How Can I Stop His Mouth Habit?

Maybe try a sticker chart for positive reinforecement. If he can go a whole day without making the noise he gets a sticker. After a week he gets a special present or treat. That might help him pay attention and stop himself.

Good luck!

My daughter has had habits over the years, like constantly clearing her throat, smelling her hands constantly, etc. Each time a new habit came up, I reminded her repeatedly to not do it, and eventually she quit. You could even reward him with something if he doesn't do it for an hour or something like that. Eventually it will become a habit NOT to do it.

I don't want to scare you, but you should talk to his doctor. My son use to make himself burp and we were constantly getting on him. After a year or so he started to blink his eyes. I took him to the eye doctor to check his vision and he has Tourette syndrome. (it isn't near as bad as it seems) He now has a 504 plan (for other reasons as well) and teachers aren't allowed to mention his noises in class. (He did stop making them tics don't usually last that long and they change every few months)

MY son makes weird shooting noises at times too. It's almost like they don't even know they are doing it. I either ask him a question that he'll have to respond too or teach him to make a more acceptable noise. Like my son wants to learn how to whistle. So we work on that in the car. You will have to make it clear to him that he can practice whistling on the playground but not in the classroom.

Hi TS,

Maybe buy some sugar free lollypops. He needs to get out of the habit, so you need to give him something else to do with his mouth. I don't know it's just an idea. have whoever look after him have him suck on one of these when he starts making this noise, he won't be able to with something in his mouth. Try this for a week or two. We all know how habits are and once you start, it is really hard to stop. My daughter used to clear her throat in a really strange little cough way for a long while. I really thought that she had something wrong, so I took her to the Dr and it was nothing. He did give me a few samples for a post nasal drip for allergies just in case that was what was happening in the day, and I think psychologically giving her a really small does of this made her think that she was cured. After 3 days she never did it again. I think you just have to come up with something to break a habit.
Good luck.

A.

yes, you can get pregnant while breastfeeding. I did!

I would check with your doctor to rule out neurologically-based problems that can present in that age group, especially in boys, like Tourette's.

Do you know why he started the noise in the first place? Is it nervousness? Did something traumatic happen to him lately? I would be concerned that he isn't able to control it. You may want to talk to the pediatrician about it.

As a mommy and I teacher, I would recommend talking to your child's kindergarten teacher about this. Most teachers are very sensitive to children's needs. If it is something that your son cannot control your child's teacher will understand and help direct the other children to be understanding. I understand your concerns and hope for all the best.

If your son is 5 (and doesn't have Tourette's), he should be able to control it. I'd make a rule he can't do it in class, church, library, etc. and try to ignore it the rest of the time. I'd also ask my pediatrician about it. My son developed a nervous habit that drove me nuts last year and his pediatrician said "ignore it" and that I was lucky that was his only one. It lasted about 6 mos., and then went away, thankfully.

Ignore it. The minute you make a fuss you're inviting a control issue. Trust me, if the other kids tease him he'll stop doing it right away.

Don't mean to freak you out, but if he really can't stop if and it's ongoing talk to your Dr. about having him evaluated for tourettes syndrome. It sometimes present's itself in this manner. Good luck