My six year old is chewing on his sleeves and collars of his shirts, any suggests to get him to stop?

Question

My six year old is chewing on his sleeves and collars of his shirts, any suggests to get him to stop?

Answer 1

you can't! seriously! i am a teacher at Head Start and i have about 4 children in my class alone who does that. no matter what we try they don't stop.  from a training we were required to attend and that question was brought up the answer we got was it is a stage these kids are going through. the same as sucking their thumb. they will out grow it on their own.

Answer 2

My son did that a lot at about the same age and was stretching his shirts all out.  I never understood why.  I would tell him to stop and he wouldn't so eventually I put him in time-out every time I saw him doing it and he stopped soon after.  Worked for me =)

Answer 3

gum!! :) I use to do it too. He'll get over the phase!

Answer 4

My son has done this for a few years now. His doctor said it was a nervous/anxiety disorder. He has since been diagnosed with ODD. I guess some kids just pick it up as a habit, but with others it can be a sign of something more serious.

Answer 5

get him up and running around a bit, give him an apple to eat, something constructve to chew on??

Answer 6

spray wth bitter lemon it works for pets and is not harmfull

plus he will be lemony fresh all day :)

Answer 7

I did it too. My mother just told me to stop every time she saw me. If I was a bit slow she would gently hit me telling me she meant business. I just eventually stopped...

Answer 8

I teach first grade. When you find out the answer to this question, I would love to know!!! I have 3 boys (7 years old) in my class who do the same thing!

I'm starring your question!

Answer 9

my son does that alot. If we are at home i will give him three warnings and on the 3rd warning we make him take his shirt off, but if doesnt chew on his sleeves then we get him a "prize" such as candy or toys. it seems to be working. When we are in public then we dont do that.

hope that helped =]

Answer 10

might be getting his 6 year old molars, check his mouth and put some baby orajel on if he is.

Answer 11

Rub the collar and sleeves with soap he will stop really quick. You could also try having a reward system , when he goes a day with out doing it he can put a star up on a chart and if he does  do it then he takes one down. When he gets 10 stars he gets a prize...candy, movie, park, toy etc.

Answer 12

OMG!!  I am so glad to know that I am not the only one with this problem. I thought my kids were the only kids who did it.  My oldest did it and then my second boy.

When we were at home and my boys would chew on their shirt, I would make them take their shirt off.  I would explain to them that they would have to keep it off as long as they chewed.

The teacher at school made up a signal to remind my son not to do it.  She would stick her finger in her shirt collar while she was looking at him.

Answer 13

I did that when I was younger, my mother gave me bubble gum to chew. That might help your son, it helped me stop=)

Answer 14

It sounds like a nervous habit. He will eventually get over it but consult his pediatrician about this. You do not want to harm the child by trying a method that could harm him.

Answer 15

I am glad there are parents of others chewers out there!  My 5 year old daughter does exactly the same. She also bites her finger nails and I'm embarrassed to say her toe nails too! She chews pens, her dollies fingers, the top of her school drinking bottle - you name it, she chews it -  and no, I'm afraid I have not managed to get her to stop!

I wonder if it is something to do with the fact that we allowed her a dummy until 2 and a half and maybe somehow this is her new comforter? I do not know if your son had a dummy too?

She is a very outgoing and confident child, but just seems to go into her own world and chew!  I have tried many of the suggestions above, but none have worked - she just chews something else that is not covered in bitter varnish, lemon juice or my perfume!      our only reasonable option seems to have been just to ignore it - everytime we tell her off it seems to remind her of it and she chews some more!

The other thing I wonder - is it something to do with them loosing their first teeth? When the teeth came as babies they chewed everything - are they now chewing to get rid of them?!    Try not to stress - easier said than done when they are ruining their clothes, but if it is somehow comforting, they will do it as comfort after we tell them off.

I'm hoping that other children at School will embarrass her into stopping as they all notice these things when they get a bit older.

Good luck - & do post again if you find a cure!

Answer 16

i used to do that, i spose its a phase. Give him a lollipop.

Answer 17

go to the pet store and buy some dog no bitte spay trust me it works