Odd Toddler Behaviors

He's just soothing himself. Nice that he's able to do that. My daughter used to stroke my hair between her index finger and thumb, I had a little broken section from her doing it so much. My son would play with his ear. Not sure why you feel the need to stop it?

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Kids do all sorts of things to self sooth. I think it is fine.. at least he does not have his hands in his pants the whole time like lots of boy and girl toddlers..

It may change as he gets older.. to something else. You are lucky he is not depending on you to sooth him..

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Is he 2 months or 2 years?

My cousin has 4 sons, now all grown. When they were little, 1 of them liked to rub Dad's ear lobe for comfort. Another of them liked to roll the veins on the back of Dad's hand. So I guess as odd as it is, it could still be within the realm of "normal" as far as self-soothing behaviors go.

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If he's not hurting himself, I agree - it's just a soothing behavior. If you try to stop him, I think you'll do more harm then good. At this age, if he grabs something too sharp, he'll learn it hurts and stop. Eventually he'll outgrow it and/or find another way to soothe himself. My 4 year old still puts her hand down the front of her shirt and rubs her chest - she's done it since birth when she's tired (or nursing when a baby). She does it now only when tired and I think they all find ways to soothe themselves.

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My son used to smell my hair to soothe himself to go to sleep. Now he wants to smell the sheet or blanket when he goes to sleep. He was never one to suck on a pacifier either. I would not freak out too much. Just keep your eye on him. I am sure he will outgrow it. May be see if there is a stufffed animal or blanket he may like so he diverts his attention.

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My nephew needed to pinch people. I really mean it. He would sit in the chair and pinch. He was doing it to my MIL and when I told her that surely that hurt, she let me know it wasn't my business. I guess it didn't really hurt, but she was happy to let him do it because he was enjoying it.

Two days later when I saw her, she had a bruise on her arm the size of a small grapefruit. No more pinching after that! (Though she didn't admit I was right.) My SIL got a little worried about it and took him to an OT. It turned out that he needed sensory integration therapy. It made a really big difference for him.

What you are talking about with your son sounds very familiar. My own son needed to touch things hard in order to feel them. He would run into walls and was pretty rough because he could not feel things like other kids did. OT worked for him too. You need an OT who has experience in SI (sensory integration) because it is part of a masters study. Try this, Mom. I really think it would help him.

All my best,
D.

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Does he have a lovey? Try offering him one everytime he needs to soothe himself... my son's lovey is an ugly doll and he runs his fingers up and down "Blue's" ear.

I think your son is fine to be doing what he needs to do to comfort himself, but I completely understand your concerns about safety and it looking a little odd.

Try replacing it with something: a lovey, a child I know flicked her fingernails, think of something and offer that everytime he needs soothing. I wouldn't try to stop him because it might be more distressing.

If you are worried that this is a sensory issue, it sounds more like a soothing behavior to me. If you have other sensory seeking behaviors that pop up, or that you worry about, then this might be something to worry about, but it just sounds like this is his "lovey." I would be glad that he has a way to soothe.

M.

Sounds like a self-soothing technique for him. My sons did the belly button rubbing too, it was a step up from the hands down the pants thing.

They never had a lovey at that age, but now that they are 3 and 5, they love thees teddy bears they have and always get them when they are tired/sick/sleepy.

Maybe when he does that, introduce a softer little blanket or stuffed toy, so he can use something more comfortable.