"Child Chewing Furniture-help!"

They make specific covers for coffee tables and such, I looked one up and here is a link: http://www.safebeginnings.com/WebComponents/Catalog/Publi...
Another idea I had is to put just a light sprinkle of pepper or something that doesnt taste good at all on the edges of the furniture. You shouldnt have to do this too long before she gets the bad taste a few times and decides to stop! In the meantime, I'd also try to get more teething toys or some larger hard plastic toys that she might decide to work on after she realizes the wood tastes yucky now. :)
I also thought of Pica, which is a disorder in young children that causes them to eat dirt, wood and all kinds of yucky stuff. But I looked it up and it says that before 18 months, they dont consider this a medical problem. Its only if they are doing it after 18-24 months of age.
Good Luck!

I've honestly NEVER heard of a child chewing on furniture. My daughter puts alot of things in her mouth, but actually chewing and biting peices off can be very dangerous. I would consult your pediatrician. Also, she may break a tooth. WOW! Good Luck on that one.
K.

I have a year old that is doing this and I have gone through so much furniture LOL it makes you want to cry sometimes and is just noway you can take all of the wood out of your house. I have tried everything and the only thing I have found to work is rubbing bar soap on the edges of the wood. It is clear and doesn't seem to hurt the furniture... one bite and they don't go back again!! Good luck!!

At babies-r-us they have a gummi rail that is for cribs that you peel and stick to rail. My son was chewing on his crib rail that is wood and that is what we did and it worked and it is pretty cheap. Good luck

Can you cover it with a clean, old blanket and then wrap some duct tape around it to hold it in place? The edge cushions don't stay on very well, my daughter thinks it is fun to pull them off and try to eat them. Your daughter is probably teething, too, so try to keep a lot of cold teethers on hand and offer one to her when you see her start to chew on the furniture.

Put cloth slipcovers over the furniture and rearrange it if possible. This disorients them just enough to break the phase. While doing this, you might want to consider a harder teether or sugar free popsicles.

It sounds like a massive teething problem combined with oral tendencies. I've only seen it once before but the slip covers worked when a child was that young. Any older and the whole hide in plain sight thing doesn't work.

It'a possible they like the flavor of the furnitures polish/wax. If, inevitably they are going to chew on the furniture, swap to beeswax or food grade mineral oil instead of chemical based polishes and cleaners.

hello T., i have actually heard of this my mother in law chewed on wooden furniture when she was a baby. she chewed her crib and the legs of the chairs and tables. she had a mineral deficiency!! i can't remember which mineral it was or if they even knew, it was a little while ago. i think i would call the doctor and let them know and maybe they could see about giving her some sort of a supplement. i think it's along the same situation as children that eat dirt!! i could understand your frustration but i hope this makes you feel a little better knowing that someone else has experienced this and she got over her chewing habbits!! good luck and take care!

babies r us has hard plastic edge guards for furniture - mostly for cribs, but depending on what she's chewing, it might work for the other furniture as well. my son likes to chew on his toys when he's teething - he never liked teething rings - not hard enough, i think. i've found that what works best is a hard plastic toy like a hammer or the mallets to a xylophone work best - he can get the handle in his mouth to where the teeth are coming in and this seems to help soothe his gums. also, try www.babycenter.com - they have lots of good baby-proofing stuff - you might find something you could adapt on there. good luck!

My son was chewing and running his teeth along his crib. I found at Babies R Us this rubber thing that I attached to the crib. The positive and yet also a negitive...It didn't stick very well! It did last long enough for him to outgrow the phase though :) and didn't ruin the wood anymore than he already had!