OCD?

[cateyes]

I have a question, My grandson is 7 years old and has this habit of putting his tongue on everything. when he's in say mcdonalds hes licking the table, my daughter brings him to the park and he's on the swings licking the chains of the swing. he licks the walls and everything. has anyone else ever heard of this? does anyone know why he may be doing this? with all the germs out there this is really making me nervous for him......would this be considered OCD?

 

[David Baxter PhD]

It sounds more to me like he's just being a young child. Children have different and sometimes uique ways of exploring the world and trying to organize it to make sense of it.

Disclaimer: I am not a child psychologist.

 

[cateyes]

It sounds more to me like he's just being a young child. Children have different and sometimes uique ways of exploring the world and trying to organize it to make sense of it.

Disclaimer: I am not a child psychologist.

Good morning/afternoon David. i'm hoping this is just a child thing but its one that can make him sick in the long run licking all thos germs. my daughter has an appointment with a child psychologist so I guess i'll just see what they say. I know I have a habit at times of doing things twice and it can become very annoying. and believe you me i'm not a child anymore lol..oh well thanks so much for the comment, its nice to meet you by the way. how can I put my pic on here? suppose I should read the question and answer thing right...

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Go to Psychlinks Psychology Self-Help & Mental Health Support Forum or Psychlinks Psychology Self-Help & Mental Health Support Forum

 

[Mari]

H! cateyes, sometimes a simple distraction can be helpful. At home you could keep snack foods (raw vegetables and such) to munch on and popsicles in the freezer. These can be offered to him without drawing any attention to why. When you are out at the park and such, if he is allowed you could keep things such as lollipops and gum available. Do you know how long he has been doing this? I am not a child psychologist either although I have worked with children and would not consider this behaviour unusual unless it persisted for a long time. :wave: Mari

 

[cateyes]

H! cateyes, sometimes a simple distraction can be helpful. At home you could keep snack foods (raw vegetables and such) to munch on and popsicles in the freezer. These can be offered to him without drawing any attention to why. When you are out at the park and such, if he is allowed you could keep things such as lollipops and gum available. Do you know how long he has been doing this? I am not a child psychologist either although I have worked with children and would not consider this behaviour unusual unless it persisted for a long time. :wave: Mari

Hi Mari, actually all this, i'll say different behavior started since he stared school. when he first started school and after he got home he started having meltdowns and was constantly chewing on his clothes. when he was in first grade but more towards the end of that school year he started with the spitting and chewing on things, his teacher actually made him I guess what you would call a teething toy and he would chew on that. but now that he's been home for this summer it started into this licking thing. he'll soon be going into 2nd grade and within the past month now my daughter says he's now outside always needing to touch the ground...she says when she takes him into a store he will walk in, touch the floor, walk a little way and touch the floor again. we dont know where any of this is coming from. i'll ask him and he'll say Nana its my sense of humor. he is a wiz at math and his first grade teacher said he can read at the end of a 2nd grade level . I'm just afraid hes going to be made fun when he goes back to school next month. thank you for your comment hun.

---------- Post added at 12:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:31 PM ----------

Thank you David I will check those sites out!!

 

[David Baxter PhD]

This is important information to give to the child psychologist who will see the child. It may be anxiety-based, a form of regression. (Or not.)

 

[cateyes]

Thank you David, I thought of that too...I love it here:2thumbs: