# My 3 year olds struggle with pica



## tasha1901 (Feb 24, 2014)

My daughter is 3 now and we have been struggling with pica for the last 2 years or so. In November she was taken to ER after eating a large string from a towel. She normally eats anything paper/tissue related and its so bad that we can't keep any in our kitchen, bathroom or anywhere. She was also found to be anemic and so had iron and multivitamin supplements every day. She got a lot better for a few weeks and now is back to eating it whenever she can, for example she eats our mail when it's posted! She also hides it, to eat later when I am not looking. She's very intelligent and is a perfect height and weight and I just don't know what to do next to cure this. Her nursery is now making me aware how bad it is there too. Will she grow out of it? Or will this be a life long struggle, I don't know but I just want to help her before this gets any worse and willing to try anything. It really gets me down as no one seems to understand what a struggle this is, I can't help but get frustrated with it then I feel awful because I truly believe she can't help herself. Any advice or experience anyone can offer would be great. Thanks


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## jmarroq (Jul 2, 2008)

My son saw another toddler eat a crumb off the floor at a family gathering when he was about 9 mos old. He tried it and realized it tasted good and started eating little spec of dirt or string or whatever from the floor after that. He was also a chewer, which may have started even earlier. He chewed a chunk out of his crib. He would chew the pages out of board books. He chewed a windowsill of an old home which raised his lead levels pretty high! He did eventually stop chewing everything, but then he started chewing on his shirt, biting his nails, grinding his teeth...something always replaced it. He bit an eraser at some point and realized he liked it. That was a struggle that continued for about a year until he was about 7. I haven't noticed him eating anything unusual since then.


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## Mylie (Mar 15, 2004)

My son had Pica...I remember it being so bad I has to get rid of anything that that has fuzz like blankets,stuffed animals ect..he would eat hair too..his diapers were awful. Doctor tested for everything.He rid eventually stop as he got older.I really dont have any advice except to just watch her close and let you know you aren't alone.My son was eventually given a Autism diagnosis though..he has many other things beside Pica though..


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