licking things

[oldakasha]

Anyone have a child that licks themselves or other non edible objects? Anyone know causes for this?

[langansmom]

Langan was a big licker when she was younger (now she prefers to bite....sigh....). Our OT said it is a sensory thing. Something about the receptors on the tongue being the first to develop and so they are used to gather input.

[Peyton's Mommy]

My daughter, Peyton, does this. I've always wondered if it was just a behavioral, adjustment issue similar to sucking her thumb, or if it was related to her CP. She frequently licks her hands, which the rest of the family finds disgusting! She also licks the car window and the TV screen. She doesn't typically put other non-food items in her mouth.

Perhaps it has to do with circulation and sensation issues? All I know is I go through a ton of baby wipes and purell trying to keep her somewhat cleaned up!

I'm glad I'm not alone!

Kim

[lacyndarella]

Jimmie is only 5 months and it is quite normal at his age, but it's funny and a little gross to remove his coat because when zipped up and constantly licks the zipper! It is a sensory thing. He's exploring textures and apparently the cool rough metal of the zipper mixed with the fabric (he sucks his thumb through is blanket, so he likes a mouthful of lint...blllugggg), to the smooth plastic of the star shaped zipper pull are very enlightening to his 5 month old pallett.

Lacy

[sunandmoon]

This can also be a tic. My son used to lick and spit too, yuck. He had other ticcing behaviors which all went away, almost as mysteriously as they appeared. I think he was all messed up from all of the adhd meds he was on and that it caused a chemical imbalance and this was how his nervous system reacted.

[grace]

sorry, old post got lost. Have you considered pica? Here is an article on it. There are so many theories it is obviously not well understood but may give you some ideas on the subject.

It can be sensory, behavioural, due to a lack of something in their body (eg. iron) etc.

http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic1798.htm

if interested, look under kidshealth for their article.

all the best,
lucinda

[cckids]

our son licks and sniffs, chews on things....OT says a lot of it is just the need for more sensory input. It is not surprising for him to lick a desk, wall, friends arm, or window in the car.. He also rides with his face about 1 inch from the heat duct in the car....turning it from hot to cold and high to low every 30 seconds. It's all for more input...

[Denae]

Riley licks and chews a lot. The behavior really kicked up to crazy levels after I quit giving her a bottle at night (just before she turned 7) then got WORSE when I started to try and take her passy away a few months later. ...

I got her a chewy "P" but after a while gave up and gave her the passy back. I would rather her have that in her mouth than the bottom of her shoe or see her licking the counter. Nothing seemed to satisfy her need to suck on something. One of her big sensory issues.