My Daughter Is Vomiting for Attention

I have heard about. I actually read about it in one of my parenting magazines a while back. The child would throw up for attention as well. I don't know what you can do about it though. Apparantly it is fairly common.

My son is going to be 3 in January and has just started this throwing up thing, he has done it 4 times in the last week. I know how hard it it to not get mad about it but they are old enough that you can make a bucket of warm water with a bit of cleaner (non-toxic) and make her clean it up. I know it sounds a bit harsh but if you do then she will think twice before she does it again!!!

MY SON DOES THIS, TOO! He gets so upset when he doest get his way he gags until he vomits. So, you arent alone. He is 2 1/2 as well. We he has tantrums I put him in the kitchen or on the hardwood and leave him there. If he throws up I calmly strip him down, throw him in the shower and clean it up after he is out of sight. He doesnt like it when he throws up, so he doest do it in public, much.
Sometimes when he is upset over something stupid, like today he didnt want to wear his new sandals, I got down on his level told him I understood he didnt want to wear them, but he had no other choice. And I told him to calm down, and not to throw up. And I put him in time out. He didnt throw up. He ended up taking the sandals off himself, and I put him in the car with no shoes on with full intention to make him sit in his stroller the whole time we were out...He fell asleep in the car and he woke up with his sandals on, and never made a peep out of it. I know its off topic, I just wanted to finish my story. :)
I guess what has worked for us is to stay calm, ignore it and I dont let him see me clean it up. When I let him know that I understand why he is upset, it seems to cut the tantrum time down a bit, and he is less likely to gag. Good Luck! I would be interested to know what your pedi has to say...

Hi J.!!

I know how you feel!! I am a stay at home of 2 year old triplets and 2 out of 3 of my kids do it and have been for ahile now, although it has gotten better they still occasionally get fired up and feel the need to make me crazy!!! Trust me when I tell you I understand your frustration!! I used to yell and get mad and tap their little hands, we have tried the whole timeout thing untill one day my daughter did while in her high chair and I know this sounds so mean.. but I made her sit there in it while I was cleaning up the other kids and getting them out of their chairs and putting them upstairs and stuff and it was probably 10 minutes or so, and that one has never done it again, my son on the other hand doesnt seem like he really cares, he actaully hasn't done it again in awhile but???? Who knows, so I found ignoring it worked the best!!! Good luck!!!
D.

don't feel too bad about this...obviously with all the responses you've gotten so far, it's a fairly common thing! while i have no clue on how to stop this, i did want to say it's not always just for attention. my friend's son started when he was about 1 1/2, and he didn't do it for attention. she would see him go into the closet, or behind the couch, stick his fingers in his mouth and start to gag, and about 1/2 the time, he'd throw up and laugh about it! for him, this only lasted a few months, but it is still gross! i would just wait to see what the pediatrician has to say about it. hopefully they can tell you something to do to stop it. good luck!

I am so sorry. I went through this myself for actually about 2 and a half years. My step daughter started doing this at about 1 1/2. She mostly did it at meal times when she went through her not wanting to eat phase. The more I tried to convince her to eat the worse the situation became. Anyway, I quickly was able to see when she was going to throw up. With the gagging and her facial expressions. Even if I was completely upset until this point, I would instantly calm down and explain to her that she didn't need to be upset and she should calm down. Even at the earliest age she would respond to this. At that point my oldest son was only a few weeks. I completely understand the stress because there were days where I almost didn't want her to visit because I knew what would happen. As she got older it definately became a little more almost annoying to see her do this. At that point I started to have her help me clean it up a little bit. Obviously she couldn't do much, but just the fact that she would rub a papertowel on the floor meant she was helping. I had also started atleast running her to the kitchen and leaning her over so she would make the smallest mess possible. I think for her it was a combination of attention and nerves. The doctor really was of no help, but thank god she did eventually grow out of it and now she is so well behaved. Good Luck!!! And just give it time and trust your instinct, you will figure out what works best.

Oh Lord I am so glad to be reading this. I am losing my mind with a VERY difficult intelligent child. She is 3 1/2 and started doing this as soon as 14 months. It stopped for awhile, but it has become a means for communication when she doesn't get her way or when I MAKE her eat. Today, we were in the car. I had a short errand to run, and stopped through starbucks. She had not had breakfast this morning yet- in fact she just has issues with food altogether unless she is in complete control... I asked her if she wanted a scone and she said yes so I got her one. She started whining that her belly hurt, and I said well its because you are hungry! Eat the food. Now I know my daughter was not sick this morning... I told her I was going to make her eggs just as soon as we got home and she continued to whine that her belly hurt, and I continued to get frustrated given I had just hander her something to nibble on. I got mad finally and raised my voice (I know... not good mothering, but lets be real here folks... I was DONE with this ridiculousness...!!!!) and she got mad stuck her hand in her throat and proceeded to throw up all over herself and the car. Now I know she did it on purpose, which infuriated me. I lost my marbles... I screamed I yelled, I am just so over this behavior of hers... it sadistic!!

If anything, I am just glad to know I am not alone, and that fortunately it sounds like other parents have indicated its something she will grow out of. What scares me more then anything is that she does use it as a weapon for control... THAT freaks me out. She is only 3.5 yrs old. What does the future hold I fear??? Another thing to is that her father has bi polar disorder, and I am repeatedly wondering if her behavior is already showing signs. She can seriously be the most loving and sweet little girl and then within a moments passing turn into a wicked little creature!!! I just dont know some days how I am going to make it through another day... I try to be patient, but with day after day after day after day of this insane behavior, I break... and I yell...

To all of us, I hope it gets better and not worse. I am ready for the magical years (i hear they happen after the terrible twos and threes...)

i'm not trying to be cold when i say this, but have you tried to maybe put some garlic on her fingernails? i know it may sound strange, but it might deter her from trying to make herself vomit. most little ones don't really care for that taste - maybe it will help til you can get to the pediatrician.
in the mean time take comfort that this too shall pass. the two's are a very hard time for both the child and the parent. but think back - do you think she may have seen this action and is only repeating because she thinks it's okay to do so?maybe she saw something on the tv and you didn't realize it.
but she should be seen by a doctor to make sure she does not have damage to her stomach & esophagus. i hope you get thru this dear. my prayers are with you

Oh yes...lots of kids do this. My newphew was much younger when he started this bs. My son does it from time to time too. Instead of putting her in bed for a time out, make her sit in a room with linoleum flooring (like the kitchen). If she throws up ignore it until the punishment is over. After a while she'll realize that if it doesn't get attention she'll stop. It is just a phase and this too shall pass.

First talk to your child's doctor. One possibility is that this is an epiglottal spasm. Crying causes the gagging, they simply cannot help it. Some kids will pass out from this, others gag and vomit. Also if she is putting her fingers into her throat consider if it is an attempt to suck her fingers for comfort. Sometimes they will gag themselves accidentally. All that cautionary advice said.. the bottom line is even if it is not intentional behavior, the response she gets from you will determine if it is a usable weapon. If you give her a big reaction, she'll learn that this "works" for her. Don't hit her or scream at her. Just tell her it's not OK to that, and she needs to calm down. If it stops working for her, she'll find ways to avoid it.

I think that is nasty what your daughter is doing, but I can relate because whenever my grand-daughter is in trouble she will start crying, then cough until she throws up. She is 5 now and was doing it at two. I'm not sure if that is a faze or what, but she has taught her brother who is three and a half how to do it when he was two. Her acting out is a little worse than what I've experienced, so you may have to take her to the doctor and see what advice or technique you can use to prevent these outbursts. Good Luck to you and your husband.