My 4-Year Old Biting and Sucking on His Shirt

When my son does it, he does it to relieve his anxiety. He has a language and social delay and being in a regular gen-ed class room probably made him feel a bit overwhelmed and anxious at times and that's when he would typically chew and suck on his shirt. What we did to save the collars on his shirt was develop a positive reward system. Each time I picked him up from school, if his shirt collar was clean and dry, we would put a sticker on a special reward chart I made up using a poster board and a lot of colorful shark stickers. If he earned 25 stickers, then we would buy him a special toy that he had chosen before hand (some kind of Animal Planet toy). When he earned 50 stickers, dad took him to the Shark Reef Aquarium - one of his favorite places in the whole world and one of his favorite people in the whole world. His shirt collars have been clean and dry for a while now but we are starting a new school year next Monday and none of the kids that he had in class last year will be in his class this year so I am expecting that we will have to reinstitute the reward system for him once again.

Hope this helps.

My son did this as well. He probably ruined many many shirts. But he did eventually grow out of it on his own. I wish you luck!

I agree with Laurie D.'s answer completely. My 7 year old son does this still during periods of anxiety and with school just starting, he relies on this. He does it more with T-shirts than collared shirts. I have had teachers want to ridicule and ostracize him for it where I am completely supportive. I recognize this as a sign he needs more gross motor input---hugs, jumping, running, etc. My son has SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder) and you can learn more about this at kidfoundation.org. All kids are sensory it's just some have it so much that it results in learning delays like Laurie has said. The most important thing is to be positive of it---we have ruined shirts too but if perhaps this sort of thing is handled like the teachers I spoke of, one can only guess what price my son paid dealing with that negativity.

Best wishes.

You could take him to see an occupational therapist, they will be able to tell you if this is a phase that will go away or something that would respond to therapy and will give you advice on what strategies may help him the most based on what they find in an evaluation. If there is something theraputic that he needs, you do not want to miss it by stabbing in the dark looking for a quick fix.

While you wait for an appointment, you can sure try some of the options people gave you, but I would start first with more sensory seeking options that will give him greater input and help him releive stress in a more productive way. If you have a small trapoline at home, sometimes jumping for a few minutes will give them the boost they need and distract from the behavior. I can help them organize thier world a little better so that they do not need to seek oral stimulus. Still, get the evaluation so that you know exactly what needs to be done, or not done, to help him.

M.

Superduper.com is one occupational therapy webiste that has the chews, but you should still consult an occupational therapist to be sure this is the only intervention he needs!

When my son chewed on his shirts, I checked to make sure it wouldn't damage his teeth, and the dentist said it was OK. Then his school got him a springy necklace(called chewelry) to chew on instead. You can buy pencil toppers, chewelry and other appropriate things to chew on from occupational therapy catalogs.

Give him something appropriate and safe to chew on instead. I am sure it is a comfort thing. I have used gum and those wax candy lips with my boys. I have seen kids use rubber tubing as well. Like a straw but flexible.

I've had two kids do this. For the first, it was a specific jacket that had a high collar, so we ditched the jacket. For the second, it was his t-shirts. I really think he did it out of shear boredom! I started keeping his mouth busy aka gum, etc. I guess I'd suggest figuring out *when* he does it, and then help him find a replacement until the oral thing goes away.

It is a symptom/manefestation of stress on the nervous system.Usually caused by some form af mineral or vitamin malnutrition.
Magnesium and B vitamins support the nervous system, so start there.

B complex liquid drops under the tounge(follow bottle). Give them under the tounge for the best absorption.
magnesium malate or citrate daily 250-350mgs.(if he gets the runs, cut hte dose back a little). Do NOT give magnesium with calcium if the child eats any dairy. Just give magnesium.
Fulvic acid daily.- one capful. (this has MANY trace minerals)

sometimes anemia can cause children to want to eat things non edible (boogers, shirts, dirt, playdough). There is perniciuos anemia (lack of b 12) and then there is iron deficient anemia. I would start out by giving the vit b complex drops to see if that helps. Don' ever supplement with IRON unless you have a blood test showing deficiency- Iron can build up in children quite quickly and in high doses can lead to death.

Reduce sugars and juices because these deplete b vitamins and magnesium. Make sure the child gets plenty of protien/vit A from animal meats.

my son does this also. I think it is sometimes nerves and other times comfort. he also since he was little bitty he grabs my shirt and pulls and feels of it,that I know is definitely a comfort thing because it is done alot when he is falling to sleep.

Yes, this is to make himself feel better, so anything you do to get rid of it, other than addressing the emotional issue itself, may work in the short term but not in the long term. Help him through the issue - do special outings just with him, talk with him about how it must be frustrating to him that the baby takes up so much time (maybe he is afraid to admit this to you), show him how he can help by being a big brother, etc. He probably doesn't really want to be sucking on his shirt but that is the outlet that has evolved, so taking away his shirt really is taking away his comfort. Would you ever think of taking away his stuffed animal that he sleeps with? It is the same thing. Just buy very inexpensive shirts while you work through this.

My son actually does it every now and again, but his happense to be when his mouth itches. -( he has food allergies so when he eats something he is not supposed to, his mouth itches)
However, interresting what everyone else posted. I also tend to believe that is emotionally based. Pay attention to when it is happening so you are able to link the two together.

My sister did this as a child...she eventually just outgrew it!

My son would bite the collar of his shirt and one of my girls would chew on her sleeve. It made for some messy looking clothes. They did it when they were trying to figure something out or from stress (like a test). They did out grow it. No matter how many times I told them to stop and pay attention, it continued. They did stop so outgrew it.

Give him something that he CAN chew on for a while. An old cloth diaper worked for a neighbor's kid. Got kind of groady but it could be tossed in the washer at night. Also, think about checking out something physical that might be happening - molars cutting, ear infection, etc. Sometimes something is bugging them but they can't pinpoint what.

My son just started doing it the last few days. He just turned 4. Actually, he was picking his nose and now he doesn't do that anymore. My son only seems to do it when he is tired, more of like an unconscience soothing type thing. I think if your son does not have any other issues, it is probably something he will stop/grow out ofon his own. I have noticed with all my kids that things like this, while bothersome to me, tend to be shortlived if you don;t harp on them too much.

My nephew did this from about four years old to about six years old. My sister-in-law bought only sweaters, short sleve shirts and button up collared shirts as they were the only shirts he would not chew on and destroy the sleves. I know it was a nervous/comforting thing for my nephew as it seemed to escelate at the start of every new school year, once he made friends and got used to his teacher it seemed to lessen. I think keep building his confidence and maybe set up one on one time. Hit the GoodWill and bargin shop for inexpensive second hand shirts until this passes. Maybe find a cool shirt he realy likes and make it a reward if he can go an extended period of time without chewing his sleves.