Chewing on his shirt

Zack has started a new thing where he chews on his shirt! He will pull it up from the neck hole and chew on it that way or if he has long sleeves on he will chew on the sleeves. It's a nervous habit, isn't it? I can't figure out why he is so nervous though, he never use to do this.

 

My son (7) does this too! I'm not sure what it is! Aggrivating, isn't it? :gah: I told him to stop, and so far I haven't seen him do it since then, but not sure if it will stick. GL! I have no advice but just understanding! :hug:

 

Timothy would do this with his pj's or sheets at night. He was littler when he did that. We went and let him pick out a teething chewy that he could chew on. He probably slept with that till his 5th bday. He just really needed something he could chew.

Maybe you could try gum or something that he can chew on. Just find him something that's fine to chew.

I also was a very oral kid. I went from thumbsucking to chewing anything like marker caps, Barbie shoes, little plastic beads and pens and pencils. I just felt the need to chew. It wasn't stress, it was just a need to chew. It finally went away when I got old enough to play wind instruments and I spent my time with a clarinet or bassoon in my mouth.

Marissa

 

Brooke used to do this too. She was a thumbsucker as well, so it is probably an oral thing like Marissa mentioned. I just kept telling her how gross it was and to please stop. She did stop, and hasn't done that in a long time.

 

This can be sensory-seeking behavior, and I second the advice to give him something else to chew on -- straws, etc. Or, if you do a Google search, you will find all sorts of chewy tubes and such that are used by oral motor therapists.

Also, if he doesn't already use one, give him a spin toothbrush, and have him brush his teeth frequently -- that provides a lot of oral input, and it might be enough to get him to stop chewing.

 

Mine son done this for years (he was a thumbsucker as well). He eventually quit, but it took a long time and LOTS of reminders to not chew on his shirt. He would come home from school and it would be nasty and wet. After he got older (about 2nd grade)...and was ruining shirts because of it..I started making him take from his piggy bank and pay for the shirts he ruined. It only took paying for two shirts to quit (but like I said I had to wait until he was older to do this).

 

Thank you all for the advice! I am going to give him a rag to put in his pocket so he doesn't ruin his shirts.

 

Anthony started doing this shortly after he started Kindergarten. His teacher asked me about it and said it was likely from stress. His stress was starting school. We just kept reminding him to stop and eventually he settled down and quit doing it.

 

argh. My 5yr old does this too - always has. He chews on his shirt or his snowsuit. its mostly when he's bored.

 

I've noticed Zack mostly does it whenever he is at school. He got off the school bus last week and the whole top part of his shirt was wet from being chewed on. It is definitely a nervous habit for him because when he is playing Wii, he tried to chew on the remote and I have to get on him.

Thank you again for the replies.

 

My son also does this as a nervous behavior. He is a sensory seeking kid and is very oral. We ended up getting him a chewerly necklace which is basically a necklace they can wear and chew on. He also has one he can wear as a bracelet. He is doing it less and less, but it can be very annoying especially as mine was going through a shirt a day, lol. http://www.nationalautismresources.com/chewelry.html is the ones we use, the necklaces are really nice.

 

My son does this too. I assumed it was related to his ADD. He's not been doing it at all since he got a retainer but he does fiddle with that with his tongue a fair bit! I also started letting him chew gum while he does schoolwork (I personally really don't like gum chewing-the open mouthed kind anyway) it helps him concentrate as gives him something to do with his mouth and since my kids don't get gum other times, is motivating to get on with their work!

 

OMG! I used to do that, too! I chewed the hell out of my blankets and anything I could. Even now that I'm an adult, I chew gum like crazy.

 

The chewing gum is a really good idea!! Thanks!!