My son is 16 months old and still likes to put things in his mouth (which I know is pretty normal) but anytime he gets a hold of paper or a card board book he eats it! Is this normal and how do I stop this?
I have two children and both used binky's/pacifiers whatever you want to call them. Their teeth are fine and they didn't put all these other things in their mouths. Stick to the old fashioned way and your son will be fine. I agree with the previous response on the paper and the harmful substances that can be on it. Whatever the paper products are keep them out of his reach and you'll have one less thing to worry about.
My 22 month old eats sand whenever possible, so I would say paper is not so bad :)
My son used to chew on his books at that age. He is now a bit over two & he hasn't done this in awhile so I am sure your son will soon stop too!
My son is 19 months old and loves to eat paper. I think it is about texture and the fact that he can test his teeth. Don't worry about it. It is not PICA (which is far more serious). Just keep the paper away.
Hi, C.!
I’m thinking you probably already know this, but just in case, one of a baby’s best tools for discovering and experiencing the world is through his mouth.
I think prevention is the key, here. You really mustn’t stop him from doing this; just be sure that the things he discovers are okay to put in his mouth. Keep the other stuff you don’t want him to explore out of his sight, not just out of his reach. The best way to do this is to get down to his eye level and view his world from his perspective.
And, try to make sure you’re not just removing undesirable, dangerous things, but you’re replacing these things with interesting stuff he might want to explore that’s safe for him. Try to find real things in the real world with interesting textures and colors that you don’t mind being destroyed. And, let him destroy them in his process of discovery!
For example, consider leaving out a set of old, unnecessary, well-cleaned keys for him to find randomly rather than those brightly colored plastic baby keys. An old wallet with lots of pockets might be an interesting find for him, too! Just be sure you’re with him as he’s exploring and be prepared to distract him with something else even more interesting should that object turn out to be not so safe.
It might be helpful to think of him as a scientist performing a dissection! ;-)
I hope that’s helpful!
~Marji
It might just taste good to him. Or he could have Pica. You can look it up and check with his doctor. I don't know much about it. If it is Pica be lucky he's only eating paper. Some people with Pica eat soap or even rocks!
I think that this is normal. My son did not each much paper, but his cousins did, and they were not any worse for it. That said, with all the inks and stuff that are used for ads or newspapers, I would try to paper products away from him. In addition, much of the paper and cardboard we use are not stored in places that are food safe, and could be contaminated with rodent or insect droppings, or traces of pesticides. Of course this would probably not include most of the foodstuff packaging, but even grocery store warehouses are not the cleanest. I think that the only way you would be able to stop it is by making sure that paper, books or other paper products are not within his reach. If you want to encourage drawing, there are other alternatives, such as a magna doodle. He might be getting in molars or something, so maybe a good solution would be to give him back a teether.
