OT Please help me with my 14month old!

[jt42blue]

Hi everyone,

Im sorry that this is OT but i need some advice.

I have a 14 month old ds and over the past few days he has started trying to stick food into his ears!

2 days ago he was eating a piece of homemade pizza and i noticed he was picking off small pieces and trying to stick it in his ear.

Yesterday it was a bread roll.

Today it was peas.

Each time i have seen him do this i have grabbed his hand, pulled it away from his ear, got down to his level and firmly said NO, and today i gave him a tap on his hand ( please no flames for this, it was not hard and didn't even bother him, infact he pulled his hand away and grabbed another pea).

what can i do to stop this? i am 99% positive that he doesn't have a ear ache, but i am planning to take him to the drs tommorrow to make sure.

He is my fourth child and none of the others have done this, but the others all have stuck things up their noses ( ds now 8 stuck coco pops up his nose so i squeezed his nose and popped them, dd now 6 stuck a tic tac up her nose, but i left it up there for an hour or so and her "snot' dissolved it and it fell out on its own).

Please help, melissa

 

[Mickey3Boys]

He is probably just trying to get your reaction or is just exploring his body. If he is doing this every meal, you could always try those wax earplugs - then it wouldn't be as much fun if he can't put anything in My twins do all types of things during mealtimes and they seem to do it more if the other one - or mom - shows a reaction. Sometimes I have to take away the food and give it back later after telling them I will take it away again if they don't stop...Getting his ears checked is not a bad idea, since they can have fluid in their ears without you knowing.

 

[bumbershoot]

Maybe I'm weird, but I don't really see anything wrong with this, no need to hit a kid over it, and I'm not sure why there's a need for a doctor. He's just having fun with his body, and compared to what my guy does with his body in the privacy of our own home , putting food in ears is nothing! IMO.

Oh your poor girl, with the tictac. My brother put one up his nose when he was maybe 2 or 3, and it BURNED so bad. And it was green. I felt really bad for him, but I'm the older sister so I did, um, laugh quite a bit. Luckily before the ER could take him back (my mom tried and tried but it wasn't coming out) it dissolved enough that it came out on its own...but wow did it burn the poor kiddo's nose.

 

[MSSANDRA]

I have seen kids put food in MANY places. 100% normal. i do however think that you are right to try to stop it, as something like a pea, stuck in the ear could cause problems.
I think the stronger your reaction, the more motivation he has to try to get another reaction. ( i admit I might have laughed at him).

Try serving him foods that are hard to stick in his ear such a mashed potatos instead of pieces of potatos or things like pudding or soups. If he puts something in his ear, say no (calmly) once and them just take the food away. if he is playing, he is not hungry.

Bet he is really a cute kid.

 

[Zeebs]

put a hat on him

I agree with trying different foods in the meantime that are too big to shove in his ears. While he is probably just exploring his body having a pea stuck in his ear isn't a good idea as you well know which explains your attempts to get him to stop. (by the way both options you have done so far would also have been tried by me as well)

Good luck with it I hope it is a phase that passes for you soon.

Kirsten

 

[jt42blue]

hi everyone, thanks for your replies.

What i am concerned about is the fact that ds is breaking the food eg the pizza and bread roll into small pieces and using his finger to push it into his ear. I am sorry that i probably didn't make it clear on what he was doing. He is actually shoving the small pieces of food in his earhole with his finger and trying to push it down the hole, and i am afraid they may get stuck and cause him problems/pain/infections etc.

This is why i tapped his hand ( not hit, i used 2 of my fingers to tap the top of his hand to draw his attention to it ). And i didn't yell at him, although i was firm in saying no cause i didnt want him to thing it was a game.

The reason why i am taking him to a doctor is because i was wondering that maybe he might have a ear ache so he might be putting the food into his ear to ease the pain, like some kids pull at their ears if they hurt.

I know kids explore their bodies, but i also dont want him hurting his ears by pushing food down towards his eardrums.

with the tic tac story, my dd was 4 at the time and she was the one that told me it was up there. I asked her numerous times if was causing her pain, and she said no everytime, but she said it was abit uncomfortable. if it was causing her pain i would have taken her to a doctor, but considering she was outside playing with her brother and laughing, i didn't bother. She told me when it feel out and promised not to do it again because it 'felt funny up there'.

thanks again, melissa

 

[r4blessings]

I think you are doing everything right! Just goes to show you that even experienced moms can be thrown for a loop!

Anyway, if the dr can confirm that there is no ear infection or fluid that could be causing him discomfort then I think the only thing you can really do is take the food away. Once he sticks the first piece of food in his ear, announce "I see that you are playing with your food, and that tells me that you are finished eating" and then remove the food. Like the PP said, if he is playing with it, he is not hungry.

Also, have you noticed him sticking other things into his ear (toys, household objects, etc)? If not, I would take it as a sign that he isn't all that hungry and is trying to entertain himself (mostly by making you nuts!)

Good luck!