Help! My Daughter Eats Everything

Hello V.!,
I am not a doctor or anything close to it, but I have a suggestion that I think might be important to ask a doctor about. I remember when I was in pre-school, I tried to eat the valentines I received at school and my mother (who is a nurse) went berserk. She also warned me every time I bite my fingernails that my stomach was going to explode if I continued (dramatic, I know). She was concerned, because when humans eat non-food items, our digestive system doesn't quite know what to do with them and it's a possibility that the digestive track can become clogged. I am reminded of an eating disorder called Pica. If you look it up online, the disorder can sound very scary (I wouldn't be scared about the causes, symptoms, and complications of Pica, because your daughter is very young, Pica is treatable, and it is very rare, so she may just be a little spit fire, haha). Keep in mind that a lot of the cases where people had to go to the emergency room due to eating non-food items, were people who had eaten very large amounts of things like coins and other small but strong objects that could possibly rupture their stomach if left untreated. I do not know what is causing your daughter to eat everything in site, but perhaps asking your doctor if she has any vitamin deficiency issues with her diet or finding a reliable source on information about Pica or other reasons children eat non-edible food items would be a great place to start. I understand the issue of choking, that would concern me terribly! I hope you and your daughter are doing well and she stops trying to eat the house down!

V.,

I would take her to the doctor ASAP. Maybe she has some kind of vitamin deficiency (not that you aren't feeding her well, but maybe she's not metabolizing everything?) or something. This sounds pretty extreme, especially for a child so old (i.e. not teething or anything). It also sounds very dangerous--even if she doesn't choke, I wonder if the plastic could block her digestive track. Good luck. I hope the doctor can help you out.

Okay, I don't want to freak you out, but here's a link to info on pica. There is no specific mention of plastic, but it sounds like your daughter might be the right age. I hope you can get some answers from a doc soon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pica_%28disorder%29

First and far most, I want to tell you that I am sorry that you are going through this. I know you love you daughter and you really are concerned for her. I agree with the other mother - take your concerns to her pediatrician. This is dangerous for the obvious reason that she can choke or become exposed to poison. Hang in there. You are a good mother who will not stop until you get to the bottom of this. Please do start with her doctor and get a recommendation of a nutritionist if she is vitamin deprived (which is not your fault...her body may be having trouble absorbing certain vitamins/proteins which can result in unusual cravings). Since I am not a doctor, I hesitate to offer any medical explanations. Please do not feel ashamed as this is not as unique as you may think. Hang in there!! Keep us moms posted!

I agree, you should probably ask your doc about Pica or vitamin decency. My daughter (3 yr old) chews on everything, so far nothing where she has been able to get a bite out of it, but clothes, toys, anything with velcro, basically anything that can go in her mouth. I've started giving her the Flintstones gummy vitamins and keeping a bowl of carrots or little apples out. Any time I see her chewing on something, she gets one of those. It is helping and sometimes she will go the the bowl and get one by herself, instead of chewing on something. My doc said she is fine, no deficiencies, but they can still have 'growing pains' or such in their teeth and chewing helps.
Hope you figure it out and all goes well!