11 Month Old Eating Everything in Sight

I know how you feel. My 18 mo. old still likes to eat dog food. No matter how much I tell him no, he still grabs a hand full when I'm not watching. My other boys had all out grown this by this age. It's just a phase that they all go through, that's part of how they learn. She'll out grow it eventually.

This is a very normal part of development - children learn about taste, texture, etc by putting everything in their mouths! However inconvinient for us, this is just a part of their normal growth and development. I'd try to offer her toys that are safe (no splinters) and sanitize easily - You can wash may toys in the washing machine or dishwasher (just put in one of those mesh longerie bags), or sanitized with wipes or spray. Don't worry about this too much - in fact you should be concerned if she doesn't! It will pass in time and she'll begin to expore more with her other senses, so you do have that to look forward to! good luck

Actually, it sounds like you've got a Reader on your hands more than an Eater. I can tell you from my experience and professional training that she's showing signs of emergent literacy typical of a child her age. Mouthing books, even chewing on them, is a sure sign you have a little one who is going to be a lifelong reader. My advice is to read to her AND at the same time let her have her way with board books. It may seem as though she's not listening, but keep reading even though she crawls/toddles/walks away...you'll eventually have a child who happily sits on your lap, listening well and appreciating books all the more. Another thing too is, she's probably teething more than ever now.

L., yes it will pass, keep doing what you are doing you seem to be doing great, it will pass,teething is different for every child, one of mine, had to cry on the floor, without any one touching him for about 20 minutes, every time you tried to touch him he would screem louder, he did this for about a month or two then all of sudden it was gone, so do oral fixations, keep replacing the bad to eat with the good like the toys, you can do this, hang in there,you are doing well, yes you can do this, and yes it will go away , as long as you stick to your guns, it will work, and you might have to put things away like you did, keep up the good work, just enjoy life, D. s

Hi L.,

This is normal. Young children (0-3)explore their world with their mouths. Your mouth has the most sensitivity of any other part of your body. Your daughter is just learning about the world around her. Just make sure that the things she is in contact with is safe for her and know that this type of exploration is good for her development.

J.

Try a chew tube (designed for teething.) It's more malleable than most of the traditional teething toys and comes in a lot of colors. I also found the small blankets with chewy teething corners are interesting for babies (check target)
Hang in there- she's probably just about done getting those teeth in.

sounds like some major teething going on!
get a couple teething rings, cool them or heat them to your baby's liking. when my son was younger and teething, he wanted nothing to do with cold things, but liked warm things instead. warm teething rings in warm water - cool in cool water, the fridge or the freezer!

In the baby section of grocery stores, they have this awesome little thing that looks like a mini enclosed fish net with a handle. I can't remember the company who makes it, but you can put anything in there that a baby would normally choke on (fruit, veggies, etc) and they just suck it through the mesh. It has a securely closing clasp and my youngest (who is also very oral) loved that. He also loved playing and sucking on ice.

My only recommendation would be to put away the toys you don't want her chewing on temporarily. When it looks like this little phase is over reintroduce the toys and see if she starts chewing on them again!

that's just what kids do at that age and it might take a while but they do stop eventually. I still catch my 4 yr old sticking things in her mouth, not often but she has. be patient and keep everything you can away from your baby. good luck

sounds like she is teething. it takes a long time to get all those teeth in. hard things feel good on cutting gums.

dont get me wrong. kids will "eat" things even when not teething. its part of how they explore. they really dont know the diff between food and non food items. they fill each sense with the object. sight touch smell hear and taste.

have a wonderful time with your little one :)

I'll second what Jill had to say. It's true that babies feel more with their mouths than with any other part of their body. In fact, I read in the book called What's Going On In There? by Lise Eliot that the face (and mouth) remain more sensitive than the hands until a child is about 5 years old or so. Another interesting little tidbit is that the left hand is more sensitive than the right. (I experimented with this myself and I think it's true! No wonder people hold violins with their left hands no matter if they're left or right handed.) I guess this is because the sense of touch is a right-brained activity, hence it's controlled by the left side of the body.

I guess if you really wanted to stimulate all those neurons in your baby's brain that are rapidly firing at this stage (and all the way up to about 5-6 years of age), you could spend some "quality time" with her and let her experience the world through touch. Perhaps if there's something that she really shouldn't put in her mouth, like the spine of a book, you could bring it up to her face and brush her cheek with it while telling her what it is, etc. I've been doing this a bit with my 3 mo. old son and he seems to like it.

This is a fascinating time for a child. Have fun and present your daughter with lots of opportunities to learn. You basically have a little Einstein on your hands, if you're willing to help her grow. :)

Both of my boys are extremely oral. They both teethed horribly, and put everything in their mouths when they were teething. Babies apparently test their curiosity by tasting things; we use our sense of sight to determine most things; babies use taste (I think I've heard that somewhere...). Even now, I can tell when my four year old is stressed because he either puts his fingers in his mouth, picks his nose and eats it, or gets a red ring around his mouth from licking. We probably get a few more colds than other folks since my kids are so oral, but despite repeated warnings, they haven't broken the habits--but they're great, well-adjusted kids wh olove life, and that's about all I want from them. Oh, and I've met tons more kids even more oral than mine!

It is very normal. That is why they put the choking hazzard warnings on children under 3. By the time they are 3 they aren't chewing on everything and most of their teething is done. One thing my granddaughter really liked was the teething toy that vibrates. It tickled her at first and she would giggle but I found she really was soothed by it. Also, chewing on the cold teething rings weren't my granddaughters favorite, but when it got really bad I would give her one of those ice pops that are in the plastic tube... only I wouldn't cut it open and let her chew on the plastic for the coldness. If I did open it, she really liked that too but it was cold to swallow. She is 2 now and I still take toys away that she puts in her mouth. She is learning that you don't put things in your mouth that isn't food.

This too shall pass. My daughter was a chewer as well while she was teething. She is currently 16 months old and no longer feels the need to put everything in her mouth. I just restricted her toys to the things that were ok to chew on when I wasn't right there to prevent harm.