like the suggestions you've gotten so far. Here's another. My son chewed his crib rail. I wrapped it with a flat sheet and secured it with zip ties. It wasn't the prettiest, but it kept him from eating chunks of treated wood.