My son chews on the neck of his shirts, they get really wet, and smalls holes appear. is there a name for this

Question

he chews on every shirt he wears. they get soaking wet, and he even chews holes in them. how can i get him to stop.

Answer 1

There is this girl in my daughters prek class who does that and it is like a nervous habit when the attention is on her and the special ed teacher gaver her a type of ball that is very squishy and she plays with that instead of chewing on her clothes.

Answer 2

how old is he and what does his Dr. say?     Get a second opinion..... he may need real help

Answer 3

This behavior will self-extinguish for most children.  As others have stated it could be just a habit but for some children it is a sensory need.  The gum chewing idea is a good one (sugar free) because they often need the deep oral stimulation.  Some kids/adults will use special products to assist, some are more obvious while some others can be as simple as a pencil topper that extends and can be chewed on.  The occupational therapy department at his school could consult with you on this common issue and make recommendations.  Best of luck to you and your family.

Answer 4

I often see the children I work with doing this kind of thing. I ask the child if he/she is a billy goat. This usually makes them giggle enough to get their clothing out of their mouth. Then I explain to them that nothing goes in your mouth except food! It sounds silly, but I've had some success with this tactic. I think these kids are usually stressed and being able to make light of the situation (as opposed to scolding them) seems to work.

Answer 5

My son is eleven and he did it to. I talked to our doctor about it and he said it's just like someone biting their nails or tapping there fingers. He suggested letting my son keep a pack of gum with him. Its seems to be working. Now if I can just break him of wiping his nose on his shirts we'll be all set.

Answer 6

Ive been doing the same thing for a long long time

when it started my parents put things like spices on the neck of my shirt until i stopped

then I started doing it on my sleeves

I dont know why i do it

but you should do something now before it becomes a really bad habit.

Answer 7

I'm not aware of a name for it. It's not uncommon for kids to do, my brother did it when he was young. The only thing that made him stop was a stick of gum to chew on.

Answer 8

It's just a bad habit, usually out of nervousness.  It's the equivalent to someone biting their nails.  I did this as a child very often until about age 10 or 11.  I looked pretty silly at age 11 doing this, but I just couldn't help it,  I didn't even realize I was doing it most the time.  Don't worry I'm completely normal now :-)  I wouldn't worry too much about it.  You might just bring it to his attention when he does it and just remove the shirt from his mouth.  My mom used to say, we are not poor, we have food you don't have to eat your shirt!

Answer 9

it's called being a boy? this happens, it's very common. If it REALLY bothers you, put tabasco sauce or the finger-nail stuff on the collars, the bitterness will turn him off.

Answer 10

i dont think theres a name for it, but i work with kids and see a lot of them who do it, on sleeves as well. my nephew did it for a few years but stopped. all i can say is to constantly tell him to stop chewing on his shirt!

Answer 11

I have seen a lot of boys who do this. Two of my boys did this. They did out grow it. Some kids just like to have something in their mouth. Try giving them gum or something chewy.

It does seem to be a boy habit as other people noticed

Answer 12

He could just be nervous and just a bad habit, like biting nails. My mom got me to stop biting my nails by using this nail polish that is bitter and disgusting and you never want your mouth to go near it.

Pay attention to other things tho - does he chew on other non-food things? It could be pica - look it up.

Answer 13

no matter what age he is its still a form of teething and a comfort to him, its really a habit that can be broke with you consistently being firm and stopping it, my son also did this and is now 8 and I see other habits replacing it and I have to just keep on him till he stops.at least they are not hurting theme selves or others.

Answer 14

My nephew does this, he's 12. It's just a nervous habit, he started it when his parents split up.

Answer 15

how old is he? i've heard this is common with young boys...it's kind of like teething. maybe talk to your dentist about it.

Answer 16

a name for it? Childhood! A lot of kids do this but it can be a sign of stress. Talk with him to see if anything is bothering him

Answer 17

In my years of daycare I have had over 40 boys and almost everyone of them have chewed on the front of their shirts. Eventually they outgrow it. But I too, have always wondered why? I have asked many professionals during my training classes and most say it's a phase.

Girls tend to chew on their hair if it's long.