LINT eating and defiance

OK - I need some help here. I am a first time parent. I have a son that is 4 months short of 2 (and if I kill him first might not make it that far!!!). By most accounts he is a wonderful child. He just has this one problem. He eats lint. Lint off the floor, off the stuffed animals, off the carpeting, off his fleece blankets - you get the point. We had him tested for Pica. Which fortunately came out negative. But he still does it. And now when we tell him "yucky" or "don't do that - bad" he smiles and then defiantly puts it in his mouth while we are watching. I don't understand why he is doing this. We give him plenty of positive attention. And we can't give him a time out b/c he will just eats the lint in the area we stick him for the time out ( I know that sounds funny - but its true!!!). And my hubby and I don't believe in hitting. Although I have grabbed his hand away from his mouth (but that doesn't work either). Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I am glad to hear that it wasn't Pica, Adrienne.....The best advice that I ever got on this subject actually came from my mother (don't tell her I said that ). Finny went through a time of constantly biting her nails. It really upset me and I tried everything...I put vinegar on her fingers , begged, pleaded...you name it. She seemed almost gleeful about her nail-biting. In the meantime, her little fingers were just stubs....she bit them back so far that they were beginning to bleed sometimes. I started worrying that she had some kind of a nervous disorder or something.



What did my mom tell me to do? Ignore it.



I considered this to be really LOUSY advice initially, and I kept up what I was doing. But if you think about it from a behavior modification standpoint, if you want to extinguish a behavior you shouldn't give it any attention...and you should give some strokes to new "better" behaviors.



Eventually, I did start "ignoring" it, although I found it very difficult not to nag ! After a week or so I did notice an improvement...but it came at a price. When she noticed me not really paying attention to the nail biting, she initially did it more and really got in my face to show me that she was doing it...and I just ignored it. (very hard to do)



Then I went out and bought nail polish and started painting my nails in front of her one day...She of course immediately wanted some, but I gently explained that she didn't have any nails right now for me to paint. Of course, if she let her nails grow, she could have some nail polish ....and she never bit them again...



Seriously Adrienne, I didn't think ignoring the behavior would work, and it took a LOT out of me not to give it the negative attention....but it did work.



Well, this is just my parenting .02



Kris
The Medical Spouse Network

I agree with Kris. Sometimes ignoring it actually solves the problem though you have to be watchful in case he decides to put something dangerous in his mouth. My second son put everything in his mouth, ears and nose. I can't tell you how many times we were at the operating room (where my husband worked) borrowing instruments to try and get rocks out of my son's nose! We also worried because he put everything in his mouth and liked to eat flowers. We had to watch him closely but ... it was just a phase that passed. I guess it is just one of those experiences where parents get to practice some serious PATIENCE. But it will resolve itself, I promise! Good luck!



Robin

Thanks for the advice. I have been trying to do that and will continue to try doing so.



My husband's approach to this has been to say to Matthew - "Give it to Daddy." followed by "thank you" (<-- which is what Matthew usually says when he is done with something and gives it to you). This seems to work most of the time, but then there are the times when he will pull carpeting lint up and put it in his mouth, look at me and smile defiantely. What a booger.