2 Yr Old Who Literally Eats EVERYTHING She Picks Up

My mother tells me that I used to eat paper, crayons, glue, paste, dried flowers, dried pasta, and dried beans.

Eventually, I grew out of it.

F. B.

My kid was one of those kids. She just very recently outgrew this. I got so worried I had her checked out and all her bloodwork came back fine. I think some kids just explore with their mouths.
Unfortunately, it just required constant supervision. I would probably be alarmed at the amount of paper my daughter has eaten without my knowing. Her favorite "snack" was books (before it moved on to crayons). All her books look like a shark took a bite out of the corner of them.
Her crib was so chewed up, we had to take it to the dump. It really was unbelievable.
Anyway, this will pass. Hang in there.

There is a disorder called PICA. People affected by PICA eat all sorts of crazy things.

Pica is a disorder where people feel compelled to eat non-food substances...commonly clay, chalk, dirt, and soap. There's no medical evidence that this is due to vitamin deficiency, etc, which makes sense since none of these things would fulfill any dietary requirement.

However, that's quite different from a child who just sticks everything in her mouth...common with some children. I can't honestly believe she's eating your dining room chairs. She can't possibly be eating toys, household items, etc...she'd have huge problems if that were the case. Are these things just being misplaced? If she's actual swallowing household items and toys, you have a bigger issue on your hand than your own frustration over losing things...she could choke and die.

Excuse me? You are a daycare provider? Is this a child or a dog? I have yet to meet a two year old child that will EAT a kitchen chair.

It is perfectly normal for 2 year olds to put pretty much everything they find in their mouth. That is exactly the reason why you need to keep choking hazards out of reach of kids under 3! To me this doesn't sound like PICA at all - more like a normal toddler.

As a daycare provider it is your job to make your daycare (even if it is your home) safe for the children in your care. That includes picking up anything and everything that should not wander into a 2 year olds mouth. You are getting paid to supervise this child, and honestly if you are doing your job and supervising, as well as providing a safe environment, I would argue this child would not have an opportunity to "EAT" anything that isn't food.

My DD has been in daycare all of her life and you can be SURE I would have reported any provider that tells me my child ate some household item. The child should not have access to these things. In the daycares that DD has attended (all were licensed) they made sure that the kids NEVER had access to ANYTHING that wasn't safe to be put in their mouths! If they had older kids, they had different rooms or gated areas for the toys for older kids that may be unsafe for toddlers.

Make sure you provide a safe room or area where this little one can roam and plenty of toys that are fine to chew on.
Or consider that your daycare is not set up for a child that age and ask the parents to find different care, while you stick with older kids.
Good luck.

Pica? It seems strange that at 2 she's still eating everything to the point that you're losing things. Does she respond when you redirect her? Or is she not getting the point at all? Kids teethe and kids chew, but this sounds obsessive.

She is at a huge, huge risk of choking or being poisoned. If she is actually gnawing on furniture -- is that what you mean by needing to safeguard the chairs??-- she is eating varnish.

Please be more concerned about this child's almost inevitable choking incident than about the items in your house. You babysit her. You could be held responsible -- not legally, probably, but certainly you could lose babysitting business -- if this toddler chokes on your watch.And even if you DO watch closely she sounds very hard to curb.

You need to have a serious meeting with her parents (without her there distracting them or you). This is your business and you are, I think, obligated to let them know that their child's behavior is outside what you have seen as being normal teething or mouthing or "exploring" behaviors. I would strongly recommend to them that they get her evaluated for pica, or for some kind of teething issues that are more serious than the norm, or whatever, but tell them you are concerned about a daily and almost constant choking risk.

Seriously...folks are posting about how this is a phase, and it likely is, but it could be a genuinely dangerous one as you describe it. She could end up either choking or sick from ingesting who knows what. Isn't that the bigger issue?

What other behaviors does this child have? Any others in particular?
This sounds like alot of chewing! Sensory processing? Pica?

It could be something serious or it could be they just like having something in their mouth. My son was one that we had to pick up all the things that were small enough to swallow.

Is she actually eating it? Meaning swallowing and pooping it out? Or is it just an oral thing?

It is the phase you know, to put EVERYTHING into their mouths...even poopy fingers from dirty diapers. But they usually do that only a few times before they get the yuckiness of that choice.

Most items around the house are pretty tasteless, but a the same time can be hazardous if consumed.

Children who eat a lot of really different and weird things--ie., not food--usually are suffering from severe nutritional deficiencies. Look up pica and see if that describes this young child. She's too little to tell, but OCD should also be kept in the back of one's mind. As well as the fact that she is a kid, and putting things in the mouth is actually quite common.

Also, some kids just do a lot more chewing and teething on stuff than others. Is she teething/chewing on stuff--or is she actually eating it?

Other than her pacifier, does she have teething rings she can chew on? Maybe she's nervous and chewing helps calm/soothe/makes her feel better.