When will this chewing end?? (X-posted)

My 8.5 months old dd chews, licks, gnaws everything. I can only clean
so much. I know this day and age everything has chemicals in it. I'm
worried that this habit will harm her. She's been chewing everything
since she was 3 months old. When will this end? Does this indicate a
problem? We are washing all her toys every day. We only buy toys that
can be washed. No soft toys for her because I'm worried I can't clean
them.

When will she outgrow this habit? Is this a problem?

Thanks.

"ted" wrote in message
om...
My 8.5 months old dd chews, licks, gnaws everything. I can only clean
so much. I know this day and age everything has chemicals in it.

eh?

I'm
worried that this habit will harm her. She's been chewing everything
since she was 3 months old. When will this end? Does this indicate a
problem? We are washing all her toys every day. We only buy toys that
can be washed. No soft toys for her because I'm worried I can't clean
them.

When will she outgrow this habit? Is this a problem?

er, no. all babies chew on everything. i'm not even sure why you're washing
everything maniacally because she'll be eating dirt in a few months. :-)
kylie
--
"My giddy aunt, Wanda-Linda," she said. "What a frightful pair of
underpants."

"Ericka Kammerer" wrote in message
...
ted wrote:

My 8.5 months old dd chews, licks, gnaws everything. I can only clean
so much. I know this day and age everything has chemicals in it. I'm
worried that this habit will harm her. She's been chewing everything
since she was 3 months old. When will this end? Does this indicate a
problem? We are washing all her toys every day. We only buy toys that
can be washed. No soft toys for her because I'm worried I can't clean
them.

When will she outgrow this habit? Is this a problem?


No, it's not a problem. Yes, she'll outgrow it,
though it may be quite a while.

Yes, it may be quite a while. I still chewed on my Bic pens
back when I was working. I understood the mentality of babies,
as well as smokers, a little better.


P. Tierney

ted wrote:

My 8.5 months old dd chews, licks, gnaws everything. I can only clean
so much. I know this day and age everything has chemicals in it. I'm
worried that this habit will harm her. She's been chewing everything
since she was 3 months old. When will this end? Does this indicate a
problem? We are washing all her toys every day. We only buy toys that
can be washed. No soft toys for her because I'm worried I can't clean
them.

When will she outgrow this habit? Is this a problem?


No, it's not a problem. Yes, she'll outgrow it,
though it may be quite a while. Don't sweat it so much.
Even if everything isn't superclean, it'll be fine.
A little dirt never hurt anyone. In fact, recent studies
say children who eat more dirt have less risk of asthma ;-)

Best wishes,
Ericka

On 19 Nov 2003 13:08:11 -0800, (ted) wrote:

My 8.5 months old dd chews, licks, gnaws everything. I can only clean
so much. I know this day and age everything has chemicals in it. I'm
worried that this habit will harm her. She's been chewing everything
since she was 3 months old. When will this end? Does this indicate a
problem? We are washing all her toys every day. We only buy toys that
can be washed. No soft toys for her because I'm worried I can't clean
them.

First, soft toys can be washed in the washing machine.

Second, exposure to germs is actually good for babies. It builds
their immune system. And the germs in your house are not likely
to be so terrible to expose her to.

Children get colds. But this is not necessarily bad as it gets
the immune system working.

When will she outgrow this habit? Is this a problem?

Thanks.

As for when it will end, that varies from child to child. Most
toddlers still put many things in their mouths. And teething
goes on until after 2 years of age.

http://www.researchmatters.harvard.e...?article_id=53

This study suggests that children don't put as many things in
their mouths as parents thought before careful observation.
though I am not sure that infants of 8 months old were studied.

http://www.zerotothree.org/brainwond...racy/chew.html

Why do babies like to chew on books?

Babies are learning about the world by using all of their
senses. Babies seem to want to look, touch, taste and
listen to everything that they encounter! As soon as a
baby is born, she is looking and learning. Soon babies
are reaching and grasping, and of course with grasping,
comes mouthing. Many caregivers are amazed at how
often and how quickly babies grab, then try to eat
everything - even the dog's tail! Why all this mouthing?
It is one of the best ways babies have to really explore
objects and people. Babies use all of their senses to
learn and figure out how the world around them works.
When a baby chews on an object, like a book, she is
learning about the physical characteristics of that object,
and a bit about its function, like whether it is edible or not.
She also learns a bit about cause and effect when you -
or the dog - react to her mouthing behavior!

How does chewing on books lead to reading and writing?
Mouthing books is really an important early literacy skill.
Research has shown that exposure to books and stories
from a very early age gives children the building blocks
they need to develop into readers and writers. Judith
Shickedanz, a researcher and educator, describes
four different categories of early literacy skills. "Book
handling behaviors" is one category. Babies who mouth
books are learning about what a book is - how it feels,
how it looks, how it tastes and maybe what is inside it!
If a baby can freely explore books and is being read to,
she will begin to associate books with warm, positive
interactions with you and other caregivers. Positive
feelings about books are critical to literacy learning.
Mouthing and manipulating books leads to holding,
turning books upright, and eventually, to turning pages.
Even though a baby may be more interested now in
mouthing, shaking and throwing books than in looking
at what is inside them, those behaviors will change as
she grows. Soon she will be moving on to other early
literacy behaviors and begin to peer inside those books
to see the magic that books possess.




--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits

"0tterbot" wrote in message
...
"ted" wrote in message
om...
My 8.5 months old dd chews, licks, gnaws everything. I can only clean
so much. I know this day and age everything has chemicals in it.

eh?

I'm
worried that this habit will harm her. She's been chewing everything
since she was 3 months old. When will this end? Does this indicate a
problem? We are washing all her toys every day. We only buy toys that
can be washed. No soft toys for her because I'm worried I can't clean
them.

When will she outgrow this habit? Is this a problem?

er, no. all babies chew on everything. i'm not even sure why you're
washing
everything maniacally because she'll be eating dirt in a few months. :-)

when hey get that pincer grip goin, they can pick up teeny tiny particles of
WHATEVER and eat them, mmm hmmm

In article ,
"0tterbot" wrote:

er, no. all babies chew on everything. i'm not even sure why you're washing
everything maniacally because she'll be eating dirt in a few months. :-)

Maybe that's only the Aussies. DS's first solids were a piece of an envelope,
and a handful of dirt and lawn clippings.

To the OP: your baby is probably chewing frantically because a tooth is about
to pop through.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Jeez; if only those Ancient Greek storytellers had known about the astonishing
creature that is the *Usenet hydra*: you cut off one head, and *a stupider one*
grows back..." -- MJ, cam.misc

Chookie wrote in message
Maybe that's only the Aussies. DS's first solids were a piece of an
envelope, and a handful of dirt and lawn clippings.

I wouldn't limit that to Aussies as many Americans that I know don't wash
everything all the time. It seems to be limited to the paranoia of new
parents. ) I think my oldest daughter's first solids were the kitty
litter.

To the OP, having a sterile/clean envoirnment is not doing your daughter any
favors. It is actually much better for her to have some germs around and be
exposed to some dirt. )
--
Sue (mom to three girls)
I'm Just a Raggedy Ann in a Barbie Doll World...

ted wrote:

My 8.5 months old dd chews, licks, gnaws everything.

So does Caterpillar, but Caterpillar is younger than your
DD, so I don't have any advice about outgrowing.


We are washing all her toys every day.

We don't clean anything. I figure she's getting a head
start on her peck of dirt, and house dirt isn't likely to
have anything particularly toxic in it. So far, so good.

Phoebe
--
yahoo address is unread - substitute mailbolt

Phoebe & Allyson wrote in
:

We don't clean anything. I figure she's getting a head
start on her peck of dirt, and house dirt isn't likely to
have anything particularly toxic in it. So far, so good.

well, that's assuming your house is newer than mid-70s when
lead based paint was banned. if you have an older home you
need to be a bit more careful about cleaning (or opening &
closing windows). paint doesn't have to be peeling to be a
hazard, paint dust is actually worse.
but that said, i have an old house & i wasn't fanatic about
washing toys either.
lee