My Toddler (3 Year Old) Smells/sniffs Everything

I have a 3 yo with Sensory Perception disorder, and I think it's something you should research. My daughter is on the sensory seeking end of the spectrum and it sounds like your son may be as well. Ask your ped to reccommend a good occupational therapist. If you're in central florida, I can highly recommend central florida pediatric therapy associates. They have helped us tremendously. I can also highly reccommend the book "The out of sync child" It's been so educational for me in understanding what makes my daughter "tick" If you ever have questions, please feel free to contact me, I've been going through this for about a year now and I will offer any info I can. Good luck and God Bless.

I realy wouldn't worry too much about it. It could just be simple curiosity. My daughter did the same kind of thing. She is now almost six and has turned her curiosities to other interests.

i have one that is 25 and she does that to this day. she has nothing else "wrong" with her. it just seems to be her quirk. i inherited her by marriage when she was 14 and according to her father, she has always done this. she sniffs everything - food, pencils, soap, her drinks, you name it - she sniffs it. her father has had her checked out by specialists - they can find nothing wrong with her. she has not other medical problems. she has a 1 year old baby that does not do this. her brother has autism and he does not do this. it's just her.

when i see her today, she will find my glass of whatever i am drinkng - tea, soda, water - and she will sniff it before she drinks it. the only thing that i have noticed is that if she does not like the smell or the texture of food, she won't eat it. if she does not like the smell of soap, she won't use it. but all other inanimate objects that get sniffed seem to pass and get used appropriately.

it maybe the same for your little one. i would definitely mention it to your pedi - but don't be alarmed if you are not sent to a string of specialists.

As long as he's eating a balanced diet (on average for the whole week - not just one day) I wouldn't worry about it. My youngest son (18 months) touches everything to his lips before he'll eat it. And I smell just about everything before I eat it :) My older son had a pretty long phase where he licked everything. ANd I mean everything. It was gross. As long as he seems healthy and is still growing and it isn't interfereing, then I'm sure the doc will say he's fine. Best of luck, Jen

my daughter is autistic and wonderful. i have known something was wrong from the time she was an infant and she was dx'd right after her 3rd b-day, i'd have him tested, have the ped referr you to someone who specializes in the spectrum. it could be nothing but better safe than sorry in the long run :) good luck

My 4 yr old son has sensory issues but more on the touching side not the smelling side. It causes problems in school socially. I had to switch him to a Montessori school as none of the other schools were familiar with it and didn't see it as a problem. Well it is when nobody wants to play with them because they are overly touchy. The Montessori school is awesome with it and he now has friends at school. Yahoo! I talked to my pediatrician and he didn't see it as a problem but I still talked him in to a writing a referral to an OT Therapist (Occupational Therapist) who came highly recommended and just so happen to work with his school as well. After some testing is was confirmed he has sensory issues (but so do everyone, it's just each of us are different). I am not sure if the therapy has helped or not it's hard to tell because there are so many things at this age that are normal but could be misconstrued as not normal. Therapy is expensive! I recommend reading two books and then decide if you want to pursue therapy. The Out of Sync Child and Sensational Kids. I would start with Sensational kids. You can find used copies on line at Amazon for a few bucks or maybe even find them at the library. If its not affecting her life I wouldn't worry too much. these books should help you understand it more which will help you be more accepting of it.

We LOVE our OT guy..he is AWESOME! My son begs to go see him every day.

Our occupational therapist is:

Eric Graffeo
###-###-####
4902 Creekside Drive, Ste A
Clearwater FL 33760

Good luck!!

like the other lady mentioned. the book " the out of sync child" is a good book. my son has some sensory issues. it sounds like he might be a sensory seeking child. as the book expains. but occupational therapy can really help out in these area's.

I, personally, don't think it's an "issue" at all. That's because I am also sensitive to the other senses, touch and smell, as well. Most people rely mainly on sight and sound to familiarize themselves with their surrounding world. There are a lot of people out there that also use smell and touch more than others. That's not necessarily a bad thing. But it can be tricky to navigate. Any strong odors will possibly upset the person. Fabrics like wool or even velvet can irritate the person. Tags on shirts, the little seam on the toe of the socks, elastic bands can all irritate that sensitive person. A lot of chaotic noise or images/scenes with too many busy colors or patterns will upset this person.
Honestly, for a 3 year old to have food issues is totally normal. My three year old will not eat much of anything one day, then the next he likes everything, but if you try to offer it again, he doesn't like that anymore. It's constant change and you will navigate it in your own way. But I wouldn't worry about his supposed sensory issue if I were you. Even if he does have heightened senses... is that really a bad thing?

I actually laughed at this b/c I did the exact same thing as a little kid. My mom got so tired of it, when I was 5 she saracastically said, "here smell this as hard as you can." (It was the pepper shaker). I took her literally and sniffed as long and hard as I could. Needless to say I broke out into a sneezing/coughing/crying fit. My mom felt horrible (she didn't think I would literally do it) but I never smelled stuff again.

This really might sound funny, but to this day... I will catch myself doing that kind of stuff. I don't think that there is anything wrong with me. I an a typical 27 year old with three pretty normal kids. (My older son does it, and I think its cause he sees me doing it-so there might be someone your little ones sees doing it?) I like to smell things... and when I go thru a store... I like to see what kind of material things are made of (clothing and those beds in like JCPenny- come on they look soft... but they are not, and I just have to know.) I could not do silly things like that, and I know that I do them without thinking about it. My family watches me sometimes and they laugh. Like at Christmas, when I open a gift, I like the smell of the paper. Or even tape. Like I said, I could stop, but I see no harm in it. So when your little one is older, just point it out and maybe ask why they do it, but its probably not to much of a big deal.... just curious minds. good luck!