This week alone he has chewed the thumbs off his brand-new FINGERLESS gloves, the sleeve off a sweater knitted especially for him, the collars from two undershirts and the tip off his limited edition "Olympic" red mittens.
This morning, as I rummaged through the mitten box for yet another pair of mittens, I gave him a stern lecture:
"Luke, if you chew through these mittens, I won't buy you another pair and your fingers will freeze in the cold and then they'll fall off and then you won't be able to play video games or pet the dog we might get one day."
(I shall take my parenting award now, thank you.)
Tonight, I stood chatting with the sitter while Luke got himself dressed to come home. The boots were fine, his coat collar too and the sleeves of his sweater were fully intact.
Phew.
And then I tugged Luke's hat/mask over his face - it's grey and covers his head, neck and ears, while his eyes, nose and mouth peek through a hole in the middle.
As it dropped past his nose, I let out a shriek: "LUKE! You ate your hat?!!"
Luke grinned through the newly-chewed "mouth-hole."
"I needed it to breath, Mummy."
"But Luuuukkkke," I wailed, "There's a BIG hole here, for your mouth. See?"
"I saw. But Mummy?"
"Oh Lord, love a duck! What, Luke? WHAT?"
"I didn't eat my mittens!"
I laughed until I cried.
Tech was a chewer, too. He "teethed" until he was around 8. And then he just stopped. I can't tell you how many shirts he ate, how many gloves. Or why. But one day, it just ended. Weird. But funny. He found your loophole!
ReplyDeleteDid Tech ever say WHY he chewed his way through childhood? This is new behaviour - since September. It's also getting expensive...
DeleteMy son chews clothing as well as pens and pencils. One of his therapists recommended gum and it helps a lot.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...gum. Never thought of that, but I'd get "You're the BEST Mummy EVER" kudos if I allowed more gum around here. Thanks for the suggestion and for stopping by!
DeleteIs he iron deficient?
ReplyDeleteI don't know. He's clearly not cotton-blend deficient. Ha! What are the other symptoms I ought to look for?
DeleteFunny how some kids will chew through anything! :) My daughter was a hair twister. She twisted her hair around her finger until the blood was cut off. More than once I had to cut the hair to save the finger! Goodness!
ReplyDeleteHair-twirling - I didn't realize how dangerous it could be! What age was your daughter when she stopped doing this, Annie? Please say 5 and one quarter...
DeleteJust think how boring it would be when they are adults if we didn't have these stories to tell them (that's how I make it through the day).
ReplyDeleteSo true! And really, this blog is just to make it easier for their therapists to get to the root of things, when the Reds are grown...
ReplyDeleteI ate everything up until age 5 or 6...
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty cute that he loves you so much that he was able to stop himself from eating his mittens - that's no small feat for a little fella!
You know, you're right. It took forethought and a desire to please for him NOT to chew his mittens. Thanks for that perspective.
DeleteHe's 5...hopefully this chewing thing won't last beyond next year, eh?