Paper munching toddler!

[cartchick]

Crikey - this has been going on for ages now, months and months. Carter (he's 16 months old) just can't stop eating paper, cardboard, books, boxes, magazines...any member of the paper family.

He doesn't just bite, he chews and swallows!There isn't a single intact book in the house. We can't leave any cardboard boxes anywhere near ground level.

This can't be healthy can it??? I mean, apart from the high fibre content think of the chemicals!

Does anyone else's baby/toddler do this? Will he grow out of it?

[Diddlum]

Niamh hasn't moved onto books or boxes yet but I regularly find her with a mouthful of loo roll or paper! I don't know what the fascination is, I was hoping she'd grow out of it soon but you've just made me realise it could be a lot longer than I thought...!

BTW I used to worry about it but I don't really bother any more. Not that I'll happily let her eat it - but I don't get into a panic when she does and if I can't get it out of her mouth.

[Princess Fiona]

Lucy is exactly the same and i'm tired of people commenting saying i don't feed her

She has ruined most of her board books by eating the spine so the pages fall out

I tell her off and take the books away from her, i'm not sure what else i can do

I sympathise with you though

[Bex]

Scarlett does this too cartchick, she is also 16 months.must just be a phase. have no advice im afraid, i just laugh when she has blue bits in her poo!!!

[August Girl]

Del ate my shopping list, she's worse than a goat!

[Princess Fiona]

PMSL AG!!

[RosyLee]

Ben's exactly the same - he doesn't have a single book that hasn't been chewed (apart from his cloth ones!)

Don't worry about it too much - it all comes out the other end!

[cartchick]

I haven't found any paper coming out of the other end, but today I found bits of red crayon!! To confirm that it was only crayon I had to pick it out and do a test