DS chews on his shirt and eats a lot.... Sensory issue?

[tjs_79]

Okay, my son is 3 years old (4 next month). As a baby he was colicky...BAD colic. Painful-sounding crying several hours a day. Lasted until he was 6 months. For comfort, he use to try to put his hand/fist/fingers in his mouth. He got his first tooth at 9 weeks, yes 9 weeks, so I would take him to the dr/dentist because I thought there was something wrong with his teeth sometimes. He was also extremely sensitive to noises. I was a single mom until he was 2 years, so he was a "momma's boy". He would wake up in the middle of the night crying for no apparent reason. I would comfort him and try to get him to use his words. He was overall a happy boy, but hyper-sensitive. He use to get offended very easily and still does to this day(not as bad though). By his 2nd birthday, he had learned to use his words to get things he wanted/needed. At 2 1/2 he finally slept through the night without waking or crying. He still is very sensitive, but its not constant anymore. Now, he chews/sucks on his shirt when he is upset mostly, but sometimes when he is watching tv, or at the store. Boredom? Anxiety? We go through 3-4 shirts a day! I have had his teeth checked, so I don't think that's it. Also, he eats frequently...several times a day(7-10 times) I suppose this could be because of my diet(many small meals a day). However; even when he's full, he wants to eat/drink more. When we go places or leave someplace to come home, he always wants to get something to eat before we leave.

I am curious if anyone has had problems remotely close to this. Suggestions? Advice? Hunches?

[Sara in AZ]

I don't really have experience with sensory issues, but I do have a son who is always hungry and has always wanted to eat all day long. Definitely a boy thing. He's also done the weird shirt chewing thing, getting them so wet he's had to change. But not to the extent your does. And he doesn't have the history that your son does either. They could be normal traits or not. Doesn't hurt to check with the pediatrician and do a little googling. Hopefully someone else has dealt with this?

[Mrs Mungo]

My son chewed on his shirt collars forever! I asked about it on the board at the time (he's nine now and doesn't do it anymore) and it seemed like a *lot* of boys had this issue. He doesn't have any of the other issues that you mentioned, not even colicky or finger-chewing as a baby.

[jplain]

What you're describing may be a form of pica, which is the non-nutritive eating/chewing/mouthing of non-food items. It may be a self-comforting strategy that he'll eventually outgrow. Or it may indicate silent reflux. (There are other causes too, but they're much rarer and would usually show up with other symptoms.)

 

One of my daughters went through a phase of chewing on her cuffs. She was a very oral kid from birth, but the sleeve chewing was driving me bonkers. A friend mentioned to me that biting/chewing clothing may indicate deficiency of zinc, magnesium, or iron. I started her on a multivitamin. I honestly don't think it helped, but I figured it couldn't hurt. Later I realized that children's multivitamins often have only tiny amounts of zinc in them, so maybe she wasn't getting enough to make a difference. In researching it later on, it sounds like zinc and iron are most often blamed, but there's not a lot of good research on pica in children and mineral deficiencies.

 

However, when you combine chewing on clothing with the observation that your son always wants to eat, I start thinking about silent reflux. Frequent swallowing, even of saliva while chewing on a shirt, can help to ease the pain of reflux. It sounds like he could have been a refluxy baby, and while most kids outgrow it as they leave the baby stage, some kids don't. You might want to look into the symptoms of silent reflux, and ask for a medical evaluation if they seem to fit. In your shoes I'd request testing for food allergies (the top 8) as well. Was he ever evaluated for reflux when he was an infant?

Edited June 10, 2010 by jplain

[Dmmetler]

He's a little young for it, but my DD started absentmindedly putting things in her mouth to chew on them at about age 5, and according to her dentist, that's something some kids do when their permanent teeth are coming in under their baby teeth. Just like when their teeth were first coming in, it hurts, and chewing relieves that a little. So, according to him, you handle it like you did when they were babies ;).

[tjs_79]

The silent reflux looks very similar to ds situation. He does LOVES spicy foods, but apparently patients don't always feel the burn in the throat. He also does this odd thing where he will take a bite of food, chew it, spit it in the garbage. Sometimes he'll go back for another bite and continue the ritual. I'll be taking him into the Doc this month, so I'll mention silent reflux. Oh and food allergies...he has an intolerance to dairy.

[dirty ethel rackham]

The history you described screams sensory issues to me. The reaction to loud noises, the uber-cranky baby, inability to sleep well, sensitivity ... very much like my son. It sounds like he has changed from a sensory avoider to a sensory seeker, which could be the constant desire to eat. I would get an evaluation from an OT or a neurodevelopmentalist. Ignoring it will not make it go away, even though children do learn coping mechanisms. Sensory issues can interfere with quality of life as an adult as well as achievement.