I have a 15 month dcb who has started putting his hand in the back of his mouth to gag himself. So far, it has only been at nap time when I put him in a pnp. The first day he did this, he actually made himself throw up He was doing it again today at nap time and when I held his hand and sternly told him no, he thought it was a hilarious game. I ended up taking him out and putting him in his highchair, while I cleaned up from lunch, and could keep a closer eye on him. After awhile he started doing it again and I moved him back to the pnp and fortunately he fell asleep without gagging himself again.

I don't know why he initially started this, but I'm sure he is doing it for attention now. He is also a big shrieker, as well. But the shrieking probably isn't working as well as he would like, so I don't know if he is amping up his efforts or what.

I'm at a loss as to how to stop this. Anyone have any ideas?

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My ds did this when he was around the same age! He would gag himself and then smile. There really wasn't much I could do except tell him not to do it, but that didn't really help. He ended up only doing it for a few weeks and then stopped.

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Both of my kids gagged themselves and I think every kid I have ever known has. I think its a phase most kids go through.

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Does he do this at home too?

What do his parents say about it?

Does he do it for a reason, like not wanting to do something or having to take nap etc or just because?


I've only had one kid that did that before and have never had once since.

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Make a thick mitted picking shirt. He won't be able to do it. I have cured that with 100 percent success

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I had a DCB who would do this and throw up almost every time. The doc said it's common around that age and teething. It didn't last too long

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Thanks everyone. I figured someone must have dealt with this before. Hopefully it will be a short phase as some of you said.

Blackcat - I haven't been watching him for very long, but as far as a know, this is a new thing (I think the first time was a week ago), because his mom seemed surprised and confused by it, just like me. So far, he has only started this when I put him in the pnp for nap. Not at random times. He's been teething lately too, so I don't know if that is related or not. He's probably keeps doing it because he doesn't want to nap, he's bored, or just wants to get a reaction out of me.

nannyde - what is a thick mitted picking shirt?

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I did a very quick search. Is the thick mitted picking shirt just a long sleeved shirt/sweater with the cuffs sewn shut? Maybe with some stuffing shoved in there to keep it from fitting in the mouth? If so, I could definitely whip that up pretty easily. I just need to find a shirt...

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Ugh! My son went through this phase from 12mo to 18 mo...actually it was not until your post that I actually realize he had not done it in almost 2 months now. Honestly, the way I approached it was to redirect him to something else and give it as little attention as possible. For him it was both attention seeking and a new sensation. I did notice he would do it so much more around his Daddy but I believe that was because it really freaked my husband out :-\ Fortunately, my son only did this when we were around and not during sleep times so we never had to resort to anything more than redirection and littleto no attention. My hubs and i used to joke to ourselves that we had the only bulemic one year old...glad to know now that our son was not the only one ;-)

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http://www.nanshouse.com/apps/photos...toid=106924235

http://www.nanshouse.com/apps/photos...toid=106924236

http://www.nanshouse.com/apps/photos...toid=106924234


Do not put stuffing. Extra thick cloth maybe but stuffing no... If you get a decent thickness sweatshirt you won't need it.

They work GREAT.

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