My 6 year son old cannot stop chewing stuff. It is a lifelong habit. We have talked to him incessantly about it and so have his teachers. The habit is not new or is it related to teething. He just chews and hums non-stop when he is working or playing. The humming, I can tolerate, but the chewing has got to stop. He chews pencils, shirtsleeves, sun glasses, carseat straps and pretty much anything else. He does this while working and playing - two of the times during which he is highly focused. I understand that some habits make kids focus better but this is unhygienic and is always upsetting the germophobe in me. Any ways to redirect this behavior? Talking about it and even videotaping it so that he can watch himself do it and be aware of it does not seem to help. I have noticed that he chews most when he is working on math and his martial arts class.
How can an otherwise smart and reasonable kid not be able to understand that this is a bad and undesirable habit?
