2 yo eating dirt

[DancinMomma]

My 2 yo DS eats/tries very random things. He has eaten dirt by the handfuls, tree bark, sipped nasty water in a bird bath, licks rocks...pretty much anything he picks up he'll taste. He is a very interesting child, to say the least! I didnt think much about it, but then we were at a b-day party and he stops in the middle of everyone, gets down on his hands and knees and starts licking dirt off the concrete! I was kinda embarassed/defensive and it was then that I thought "hmmm this is really strange!" I read somewhere this can be a sign of mental retardation, but DS is normal developmentally.

I am wondering if there is something missing in his diet or something? Should I take him to the doctor? Anyone else experience this or have any advice?

[RedheadbyChoice]

Wouldn't even ping my radar, momma. He's just experimenting with tastes and textures. Now if he were trying to eat pain thinner or chemicals, yeah, that would worry me.

Just keep reinforcing 'that's not for you, son, how about an apple instead?' over and over again.

Lather, rinse, and repeat.



And write it down, so you can rib him about it someday. :)

[colleen0419]

Hi,
I wouldn't easily dismiss your sons behaviors. It is possible that he has PICA, which is a pattern of eating non-foods, such as dirt or paper. It can also be related to specific nutritional deficiencies. Google PICA and/or talk to your PMD about it.
PS: Not trying to freak you out, just putting another thought out there, as a pediatric RN that's the first thing I thought of.

[colleen0419]

Oh, and PICA is NOT a sign of mental retardation.

[Whitney]

When my daughter was small she would eat strange things. I remember when I would rub lotion on her she would go nuts trying to lick it off herself. She also enjoyed eating dirt and other stuff. Luckily she grew out of it. I remember hearing that it may be a vitamin deficiency of some sort. I would ask his dr. to be on the safe side.

[DancinMomma]

OK thanks guys. He is past due for his 2 yo appt...so I'll ask his Ped. about it. We had a recent visit to the ER and they did bloodwork-I would think they would have told me if he was anemic. But better be safe than sorry.

Interesting tidbit-he actually got a rare intestinal infection from drinking out of a bird bath! His doctor was like "this is really strange-this (whatever it was called) comes from birds" I was like "you dont know my child!"

[fell4myfallbaby]

ahh i just recently experienced DS trying to eat dirt....rocks....paper.
i wouldn't think it would be a mental problem. although it might make you feel a bit off your rocker trying to keep him from eating things!
however i have a best friend that is 25 and she would eat dirt...still. one time she did stop and put her finger in dirt and eat it. i just didn't drink after her! :)
i would check with the doctor. but it doesn't sound like anything major. hopefully not! good luck!

[DancinMomma]

Lol. One time when I was preggo with DS1, we were watching a football game on TV and it was snowing really hard at the game. I had this *overwhelming* desire to jump thru the screen and eat the snow! Of course I was eating ice like it was candy....now thats a Pica!

[fell4myfallbaby]

ahh i remember seeing snow on tv and wanting to go lay in it when i was pregnant.

[vickikreiner]

I second Colleen.