To break a toddler's oral fixation redirect the toddler to something else they could chew on like some licorice, celery, carrots and other healthy snacks to chew on instead of chewing on non food items.
Also work to identify the toddlers triggers in their environment that lead to the oral fixation and work to reduce patterns that lead to the oral fixation behavior.
Redirecting your toddlers oral urge to an object that is made for chewing can help including teething rings.
It is normal for toddlers to chew on everything as they explore the world and are bored and curious and to self soothe and relax.
Chewing on non food items is a natural instinct for babies and toddlers and many babies and toddlers outgrow the chewing on things after their toddler years.
Toddlers will put things in their mouths including their shirt in their mouth for several reasons which include boredom or when they are teething, anxious or just need something to soothe them.
Toddlers and babies chew on their shirts or clothes for comfort and self soothing and sometimes for teething.
It's very normal for babies and toddlers to put non food items in their mouths for comfort and for teething and just for exploring and is also done as a way for the baby to explore the world.
Babies and toddlers often chew on things and put things in their mouths for extra proprioceptive feedback from their jaw muscles to help them regulate and self soothe.
Toddlers and babies have an oral fixation as a natural instinct and all toddlers and babies have that natural instinct of oral fixation.
It's an instinct for toddlers and infants to seek out and put things in their mouths and is driven by a biological survival reflexes.
In most cases toddlers will outgrow their oral fixation as they reach childhood.
Most kids do grow out of oral fixation once they are out of their toddler years and going into childhood years.
Biting, chewing and sucking is a normal part of being a baby and toddler or young child and eventually many grow out of the oral fixation but some kids may continue to have an oral fixation into childhood and adulthood.
Oral fixation in toddlers lasts until the end of their toddler years and usually until around 3 to 4 years old.
Some kids may continue to have an oral fixation into their childhood and adulthood.
It's very normal for toddlers to have an oral fixation and many outgrow the oral fixation by the time they are no longer toddlers.
Oral Fixation is triggered by unmet oral needs in early childhood.
Oral fixation can appear as nail-biting, smoking, overeating, or excessive gum chewing.
These behaviors are not merely physical habits but are intertwined with emotional states, serving as a form of self-soothing during times of stress or insecurity.
An oral fixation is an obsessive, unhealthy behavior that involves the mouth, such as smoking, gum chewing/candy eating, nail-biting, and even excessive drinking.
Freud felt if a child had unmet needs during the oral stage of development, they would adopt an oral fixation as an adult.
In Freudian psychoanalysis, the term oral stage or hemitaxia denotes the first psychosexual development stage wherein the mouth of the infant is their primary erogenous zone.
Oral fixation is defined as an oral condition involving a person who has an unconscious obsession with their mouth.
The mouth obsession promotes the need to constantly suck or chew on something.
The incessant desire to keep the mouth busy is an outlet to release nervous energy and to self-soothe.
People with ADHD or Autism often also have an oral fixation but you can have an oral fixation without ADHD or Autism.
People with ADHD often feel a strong compulsion or urge towards oral chewing or stimulation, such as biting the inside of your cheeks or biting your finger nails.
Chewing behavior acts as a coping mechanism and a way to calm anxiety or channel excess energy, as well helping with focus.
The link between oral fixation and autism is prevalent and can be lifelong.
But you can manage oral stimming to make it safer and promote a beneficial situation.
Oral fixation and stimming don't have to be embarrassing or frustrating.