Chewing Hair

Hi K.,

My step daughter did this at 4 only she would twist it until it got a little know, and then pull it out! She was literally bald on one side of her head. It was a nervous thing, as her parents were going through a divorce. We finally threatened to cut her hair really short and she did not want that at all, so after about 2 weeks of warning her, (she only did it in her sleep) she finally stopped doing it. I spoke with her doctor and it's a condition called "tricotillomilia". That spelling is phonic so don't look it up based on that! Good luck!
V.

Hi K.,
My 6 y.o. use to do that, and I wasn't too aware of it until her dentist brought it to my attention because she found hair in between her back teeth. She said that, of course, it isn't healthy and that if her hair is dirty she can get bacteria in her gums & inside her mouth which can lead to worse problems, oh and she did say that she can choke on it if she chews a large amount. So she advised me to cut her hair short or keep it tied back in a bun.
I think it's a bad habit that can be broken if you tie her hair back & just continue to tell her to stop when you catch her doing it, eventually she will. And of course if you cut it short enough, she will have no choice but to stop. :)

http://nmhm.washingtondc.museum/exhibits/virtual/hairball...

maybe you should cut her hair short...

Hello K.,

I don't think there is any harm that can come from sucking on her hair, it probably is a comfort issue. My son is almost 3 and when he is tired, he'll snuggle in somewhere and the hands go instantly to his head, where he'll run his fingers through his hair and twist it around his fingers. This is a family thing though, since my grandmother,her son(my dad) and I also all do the same thing. I think everyone has a comforting thing and this is probably hers. If she was getting a lot of hair in her throat or anything, she'd most likely be annoyed by that and wouldn't suck her hair anymore.

So I say, let her enjoy it, she'll probably grow out of it eventually. And there are worse things she could be doing... :)

Good Luck,
D.

My 7 YO daughter used to do this. She also used to chew her sleeves when she was nervous. My daughter's hair is really long so even putting it up didn't help me, but you could give it a go. Put it up in a bun or something that will not allow her to reach it. I didn't want to cut my daughter's hair. Anyway, she stopped on her own. I bought her a teething toy and she has to chew on that when she wants to chew. I thought it might make her feel like a baby and that she would stop, but she likes it. Oh, well. At least she's not grubbing up her sleeves and ahir anymore.

Hi, It is actually true about removing a hair ball from someone's stomache. You can probably goggle it to find more info. Maybe the suggestion about cutting her hair is a good Idea...

My daughter did this also, you just have to continue to tell her not to. My daughter just turned 3 years old and doesnt do it anymore. I think it is a phase they go through. Good Luck.

If her hair is long enough keep it pulled back, in pony tails and braids, and braid it when she sleeps. After a couple of weeks the habit will be broken and she will have found a new comfort mechanism. It's worth a try. My daughter use to twirl her hair until it was in huge knots. But she got over fairly quickly.

Hi K.,
Maybe she's going through a phase where she constantly needs to chew on something. Give her a toy in place of chewing/sucking on her hair. She probably likes the texture in her mouth.
What you can also do is tell her that mommy and daddy don't chew on hair and that's it's yucky to chew on hair. Tell her that if she keeps doing it, she won't have pretty hair like mommy's. Or like you said, cutting her hair short may be the only way to stop her. I don't think there's anything bad about her doing it, because we all know kids like putting other things worse than hair in their mouths.

My 5 year old did the same thing. I had a problem with it because her hair got wet clumps that tangled and hurt when we brushed. Since she was not liking hair brushing AT ALL, we decided to cut a chin length bob. It looks adorable and is really quick and easy to maintain. It completely eliminated the problem for us. Good luck!

My Mom said that I used to do that and that she would braid my hair and do all soarts of hair-do's that would keep it away from my mouth,like the "princess-Lea" look or the looped-pigtail one.

Dear K.,

My son chewed his fingernails, and he chewed the neckline of his tee shirts and the sheets on his bed. I could tell which sheets that belonged to his bed by the many many bite marks. He turned out to be a good guy and no linen or threads were found in his stomach, for sure.

He was a very tense person, and very sensitive and very intelligent, so she may be too. We are all unique individuals. Intelligent people have a burden as well as a gift. They know a lot about what is going on in their lives and environment - a lot of information is always coming into their brains. So you see life is more than we know about sometimes.

I think maybe you should just get her attention to something else when you see her chewing on her hair - and don't mention the hair chewing, just redirect her to something that she would be interested in. Try it anyway.
Sincerely, C. N.

Hey K.! I wouldn't worry about the hair chewing. My daughter is almost 4 and she used to chew her hair! As soon as her hair was long enough (she was almost 2) she twirled her hair in her finger and then would kinda chew it before bed time. It's just a phase! She doesn't do it anymore. She still twirls her hair which can be annoying sometimes because she gets the WORST knots!! So, my advice would be to let her play with her hair! :o) Nothing is wrong about it. Eventually she'll stop! Good luck!
S.

Actually that story your parents told you is true. There was a woman in India that always chewed on her hair and as an adult had to have a hair ball that weighed ten lbs i believe removed from her stomach.