How do I keep a 9 year old from constantly licking erasers and putting them in his mouth
I can't take away the eraser or give it to him only when he asks, because I have more students.
He's impulsive but nice. His parents know he does stuff like that.
Any ideas?
Something similar to the spray they use on animals after a surgery? It's safe for consumption but it tastes god-awful to stop the animal licking the wound.
Sounds like it could be a stim thing - impulsive, you say? Any chance there's (undiagnosed?) ASD there? The mentions of bitter spray reminded me of when my mother tried that to get me to stop biting my nails. I just stopped using my lips and tongue, and only used my teeth...
Anyway, if it's a stimulation thing, maybe finding an alternative would be easier than getting him to stop entirely.
Yeah, this is exactly what I was thinking, too. You redirect the behavior somewhere safe while still fulfilling the essential need.
I'll find something else too, then. I don't want to harm him
I'd be curious for a follow-up post if you find a way to help him with this! I was this kid when I was little, and needed help and kindness, but there was no understanding for autistic behaviours back then so what I got instead was bullied. I appreciate that you went looking for help instead of just throwing up your hands 🤗
Some pharmacies sell a bitter liquid (no idea how it's called) intended to to put on children's fingernails to prevent nail baiting. I guess this would also work on erasers.
I had this, it was called Stop n Grow
I eventually got used to and, even liked the taste
Yeah... I discovered I could file the upper layer of my nail to remove the polish. Guess how my nails ended up.
I had a bitterant put on my hands and now I just like bitter flavors lol
Long shot but it could be a sign of iron deficiency. Eating, smelling and licking odd things like paper, erasers, I’ve heard of these associations. I even read about a woman who would spend her lunch hour smelling the concrete in the stairwell. Turned out to be iron deficiency.
Chewing ice as well, supposedly it is motivated by iron deficiency.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pica_%28disorder%29?wprov=sfla1
Maybe a vitamin b or magnesium deficiency?
Don't all children do that?
I used to shew on everything, my friend used to literally destroy pens by shewing them too much. I think it's normal.
Could be just a bad habit as you say. Boredom. Might be worth checking to see of some kids have any other issues that might put them on an au/dhd spectrum. One of ours habitually destroyed pencils and erasers no matter what we did. Found out later It was anxiety and stress from undiagnosed neurospicyness.
Yeah... Parents noticed something wrong too and he's being checked.
I have things for students of all ages that for whatever reason need to destroy stuff, and they know I'll give them the item they prefer no questions asked (but I'm always there to listen to them). Before I figured out why those students were behaving the way they were, lessons were miserable.
One day I offered a girl a tray of used paper sheets to shred instead of the textbook and it changed my life lmaoo
This kid is not destructive, so my usual tactics don't work. The bitter spray did, tho.
Why do you want that? Is there some inobvious harm in chewing erasers? Or money is the main problem? Let him chew his own erasers then.
He's not chewing them. He's putting them in his mouth whole. I don't think he'll choke, but other people want to use the eraser too. Yes I paid for them myself, as someone else guessed in the other answers.
I paid for them myself
Understood. This was the inobvious nuance to me. In my culture we expect pupils to have their own writing tools, paper, etc.
Don’t bother trying. It isn’t going to hurt the kid.
It doesn't sound like they're necessarily his erasers though
They are not
Well, there is stuff you paint on kids nails to prevent them from biting them, which basically tastes bitter. Maybe apply this to the eraser?
Maybe get connected to this guy
If they are the school's I would simply not give them to that student anymore, for very obvious reasons that every 9yo should understand. Let him use his own.
Is the act itself disturbing the class or his own ability to concentrate? If not, I do not see any further problem.
Haven't we all chewed on pencils to concentrate?
Well, yes, it interrupts the class because every few minutes I have to stop him. The other lemmings have given me some great ideas
Roundhouse kick that kid to the moon.
Do like my ol' dad did make him smoke a whole pack. It'll put him off forever.
"you can put that eraser in your mouth as much as you want, but first you have to eat this pallet of erasers from the supply storage"
Did the parents take Tylenol? Equip him with erasers.
If the parents don't support you, and you can eliminate the existence of mental issues that require treatment or special attention for chewie, and you can't use a spray solution, I would go for gentle peer pressure. Point it out in class, do a friendly dressing down how none of the other students want to use the chewed on eraser. If he won't stop if you say so, maybe you can get other kids to do the trick. The unwanted public attention from his peers might be enough. Would your principal be up for a bad cop routine where you can be the good cop?
Peer pressure would be a disaster. Kids are vicious creatures when they have the chance, and I know that several of his classmates are certified brats with a taste for blood.
In summary: you have the cooperation of the parents, you cannot exclude the existence of a mental issues, and you are allowed to spray the item then. These are conditions I put ahead of any other suggestion.
I understand why you'd go there when it sounds like other options have been exhausted, but I don't think it would be a good idea. Seems like calling the kid out like this would only open up opportunities for bullying, without doing anything to address the source of the issue.
I want to highlight again that this suggestion was preceded by a lengthy checklist.
I think you and I have a different idea of what bullying is. I remember kids picking their nose in class and eating it in elementary school. I don't think it took an intervention from the teacher to get that to stop. Just some kids going "ewww, that's disgusting" got the message across. This is how society corrects behavior. I wasn't suggesting a teacher goes before class, does a Nelson Ha-Ha, "look at that loser, go beat him later and take his lunch money." Just something like "Kevin, the other kids need to use this eraser as well and they don't like it full of spit. Please don't chew on it. Thanks." It signals to the kids this is not okay and I don't think they will go full Lord of the Flies on him - keeping in mind the preconditions I had outlined above.
Point it out in class, do a friendly dressing down how none of the other students want to use the chewed on eraser.
Seems like a great way to get your own private eraser!
Cover them in spicy
Make him write in pen?
Give him gum to chew instead?
Kick in the nuts will do.
Talk to parents, get their written approval to put bitter apple spray on the erasers.
Agreed, putting something repulsive is the key here. This kind of strategy is used for nail biters as well.
That only works for so long. My mom got special nail varnish from the doctors that was supposed to stop me chewing my nails. Properly vile rotten stuff.
I ended up developing a taste for it.
My mom used to threaten me with hot sauce, but I love hot sauce.
Ooooooh very nice idea!!!!! Thank you!!!