Hello Marsha,
My son is 4 yrs. old and will be starting pre-school this fall. Recently, he has developed a bad habit of chewing &/or biting on the front of his shirt. I can dress him and in an hour or two, the entire front of his shirt is soaked and needs to be changed. I do not want others to make fun of him at school for this habit of his. Is there anything I can do to break him from this?
Thanks,
M.S.
Dear M.S.,
As a mother myself, I can understand your desires of not wanting anyone to make fun of your son. It saddens me that so many people want to poke or make fun of others. It does hurt emotionally no matter your age or gender.
I would suggest you discretely place a hot sauce such as TABASCO® on the inside of the front of his shirt. This can be done easily without detection. Just sneak off and dab a drop or so of the sauce onto your finger, and approach your son as if you are adjusting his shirt. This is when you could easily wipe the sauce onto the inside of his shirt collar. I say the inside, because I know some children may notice the smell or the color of the outside. I, myself, have not had a problem with stains from TABASCO® Sauce either. The taste however is very unpleasant to a child, and could possibly deter your sons taste buds from his shirt.
I have also used the TABASCO® sauce to break my children from bottles, pacifiers, thumbs, or biting their fingernails. I have had no bad responses other than their mouth being a little hot and them demanding a drink. You may wish to have milk on hand because it does soothe the taste buds better than water.
Always,
Marsha
