This has been going on for about a year. She chews on a tshirt of mine during stories, puts fingers in her mouth, etc. I have even found her with small toys in her mouth. Self soothing? It is kind of gross though....
My son has Sensory Processing Disorder, he is 6 and has a teething ring still due to his need for oral stimulation - otherwise MANY things would end up in his mouth. We have found bite marks in tons of random things where they do not belong, that's how I knew we needed to go back to a teether.
My younger son is three and just began outgrowing this. Sometimes he'll still get an idea to put something small in his mouth just to get attention and it makes me so nervous and mad. I keep reminding him over and over to keep stuff out of his mouth and he usually listens. My older child outgrew this at 2. So, to answer your question, I think she is getting a little old for putting things in her mouth.
No, my son does not do this. Could be "normal" could no be depending on frequency and type. Small toys in mouth are not usually normal at 4. Chewing on fingers or a shirt during certain activities could be. Just keep reminding her. My son used to like to pick his dry skin at karate. I made sure to moisturize and a couple months later (with reminding) he stopped.
I just saw your other post about your sensitive child...I suggest you look into Sensory Processing Disorder/Difficulties. What you describes sounds like Sensory Processing issues and I think it would really benefit her to see an Occupational Therapist.
Yes, it is a self-soothing thing......
Some kids are more "oral" than others...
You can get special jewelry that she can chew on... easy to keep clean...
http://www.nationalautismresources.com/chewelry.html
I'm not trying to suggest that your child has autism, but many kids on the spectrum are sensory seeker kids.... and they chew on lots of things, seeking sensory input.
My 6 year old still does. Heck, all of mine have been hair/shirt/cord suckers at some point in their lives. It's normal. I just remind them to take it out.
No joke my 19 year old DD is still prone to putting things in her mouth.
My four year old is also putting lots of stuff in her mouth. She really never went through that phase as a baby. I'm hoping this is a phase that quickly passes. The tshirt does sound like self soothing to me. Mine does not do that but I don't think you need to be concerned by it.
My 4 year old son puts things in his mouth all the time. It drives me crazy, but I think it is normal.
Don't let her play with small toys. She could choke.
Yes, my son does. He does it specifically in an absent-minded way. If he is thinking about something else or if he's nervous. I guess its a nervous reaction. He has pretty much stopped chewing clothes, but still other random stuff.
