Excessive Blinking in Toddler

My son did this on and off for two weeks when he was 2 1/2. Never has done it again, and a pediatric nurse friend of mine says its a phase some children go through. Hope that helps!

Perhaps dry eyes due to allergies? Or it could be a "tick". Anyone in the family with turrets syndrome?

It may be a nervous tick.

My son has done this along with squinty eyes quite a bit. It goes in phases. he was doing it ALL the time for an extended period of time last year when he was 4 years old so I asked the doctor about it. His preschool teacher was also concerned he was having trouble seeing. His eyes were checked and his vision is perfectly fine. The doctor said it's a common phase kids go through. My son has always had anxiety issues stemming from sensory processsing issues (sensory avoider, gets overwhealmed easily), so the blinking probably began as a nervous tick that became habit as the doctor explained and became clear to me...especially when he stopped doing it right after visiting the doctor and told me "I can see well mom, I just like to blink, it feels good". It's like he finally became aware of it, even though I'd asked him previously if it's hard to see something or do his eyes feel itchy, etc. He stopped doing it for a long time and now he's doing it some more again after starting kindergarten. Harmless from all I understand, but you could always have her eyes checked for peace of mind. I know I felt better after my son's eyes were checked, as it does appear on the surface like they are doing so because of dry eyes or having a hard time seeing clearly even though that's not necessarily the cause.

Others have mentioned this, but it does sound like a tic, which is a habit that can't be controlled. If someone has more than one kind of tic for a period of a year, then it is called Tourette's Syndrome.

Before you start to fret that it's Tourette's, realize that MOST kids have a tic of some sort or another in their childhood. Small ones are (for example,) sniffing, blinking, finger snapping, skin-picking (of chapped lips, for example,) sticking tongue out, humming, etc.

Some things can make tics worse, though nothing can eliminate them entirely. Some things that worsen them are: stress, calling attention to the behavior, being overtired, caffeine, chlorine and other chemicals (indoors pools being particularly bad,) and some medication (such as Claritin.)

A vision check won't hurt- could be blepheritis (not sure I spelled that correctly) from dandruff/dust/allergens in eyes. Go to a pediatric opthamalogist- not just a vision clinic in Meijer, for example. It could even be imitating someone they have seen blink frequently.

Also, "full-blown" Tourette's doesn't necessarily include yelling curse words and the big tics you see on television- it could be as simple as just having a repetitive blink and sniff or throat clearing. Typically, Tourette's presents around age 7-10.

Hope this helps!
M.

My son had that this summer. I had his vision checked and it was fine. It was due to seasonal allergies. Even though he has Zyrtec daily, the season was bad and he was prescribed some eye drops. It went on for a few months but has now stopped.

My son also did this when he was around 2 1/2. It came and went but he finally grew out of it. We asked if his eyes hurt and he said no. We didn't have his vision checked but would do our own "checking" at home or in the car and he can see just fine. I also asked other mothers and several said their kids had gone through similar phases.