I nursed my son for the first 15-months of his life. After weaning him, he was obsessed with playing with my nipples. We've gotten him to a point now that he's able to say, "mommy needs her privacy" when he has the urge, and generally keeps his hands to himself. However, he's started to play with his own nipples for self-soothing or when he's bored, and I'm wondering if this is normal? I don't want it to become a habit that he has difficulty breaking (actually, think it's already started to become a habit). Anybody else have experience with this? If so, what do you think of it all and what worked for you?
Without making a big deal of it, find something else for him to do instead. When you see him starting, don't say anything, just redirect him to a preferred activity.
I think all kids go through phases like that. Since they are just phases, it's best to not make an issue of it &just let it pass. I find that the bigger a deal I make of something, the more DD does it.
I would ignore it. It sounds like a phase and if you don't give it any attention, he will eventually get bored and stop. Hang in there!
m
My son just turned 2 and he is doing this all the time too. At home I ignore it but out in public I just say hand out of your shirt and try to distract him. I try not to call attention to it but he looks like a weirdo with his hand in his shirt all the time. I have no idea why he started doing this, but I guess it's more sanitary than having his hands down his pants for comfort :)
I hope other moms are right and this is a phase that he'll get bored of.
I've watched my grandson gradually transition through a couple of self-soothing habits as a toddler. Now (age 5) he has started biting his fingernails at bedtime while he's settling down and letting go of the day. That's a habit that stuck for me when I was about his age, so I do try gently to convince him to stop, but my personal experience was that my mom nagging me about it just made me "need" to bite my nails even more.
Since your little guy is still very young, and since he does this only when unwinding or bored, I don't think this is probably a big issue, and he'll probably outgrow it as his interests evolve. You might ask him to help you find something else that he can enjoy fondling or stroking at bedtime. A soft, squishy toy, or some smooth, chunky beads. There are squishy balls with a variety of textures that he may enjoy shopping for. Then help him to remember his special object at bedtime or when he's sititng quietly.
Kids have so many unique techniques for self-soothing, I don't think there's anything unnatural about playing with nipples. The only thing that makes your son's solution awkward is the interpretations adults are likely to put on that body part (as opposed to, say, an ear lobe). But as he gets older and comprehends the idea of privacy, you can gently ask him to do that only in his room. He'll be fine.
My oldest used to play with his lip (rubbing with his finger) when he is tired. He grew out of it by 3.5. I'm sure your son will grow out of it.
He will grow out of it. My nephew played with his belly button CONSTANTLY and grew out of it when he didn't need to use it as a soothing technique any longer.
My daughter has the same kind of habit but she plays with her belly button. I still haven't figured out how to break her of the habit (she's 5 1/2). I've asked her doctor about it and he said it's not a big deal as long as she not scratching it and causing infections. She only does it when she sucks her thumb, so I'm hoping that once I get her to quit sucking her thumb she will leave her belly button alone too.
Quick before summer hits and it gets too hot, start dressing him in onesies, shirt, and overalls and a puffy vest! Make them harder to get to and then keep his hands busy with some new multi piece toy, or play dough or something. Let him sit and tear up newspapers into strips, and thread shoe strings thru holes in cardboard. Give him crayons, chalk and paper to keep those fingers occupied until the habit is broken. Funny what kids do isnt it!
