My baby likes to teethe on cement and metal? Anyone heard of this?
One of my twins likes to bite the cement block that goes around our fireplace. I bought one of those guards but my twins tore it off in seconds, and then he immediately went to bite it again. I bought one of those expensive safety gates, and he likes to teethe on the metal of that. He also will teeth on the metal pieces of the wooden safety gate. I have bought several teething toys for him, and thought maybe he just likes to teethe on these things because they’re cold but he is disinterested in frozen ones too. He keeps taking the jar lids to bite on them, and constantly teethes on metal things. I have 7 kids and never heard of this! Oh, ped just laughs and says maybe he’ll outgrow it. But I’m just so astonished!
It’s not a mineral deficiency, and his iron levels are perfect. He doesn’t have pica – my babies are brilliant, advanced like my other kids and are definitely not retarded or autistic in any way. He is very active & verbal, and my twins are beginning to sing along to songs & beginning to learn sound the alphabet at 10 mos. It’s not pica or anemia!
As a toddler, I used to chew on cement. Years later, I learnt that I had a condition known as pica, in which mineral deficiencies lead to kids eating chalk, paper, cement etc. It turned out, I was severely anemic, and as soon as I started on iron supplements, I stopped chewing cement. It might be worth getting your kids checked out.
October 30th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
I know that my nephew bites on metal things all the time. But besides him I have not really seen it, and he also puts anything he can in his mouth. Good luck with that. =)
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October 30th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
any child will teethe on anything they can..just like puppies…makes them feel better
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October 30th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
7 kids, WOW!. Maybe one of your twins has a mineral deficiency? Just a thought.
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October 30th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
I did hear once that people crave the thing their body needs at the time, i.e. icecream when you need more calcium, steak when you need more iron…(even soap when you have a mineral deficiency) maybe he needs more minerals in his diet, look up what minerals are in metal/cement and try to add to his diet naturally.
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October 30th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
The mineral deficiency is a good theory (one I most definetely wouldn’t have derived on my own), but I don’t think a baby would even subconsciously know that cement or metals have a mineral his body needs.
Although my 9mo doesn’t go for chewing on anything weird repetitively like your son does, he does gnaw on the weirdest things sometimes. So I think your son probably realized he likes the way the cement/metal feels and that’s why he goes back for it. Odd, but as long as they’re clean with no sharp edges… I say- chew away baby!!
7 kids… how do you do it???
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October 30th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
He might have a mineral deficiency. There are many cases where children try to ingest chalk because they have a calcium deficiency, or other such products. Make sure your twins are getting proper nutrition. Otherwise, it’s nothing, and just a quirk, and as long as they are safe with whatever they are teething on, don’t worry about it.
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October 30th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
As a toddler, I used to chew on cement. Years later, I learnt that I had a condition known as pica, in which mineral deficiencies lead to kids eating chalk, paper, cement etc. It turned out, I was severely anemic, and as soon as I started on iron supplements, I stopped chewing cement. It might be worth getting your kids checked out.
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October 30th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
I think all you can do is not allow it! It’s not the safest and best thing as you know! If he likes metal so much, I’d make sure it’s stainless steel he’s biting on. Good Luck with this one – looks like he’s going to be interesting! It’s nothing I’ve heard of either.
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Mom of 4