Baby Eating Paint Chip

Just a thought, keep him away from the paint??????????????????????????

S., this is a serious issue. It is important that you know how old the apartment or house is. How old the paint is. If the paint has lead in it.

In the US, leaded paint was outlawed several decades ago. Old buildings still have leaded paint. Lead poisoning causes a lot of physical problems, AND it causes a lowering of IQ. The last thing you want is for your baby to end up with lead poisoning.

You must find out about this paint. That is your first priority. Lead paint abatement is what you would have to do next. It involves finding people who do this for a living and hiring them to come in and do it.

If your husband balks, explain to him that lead poisoning can cause a child to not be able to learn to read and write and learn. In essence, it is like the child is mentally retarded, all because he ate leaded paint chips.

Good luck, and let us know after you get the paint tested!!!

Dawn

Hi S., at 11 months old, a parent (or some other adult) has complete control over what goes in the child's mouth.

You stop him by pulling his hand away from the wall and saying a firm NO, looking in his eye, then give him a toy or actual food to distract him from the wall. Meanwhile you watch him EVERY SECOND to make sure he does NOT do this.

And at 11 months old babies still get to "know" things by putting everything in their mouths. So while eating paint and many other things that are not food, IS a symptom if PICA, generally it's in a person old enough to make decisions for themselves what goes in their mouths.

So YES, have him tested for iron/vitamin deficiencies, AND PLEASE HAVE HIS LEAD LEVELS TESTED AS WELL, like Dawn says, it IS a VERY serious concern.

But S., for MANY YEARS to come, YOU do in fact have complete control over what goes into your child's mouth. It is very important to exercise that control, ok?

Fond Thoughts!

:)

This is not necessarily pica. Pica occurs in those who are capable of choosing what is food and what isn't. Babies just eat whatever goes in their mouths and tastes good. He thinks it is food.

Teach him. You stop him by consistently removing him from the situation and giving him something else to chew. If he's eating the wall....maybe he's hungry! Feed the child.

This is a disorder called Pica. Read about it at the following link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pica_(disorder)
It is usually associated with serious nutrtional deficiencies which can lead to long term health problems, and continuation of the disorder can poison the child with permanent lasting effects.
This was one of the first things taught during my Pediatric rotation in Nursing School.
RN

You need to let your child's doctor know he's eating paint, you need to get the paint tested and you need to keep the baby away from the walls til you get a decent paint job, which I'd get done asap

You should have him tested-he might need treatment-and you should have the paint tested, as well.

Keep him away from the walls, and trim his nails. You must have him tested for lead at his pediatrician's office.

Give him a baby chew toy.

You don't know how to stop him? How about taking the paint chip out of his hand, and say " No"! firmly. Keep him in a play pen for time out. You need to ensure he recognizes that this isn't something he should be allowed to do.

Its dangerous, and harmful for a child to eat paint chips. Serious medical problems.

If he can pull paint off the wall, then obviously something needs to be done, as this is a safety issue. Fix the walls!