Two Year Old Putting Things in Mouth

He is exploring his world. He doesn't really understand your attempts to control him and if you settle for controlling his behavior and upsetting yourself, you are setting up one heck of a hard relationship.

He is suppose to explore his world. He will put things in his mouth. You are not here to control him and since you are the adult you have to accept that this is normal behavior. It is not something to be upset about.

Look at the energy, he gets attention, we all love attention and he gets to put things in his mouth. You have to get over your emotional reactions or you will suffer with this child down the road.

Time outs are cruel and punishing, no one really learns from them even if they modify their behavior. You should never give time-outs. We will find out that they are the cause of much emotional/mental damage in a few decades. Just like Dr. Spook's work was discredited when his son committed suicide.

Make his zone safe. He will grow out of his oral fixation. You have to look at how you where treated - where you controlled w/frustration?

Give him room to explore.

If there are safe zones and then places like outside that are off limits this is easier for him to understand.

When you are upset, to him this just looks like mom being silly. And at 2 retaining information that is against his nature for 20 minutes - is not bad. You do not want him to grow up w/all this negative energy between you two. I have seen it and it is a pattern of you controlling him that will lead to him bullying or being a bullied.

T.,

Forgive my laughter, but my daughter does the exact same thing! She'll be 3 in March. Toys, fingers, brother's arms, legs, ears, nose, dirt, grass, garbage, pens, crayons, you name it.

I think it's a phase and that they'll grow out of it. She is doing it less now than six months ago, thankfully! Just be consistent, and firm. We used: Nothing but food goes in your mouth. And: Yucky, no please.

Hope this helps,
Melissa

Some children have sensory integration issues where they need to put things in their mouth and chew them to help them cope. This is a really good sight to see if your child might be having some sensory issues:
http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/

It's nothing to worry about either. However, if your child does clearly have a sensory processing issue, knowing about it will help you and your child cope better. My child has proprioceptive issues and has always had a strong need for extra oral sensory input. He chewed everything and everything went into his mouth for chewing. He never took a pacifier or bottle though...he wasn't into sucking on things other babies would. But he chewed everything. He use to chew the rubber off his car seat even. There are appropriate chewing things you can offer toddlers and preschoolers to get them away from chewing other things, but it's actually something very difficult for them to control. Thus, any punishment you do won't have lasting effects. Instead, it will be about training him to chew on appropriate things. There are foods that can give your child the same sensations he graves like beef jerky and, later, gum. Ya, I know those things sound like awful things, but if it's a sensory issue your child does need the extra input to help calm him and organize his world. Again, it's nothing to worry about but at 2 years of age, it's a good time to start helping him out with the issue since the next thing he is likely to be chewing is finger nails and if you don't let him chew or mouth things you're taking away something he really needs to help him deal with his world. This might also just be a phase for your child but it's clearly something he needs to do right now. The time out isn't likely to work when it's a behavior he doesn't have the ability to control. It's like putting a child in a time out because they are crawling instead of walking when they don't have the skills to walk but really want to walk. He may not have the skills to stop his behavior that's related to mouthing things. Find something as a substitution for the mouthing of inappropriate objects intead and you'll have more luck. I totally understand how frustrating this is for you since my child is 4 and still puts things in his mouth. However, most of the time it's now appropriate things unless he's stressed or tired.

Hi T.,
I've heard that dipping the items you don't want in their mouth in vinegar really works wonders. It's natural, it's safe and it gives off a yucky smell and taste that might persuade him to focus his attention elsewhere.
Hope that helps! :)

I know what you mean, my daughter did the same thing. Around 18 months, I noticed that most of her friends stopped putting things in their mouths, but not my daughter, she was still going strong. The worst was when we took a mommy and me art class. Everything went into her mouth, paint, brushes, markers, glue, feathers, glittered, dirty water, etc. It's as if she had to put it in her mouth first, before she could move on. I used to give her a new toy and told her that she could only play with it if she didn't put it in her mouth. She would hold the new toy and cry because she was trying so hard to resist putting it in her mouth.

After consulting her doctor and an early childhood expert, I let the issue go. They both told me that it wasn't a big deal and there was not need to "train" her to stop putting things in her mouth. She would naturally grow out of it.

Sure enough they were right. She pretty much stopped around 2 1/2 (30 months). She's now 3 and every once in a while I'll see her put something with really pretty colors up to her face to smell. I think she's smelling to see if would taste yummy.

Positive reinforcement....keep redirecting your child and say "not in the mouth" and pull the hand down from the mouth. Help your child explore the item in different ways, than with the mouth....once again things like books, etc..."not in the mouth, books are for reading and not eating." Just keep up with it - about a 1,000 times a day, it will stick!

Hi T.,
I understand! :-) I previously owned a childcare and mainly looked after toddlers. Your son is at an age where putting things in his mouth is normal. He has senses...and they are truly just this, senses! he will familiarize himself better with the world around him by continuing to get to know things by tasting and feeling them. Also at this age children are still teething...it is at the tail end of when the baby teeth stop growing in, but they have developed the habit of putting things into their mouth and this is a habit that you can re-direct him away from through time. It will take time and patience, but children are really great at helping us learn the art of patience.
hope this was helpful!!
take care,
L. g :-)
p.s. after taking several early childhood ed classes, I learned that "timeout" is a sensitive punishment. Children's attention spans are short and if you do choose "timeout", use it sparingly. Children may forget what they are being punished for if they are left in timeout for more than needed.

My daughter just turned 2 and my neice is almost 3, whenever they put something other then food or a drink in their mouths I just tell them 'yucky, take it out of your mouth please' or 'that's a toy, it's going to break if you keep chewing on it' or anything else along those lines. I wouldn't consider a time out for behavior like this. If your son takes the toy out of his mouth and puts it right back in the second you look away try using a firm 'no'. Third time take the toy away for 5 minutes. Seems to work well for us. I'm finding less and less toys with bite marks! Lol!
As far as 'it's normal, don't worry about it' you're the mother, go with your gut! Personally, I don't see any reason a toy should be chewed on after teething.