Two Problems

My 17 month old just started grinding her teeth and when I yell at her she grinds them more. I was told to ignore it, but the sound makes me want to puke. I've just been walking away. As for the getting up, we feed her a small dinner between 4-5 and then another small meal around 7 or so. When we put her to bed I put a sippy cup with juice (she won't drink milk from a cup anyway) in the corner of her crib. When she wakes up she drinks and goes back to bed. Until last month she was getting up several times to be held. Sleep at last!

Hi C. - I have an 18 month old son and he was grinding his teeth for a bit but it stopped. He has all his teeth - we're now waiting for 2 year old molars to come. As for the crying at night - Tyler did this around the same time - I used to pick him up, rock him and put him down again but he would wake up and cry again - so I did "tough love" and went in his room told him it was Night-Night time and layed him down.. he cried - but I waited 8 minutes and went in there again and said the same thing and layed him back down.. it took 45 minutes the first night and he finally went to sleep. The next night it was only 20 minutes and the 3rd night maybe 10 minutes.. but it taught him to go to sleep on his own and he sleeps fine now. It might start to happen again around 17-18 months because of the separation axiety - but it gets better... Good luck. I cried too...

C.,

My son did the same thing grinding the teeth I think it is just a phase when their teeth come in. Cuz they aren't used to it. Also for your second problem I agree with the person in front of me limit your contact with your child. I hope my advice helps any more questions feel free to contact me

A.

Every child goes throught the "Grinding Teeth" phase. It only lasts a few weeks up to like 2 months. It is very normal. As for the waking up, he is prob having nightmares or is getting his first year molars.That can be very painful. My daughter had two teeth on the top and two on the bottom. She got her molars, and then all the teeth started coming in. She is now almost 17 months, and had 11 total.EWWWWWW!!!!! Alot of painful nights, but just give him orajel. Rub it in!!!! Give him Motrin(Not every night), and give him really cold washclothes. This will not last that long.

I don't know that there is a way to stop someone from grinding their teeth, but you should contact your peditrician or dentist to have him fitted for a mouth piece (if he is old enough). Adults I know still grind their teeth and the mouth peice protects the teeth from being ground down.
Your son may be having bad dreams or is afraid of the dark. Try music in his room. Soft baby mozart may help.
Good Luck.
Bev

I KNOW IT MAY BE A LITLLE OUT THERE BUT HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT CHIROPRACTIC CARE FOR YOUR CHILD. IT IS VERY BENEFICIAL IN ALIGNING THE SPINE AND BALANCING THE NERVOUS SYSTEM WHICH CAN HELP CALM THE DISCOMFORTS FOR HIM WHILE SLEEPING. AS FAR AS THE GRINDING OF THE TEETH ALTHO IT DOES HAVE ALOT TO DO WITH THE TEETH COMING IN THE JAW CAN BE ADJUSTED AS WELL. AND IT IS NOT LIKE YOUR ADULT ADJUSTMENT IT IS DOWN IN A MUCH DIFFERENT WAY AND ITS GENTLE IF YOU HAVE ANY ?? OR WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE LET ME KNOW. HOPE I HELPED IN SOME WAY.

Most likely, he is probably getting more teeth and the grinding relieves the tension. More often than not, they do not continue once the teeth start to cut through. Giving him something else to put in his mouth would help with that. That is also probably why he is waking up in the night.

They all do the teeth grinding don't worry it will pass i used to give my kids a wash cloth to bite on when the started to do that...they had very clean teeth...as for getting up he learned that you are going to come in and give him tons of attention you need to start with the first time he gets up say goodnight hug him then put him back down the second time lay him down and say goodnight no hug the next time just say good night limit what you do each time then the next night do what you did second the night before (no hug) after a couple of nights he should be used to not needing the attention and you should be fine...good luck.

When my little ones went through the grinding phase, I would gently pat their lips with flat fingers and say no bite. It was usually affective to get them to stop and be distracted.

Mine always had sleep disturbances when they were learning new skills. Around age 1 there are lots of new things to learn. Is he working on a new skill that he's getting close to learning? Once mine mastered the skill, they'd return to their usual sleeping pattern basically on their own.

I wouldn't worry too much. It's a stage mostly all babies go through and I've heard that it's not really even that bad for them, supposedly it'll bother us more than it hurts them. When my daughter would do it occasionally, it'd give me the willies, but she didn't do it a whole bunch and I barely hear her do it at all now.

C.,

My son also use to grind his teeth. It's just a new sensation they have learned. I was told to ignore the fact that they do it; that if you tell them to stop or give them attention, they will continue to do it. I didn't act like he was doing anything and he stopped in a couple of weeks.

As to the second problem, my son also did the same thing. And after a couple of weeks, he stopped doing. I would wait about 5 minutes before I'd go back to him, and then I usually did rock him back to sleep. He sleeps through the night all the time though. I think it might have a lot to do w/ teeth coming in and them just needed to be comforted. I am one of those mom's that won't miss out on an opportunity to snuggle... cuz let's face facts... they aren't gonna want to do it forever!!

It sounds to me like he might be teething. It's amazing, because we are going through the exact same thing with our 10 month old...same teeth are in, and he grinds them...it sounds like nails on a chalkboard. I don't really know if there's a way to make them stop. My mom said that I used to grind mine when I was a baby, too. When their teeth are coming in and it hurts, sometimes they just need extra comfort - especially at night. During the day, they're preoccupied with doing things so I don't think they notice the pain as much. At night, however, there's nothing to distract them from it. Let me know if you figure out how to get them to stop grinding!!!

My son (who is a year old) used to grind his teeth from about 6 months until just recently. I asked his Dr about it because the sound was like nails on a chalkboard, and she said that it was normal and there was no way to stop him from doing it short of putting a mouth piece in him, but she didn't recommend it unless he started chipping and damaging his teeth. I asked her why he did it, and she said it could be anything from making a new sound to making the rest of his gums feel better because he was rubbing his teeth all over them and they happened to hit sometimes. All I did was got everyone who was around him to when he started I would gently squeeze his cheeks together and tell him no. Now, I'm not sure if this worked or if he jsut outgrew it. But have no fear, he'll stop eventually

Hi C.! My son is 16 months & I went through the same thing. Go to "One Step Ahead" on-line catalog & look for their special toothbrushes (I can't remember the exact name, but they're rubbery - have a little handle & when they put it in their mouth it almost looks like a mouth guard - it massages their gums when they chew on it. My son LOVES his (I bought several) and he still uses it with those 1 yr. molars (sp?) coming through! I'm sure that's why your little guy is waking up too...at least that's why my guy did...his little gums were driving him crazy. When it gets REALLY bad I would give him a little Tylenol at night to relieve the pain. When that didn't work and he'd wake up I do what ALL Moms told me to never, ever do....I pulled him into bed with me & nursed & cuddled him till he fell back to sleep. Hey, ya gotta do what ya gotta do!! Just remember that he's in pain & just needs a little extra love to get through this tough time. It won't last too long & then he'll be sleeping through the night again. Hope this helps! Take care & good luck! G. & Giovanni

My son did the same thing. Both his doctor and his dentist said it is not a "habit" that can be broken, kids do it because either their teeth are coming in, or their jaw is misaligned, which as they grow may re-align. According to the dentist it won't affect their adult teeth and you just have to wait for them to outgrow it.
I sympathize with the sleep disturbances. My son suffered sleep terrors, after surgery at 15 months. If he is teething, he is uncomfortable and that is why he wants your comfort.
One thing that helped with the teeth grinding for my son was chiropractic care. I got him treated because he had a difficult birth and I knew he needed to be aligned, but as a side affect the tooth grinding lessened.

HI C.,
Good if you can lay him back down. I could not lay my daughter down no matter what. but it did not last forever. If you "HAVE" to hold him until he gets through it; it will be easier on both of you to do so. Sounds like he just needs a little help right now. :) God Bless
K.

C.,

My son will be 1 at the end of the month. We are going thru the same things. Well, he has stopped grinding his teeth. It only lasted for a few weeks. Every time we heard him, we would hold his jaw and say "no" firmly. I don't know if that's what made him stop or he just got used to having teeth on top and bottom. He has also been waking up at night, sometimes several times per night. I've heard they start having nightmares around now, so that may be it. We have found that going into his room and rubbing his back, giving him his pacifier, sitting in a chair next to his crib and touching him has worked better than picking him up. If we pick him up it is a longer process, as he is then more awake. He is usually back to sleep in a few minutes and hopefully so are we. If you would change to this strategy, it might take a few nights for your son to get used to. Good luck!!

J.

I can help with both issues. The teeth grinding is very normal at that age. They are getting used to the feel of them, they are actually soothed (much to our ears displeasure) but the feel of them rubbing together. I was told by my ped. dentist that I should nothing. Just allow him to explore this sensation. They will grow out of it. It could also be that he is noticing the discomfort of new teeth coming in and he can only generalize the area that the sensation is coming from.

Next my Ped. is a firm believer that children need to learn how to put themselves to sleep on there own (thank God)
This will take about 7-10 nights but it will work! First night he wakes up go to him and do not pick him up, do not change him unless he has pooped, do not turn on the light. Lay him on his back and rub his tummy, tell him it is night-night and time to sleep. Do this each and everytime he wakes up through the night. Second night let him cry 5 minutes before you go to him and do the exact same thing as the first night. He will get the message that it is sleep time. Continue this EVERY time he wakes up in the night.

Good Luck, This has made a world of difference in my son's sleeping.
-B.

1st problem.... Ignore it. My son did it too... I just ignored it and he finally stopped. That was per peds advice!

2nd problem.... Daughter went through that a few weeks ago. At this age they just want to know to know their not alone in the world (their crib, alone in their room). The quickest way to have this solved is to just keep going in there and comforting him, laying him back down... By consistently going in there you're reassuring him that all things are ok in his world!! Trust me he'll be back to sleeping as usual if not better soon enough.

Hi My name is A. I am 24 Married for about 1 year and a half and have a 1 year old boy as well and we are exspecting are baby girl in 2 weeks.

I would say everytime you caught him ginding his teeth tell him stop or put your finger not in his mouth but up to it and all. I would also sugested everytime he dose this give him something to chew on like a apple carrot or something .

well this worked for my son and he stoped thankfully

takecare
A.