Toddlers are notorious for their outrageous behavior. There’s the biting stage. The hitting stage. The throwing stage. And then comes along the licking stage. This is the stage where a toddler is licking things, without giving you enough time to react or stop them.
I think if my child licked things like her clothes or toys I wouldn’t be so bothered. I’d probably just ignore the behavior and find something new to worry about.
But the things my toddler licks are so beyond disgusting that I can’t help but be utterly grossed out.
Door knobs at public places, walls, handrails at the subway and chair cushions at restaurants are just some of the many things she’s tasted so far.
So why do toddlers like licking things and as a grossed out parent what can you do about it?
5 Reasons Your Toddler is Licking Things
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Seeking comfort
If your child is in the early years of toddlerhood (between 12-24 months), it is possible that licking things provides comfort to them.
If you’ve weaned them off, this might be their way of recreating the comfort they got from breastfeeding.
Exploring their world
Toddlers are little explorers on the loose. They want to use all their senses – touch, smell, hearing, sight and taste to make sense of the world around them.
They know they have a tongue. And that it helps them understand what something is.
“Strawberries taste great when I put them in my mouth, let’s see what happens if I lick mom’s hand cream.”
Imitating pets
If you have a pet in the house such as a cat or dog, then your toddler licking things is almost a natural occurrence.
Undoubtedly, they are trying to imitate their pets. They watch the dog lick your face, your toes and lap up water from the bowl using his tongue.
If dogs can use their tongue to explore, then why can’t I, thinks your child to himself.
You don’t even need to have pets in the house. It could be that they’ve seen cartoon animals licking things and now want to copy them.
As a side note: sometimes kids want to adopt other behaviors of the animals too like barking and walking on all fours.
Toddlers licking things to grab your attention
Toddlers thrive on attention. They absolutely love it if you’re involved in doing something super important but then have to stop doing it because they’re engaged in some outrageous behavior .
This applies particularly to older toddlers around the age of 3. If you observe them carefully you’ll see proof of that.
Whenever toddlers are about to do something they know they shouldn’t, they’ll sneak a look at you from the corner of their eyes.
Their eyes will sparkle with joy as they watch the horror on your face and wait for your reaction.
A ‘phase’ in their life
As with many things to do with a toddler, this is just another one of those phases. It’s pretty short lived and is bound to pass.
Toddlers tend to get bored pretty quickly. They’re always on the lookout for the next activity to land them in trouble. So before you know it, they’ll move to another phase which you’ll find even more revolting than the licking phase.
4 Ways to deal with a toddler licking things
Discourage licking by talking about germs
Most of the things/surfaces your toddler is licking are disgusting and covered in germs. So you can use this as an opportunity to teach your child about the importance of personal hygiene.
Educate them using simple language. Teach them about what germs are, how they can enter our body and make us very ill. You can read to them books that talk about germs in a way that kids would understand. This toddler board book: Germs Are Not For Sharing has child friendly words, colorful illustrations and teaches kids the basics of germs and how to not spread them.
Then tell them that if they get ill, they’ll miss out on playdates, going to play in the park, getting ice-cream treats and everything else that they consider fun.
Toddlers are smart creatures. Once they realize what they have to lose, they’ll think twice about licking the walls at a public bathroom.
Teething toys
If your child is younger than 24 months and the licking has to do with seeking comfort, then try teething toys. These will provide your little one with an outlet where he can lick and drool away.
Silicone Soft-Textured teether for Sensory Exploration and Teething Relief
Divert attention
Luckily for us, toddlers have an extremely short attention span. Because of this, it’s easy to distract them from one activity to another.
So whenever you catch your toddler licking things, divert his attention to something less icky. Chances are, he won’t even notice he’s been distracted.
Ignore
One of the best ways to make sure that the licking phase is short lived is to pay little to no heed. The more casual you are about it, the less joy it will give your little one.
Seeing that his behavior gets an uninteresting response, your toddler will quickly move on to something else.
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