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?
How do I keep a 9 year old from constantly licking erasers and putting them in his mouth
Submitted 13 hours ago by howler@lemmy.zip to nostupidquestions@lemmy.world
Comments
Tedesche@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
sefra1@lemmy.zip 2 hours ago
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.
CMDR_Horn@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
Talk to parents, get their written approval to put bitter apple spray on the erasers.
sleen@lemmy.zip 8 hours ago
Agreed, putting something repulsive is the key here. This kind of strategy is used for nail biters as well.
yermaw@sh.itjust.works 7 hours ago
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.
ivanafterall@lemmy.world 7 hours ago
My mom used to threaten me with hot sauce, but I love hot sauce.
Toes@ani.social 7 hours ago
That stuff typically only works if you want to stop.
Treczoks@lemmy.world 2 hours ago
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?
AA5B@lemmy.world 2 hours ago
Maybe get connected to this guy
DebatableRaccoon@lemmy.ca 13 hours ago
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.
Jhuskindle@lemmy.world 4 hours ago
Did the parents take Tylenol? Equip him with erasers.
I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
Give him a piece of gum?
IWW4@lemmy.zip 6 hours ago
Don’t bother trying. It isn’t going to hurt the kid.
BussyCat@lemmy.world 4 hours ago
It can easily be a chocking hazard, it’s unsanitary, and it can cause the child to be ostracized by peers which can limit their social development.
CandleTiger@programming.dev 4 hours ago
Is eating erasers going to get you more ostracized than constant nagging from the teacher to not eat erasers?
remon@ani.social 13 hours ago
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 in erasers.
blimthepixie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 hours ago
I had this, it was called Stop n Grow
I eventually got used to and, even liked the taste
new_guy@lemmy.world 11 hours ago
Yeah… I discovered I could file the upper layer of my nail to remove the polish.
RebekahWSD@lemmy.world 8 hours ago
I had a bitterant put on my hands and now I just like bitter flavors lol
Fyrnyx@kbin.melroy.org 9 hours ago
Roundhouse kick that kid to the moon.
voracitude@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
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.
TherapyGary@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 hours ago
1,000,000% this
Zagam@piefed.social 7 hours ago
Do like my ol’ dad did make him smoke a whole pack. It’ll put him off forever.
neidu3@sh.itjust.works 6 hours ago
“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”
xePBMg9@lemmynsfw.com 8 hours ago
Wait for a couple years. He will stop doing it eventually.
A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 10 hours ago
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?
Lembot_0004@discuss.online 13 hours ago
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.
starlinguk@lemmy.world 8 hours ago
Other kids have to use them.
Lembot_0004@discuss.online 7 hours ago
Communal erasers? Are they extremely expensive in some countries?
FriendOfDeSoto@startrek.website 12 hours ago
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?
voracitude@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
I don’t think it would be a good idea, that seems like it would only open up opportunities for bullying, without doing anything to address the source of the issue.
FriendOfDeSoto@startrek.website 1 hour ago
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.
remon@ani.social 12 hours ago
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!
blargh513@sh.itjust.works 7 hours ago
They sell stuff called Chewelry; it’s a necklace or wristband you can chomp on.
Maybe get the kid one of those? If not, maybe make one out of a piece of string and eraser?
This one’s for chewin’, this one’s for undoin’.
ToffeeIsForClosers@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
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.