My Toddler Is Making Herself Vomit-driving Sitter Nuts

Hello J.
Your question intrigued me very much. I am wondering, and I say this because HER son used to do it, are SURE that maybe the babysitter does not do that herself and maybe the children have been a witness to it? You know how kids are....if you are in the bathroom doing "your bussiness" .... how many times has your child walked in on ya'? Maybe there is a subtle way to ask the babysitter....or maybe ask your child "where did you learn that from", after your child has done that concerning action. Or maybe say (to the child) "Does (insert babysitters name) do that to? BUT ask in a way as to not hurt the chils feelings....don't make it sound like a bad thing (AT FIRST).That is what I would do and see what comes of it. If you do not get anywhere with that, maybe you could ask the babysitter directly. Not to hurt feelings BUT it sounds like a pattern with her... (seeing as her child did it to, she, unfortunately, is the common denominator). Anyway, that is MY suggestion/opinion. It is worth your childs health and you do NOT want YOUR child to continue this .... you might loose a sitter BUT it is a small price to pay for your childs safety and development. Thank you IAND I hope my suggestions help. TAKE CARE..... YOU AND YOUR CHILD : )
S. K.
Seminole, FL

First off, don't worry. I have a 2 year 9 month old and he used to do this between 1 and 2 years of age. It IS a way to get attention, and is normal for a child that is being weaned off their pacifier. When my kid did it I would just take his hand out of his mouth and say, "no, that's not good for 'child's name' " It didn't take long before he stopped doing it. I would advise that it's important that she stop her from doing it to the point of vomiting because that's not healthy if done repeatedly. Regardless of whether it's an attention getter...she is getting payed to give her attention and taking her fingers out of her mouth is the only way she'll stop. I DO NOT think that an 18 month old is mimicking something that the babysitter is doing...HIGHLY unlikely.

If the sitter is trying to help you wean her off the pacifier and that's something you want as well then you need to enforce the same routine of taking it away as the sitter is doing, otherwise it's counteractive and will only prolong the fingers in the mouth issue. She's just trying to replace her comfort item and at that age it's the only thing she knows to do. Kids are curious by nature and will explore different things about themselves, it's up to you and the sitter to let her know what isn't good for her.

If this is something she only does around the sitter and you are taking the pacifier away (for long periods of time) too, then and only then would I worry. Good luck I hope this helped!

She may not be doing it on purpose. My 13 month old does this from time to time because he's trying to grab his tongue and it gags him. Or sometimes if he's teething and he tries to put his finger in the back of his mouth to rub his tooth it will gag him.

huuummmm.....this is weird
I was thinking that you really should call her peditrician but, you know there is more to your daughters behavior than just wanting attention...i am sure of it! have you seen you daughter do this with your own eyes?
I mean not to be all up in someone's life or for that matter think of a way to get rid of your child because of other reasons but making excuses about this to get u out! hhuuuuummmmmmmmm makes me wonder, please let us know how it turns out though.
M.

ok so im not a negivitive thinker but have you herd of people who intentionally make people in their lives sick for the attenion they get? it seems odd that as stacy said the common factor is the sitter i mean i understand this is worse case seniro but the other thought is maybe if she has been sick in the past and you or your husband had to pick her up maybe there is something going on in the sitters house that is making her not want to be there and she thinks if she gets sick she'll have to go home my other concern would be the sitters lack of concern for the sitution blowing it off to wanting attenion i do home daycare and if one of the children i was caring for was doing this i would be truely concerned about why they were doing this in my care and i would request that the parents take the child to the doctor and make sure that the dr thinks its just her way of getting attention but i would def. take my child to the doctor and firgure out why it is happening my nephew use to do this and unforn. there were bad things going on at his home and when his mother left his father (my brother) the behavior stopped so i would def. be concerned if you have never witnessed this and it is a reg. thing at the sitters house sorry to be a neg. preson on this matter but as a childcare provider i know i how i would respond to this and as a few other have said she would never be allowed to gag herself to the point of vomiting its not healthy it can riun the lining of her thoart and cause preminate damage good luck getting to the bottom of this problem

the little girl that i babysit also does this, sticks her fingers in her mouth and gags herself. she doesn't get to the point where she vomits, mainly because i don't let her....i see her putting her fingers that far into her mouth and i pull them out and tell her no. its really not a difficult concept. tell the babysitter to just keep an eye on your child and pull her fingers out of her mouth when the baby does this. redirect her, give her a toy that she can safely chew on instead of her fingers. it won't take long before your baby stops.
good luck!

your are so lucky that is all she is doing...lol my daughter at 3 would scream non stop for days. i was 8 months pregnant and i swear if i got 4 hrs sleep in 3 days i was lucky. i finally broke down and gave her a new one. one day she didn't want to take a nap and hurled it and well i couldn't find it. that night she wanted it and i told her if she could find it she could have it. she went and looked and nothing so she went to bed. this happened 3 days and night in a row and bam she was off. i'd say they will normally give it up when they are ready and if she isn't broke by 4 then tell her right before christmas that santa asked for her binky because other babies need it and he'll bring her something special for it. at that age they want that new toy :) and thus will give it up naturally.

i wrote a rply and then realized you got it all worked out...i figured it was accidental. good work!