This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
As babies and toddlers, neither Jackson nor Julia put things in their mouths. Sure, they gummed and teethed on some toys, but it was predictable and manageable.
By the time they were two, neither of them would ever put small objects in their mouths. They would safely play with toys that other mothers would shuddered at. (Although, Susan and I stayed vigilant about what was available to them, just in case!)
Now, Sophia seems to be following in their sensible footsteps. She happily suckles her soother and gums a few toys. But it is all under control.
But NOT Olivia.
Every SINGLE thing that Olivia has EVER touched in her ENTIRE life has gone in her mouth.
(If you recall photos of Olivia that I post, she usually is chewing on something!)
I can’t conveniently plug up her mouth with a soother, because the only thing she is interested in doing with a soother is chewing on the side of it before she casts it aside to discover the next thing to chew on.
I have to constantly watch the little monkey, chasing after her to sweep her mouth to find out what object she has grabbed and quickly jammed in her chomps.
The other night, I was watching all four kids — by myself! (I must say, how you mothers of twins and multiple young ones do it, I don’t know. My mother had four of us little monsters, in the same ages as Susan and my kids, so I always try to imagine that ours are all mine. But I am exhausted after a few hours watching Jackson, Julia, Olivia and Sophia by myself.)
I was proud of myself, though, that night. We were having a great time together and I even phoned Susan to say Julia and Sophia could stay a little late, because we were all having so much fun.
Then I noticed Olivia. Her mouth was moving – just a bit, but I suspected she was chewing on something.
I grabbed her and swept her mouth with my finger, (always a painful procedure with her many sharp teeth.)
To my ABSOLUTE horror and disgust, I pulled out a soggy, mangled, DEAD FLY!!!
I nearly threw up!
If you know me — I am quite a germ freak. I used to thank God for my sensible child who didn’t put filthy objects in his mouth.
Thus, you can only imagine the stomach lurching and gagging when I fished a smooshed up dead fly from my precious daughter’s mouth! I mean, she might as well have licked the dog poo that that fly was probably eating earlier that day. It is positively disgusting.
So, girls — it is time for some MUCH needed empathy. Please tell me, what objects have your children put in their mouths?
P.S. I am relieved to report, that it has been 48 hours since the fly chewing incident and Olivia has not yet succumbed to any fly-carrying diseaseses. 😉
Robin Latimer says
I watch my grandson he is 26 months old. He has eaten parts of wooden blocks, paper off of wooden puzzles, Legos, paper, dirt, sand, leaves, foam blocks, marbles, you name it’s been in his mouth. All I can do is make him spit it out when I know he’s got it or if it’s too late take away whatever he’s trying to ingest at that particular moment.
Jazmyn says
Haha … I realize this post is old & I’m hoping lil Miss Olivia is no longer obsessed with putting everything in her mouth! I found this blog when I did a search because my 9 month old threw up a piece of plastic this weekend! However THAT is not the worst thing he had eaten!
We live in a small 3Rd floor condo & it’s difficult to always get the little one as well as the dog packed up to go for walks so occasionally the pup uses the potty on the balcony. One day I left lil man (7 months at the time) in the living rm, baby gates up, to make a little lunch! He’s playing contently, having fun … then all of the sudden is quiet. I thought “oh I’ll just finish up lunch, I’m sure he’s ok & I’ll be done in 1 minute.” I finished up & went to the living rm where I found the gated area empty …. empty! I looked a lil further & see that my sweet lil man had squeezed his way out of the balcony door & was sitting there, covered in …. …. dog poop! Hands, mouth & puke all down the front of his outfit!!! Needless to say, I nearly threw up! !
andrewlene says
hi i read all of the digusting things ….but im here telling u my son did all of the above pooh sigarettes motor oil, dead gecko,fly,paint(how he got it open??) toilet bowl water…you name it he ate it….does he have a sickness or something??
roxanne white says
oh my son sounds exactly like your son. he eats everything thats disgusting and put everything in his mouth, spilt motor oil, reed diffuser oil etc please tell me they grow out of it lol
Nikki says
So glad in post this blog/post. We just finished up with bathtime and when the water drained, my 4 yr old said “what is this?” It was a silica gel packet. She had taken a bath with that soaking in there the whole time. She even drank some of the bath water, I’m sure of it. She says she never put the packet in her mouth & she didn’t even see it until the water was drained. But me, being the panicky & overreacting momma that I am- I freaked out thinking her bath was poisoned!! Haha. It’s really good to know that those are not poisonous packets!!! That needs to be public knowledge (atleast parenting knowledge). I always thought they were poison or something hahaha I also have a 8 month old that puts EVERYTHING in his mouth!! Scares me to death daily!! I have a huge fear of him choking on something and me not able to get it out!!!! Anytime he makes a cough, I am right there checking his mouth!! Thanks for the stories!!
jessica says
my goodness so I’m coming out the bedroom ,at my friends house as my husband coming out the living room where our 16month old baby at I walk on and see our son drinking out a glass that had roaches in it .. I freak and finger his throat to try and get him to throw up but nothing what shall I do …?
jessica says
my goodness so I’m coming out the bedroom ,at my friends house as my husband coming out the living room where our 16month old baby at I walk on and see our son drinking out a glass that had roaches in it … I freak and finger his throat to try and get him to throw up but nothing what shall I do …????
Alicia says
Reading this makes me feel so much better! My 3 yr old son licked the toilet seat last night! I am freaking out, but all this replies of moms make me feel more at ease.
mom says
What would happen if my son touched dry hair gel and licked his fingers?
mom says
What would happen if my son touched dry hair gel and his fingers?
Natasha says
My 8 month old managed to get a lit candle and tip it over and ate some of the wax. Does anyone know if its toxic. The sticker on the candle didn’t say.
Jenny says
Well I tell you it sure feel alot better knowing this happens to just about all moms. Lol My son is 2 1/2 now but he loves eating crap he’s not suppose to : crayons, cat poop, his poop, and I think coyote poop, cat and dog food, kitty litter (dirty) yeah he pooped litter for 3 days on that one, dirt, menthol cigarette, soap, old food, hair ball, sticks, aluminum from candy wrappers, and god knows what else. It’s just about impossible to keeps the wee one’s from getting into stuff. Lol quick funny story I went to a baby shower and left wee man with daddy at the house, so mommy could have a brake. Ha! Ha! When I get home and open the door it looks like a hurricane hit the house. I look over and my husband dozed off on the couch and our sons face was covered in coffee grounds. There was coffee from one side of the house to the kitchen, on the couch, with poopie diaper, bananas all over the floor. I didn’t yell I didnt scream my poor husband said sorry about 20 times I’m pretty sure he was scared to death. Lmao
Mint says
Do any body have any idea about a baby licking a naptahelen ball
Yolanda says
My 1 year old has eaten everything
From poop
His brothers poop
Used pads ( period pads YES OUT THE TRASH)
Bugs
Fire cracker
Paper
Old food
Bird poop
Rubbing alcohol
Just everything
I’ve been terrified with this little boy putting things inside his mouth and I always have to ask him to open his mouth cause I know it’s something in there
Ps : THESE STORIES ARE GREAT FOR LAUGHING I CAN’T STOP LAUGHING
Amd says
Ever have to go to the ER? My almost 3yr old took a bite out of a light days menstral pad!
annie_2082 says
my 2 year old niece (Gabby) just had printer ink cartridge in her mouth, when I got it away from her, her tongue and teeth were very colorful, I am so scared this happen about two hours ago. I wash out her mouth, brush her teeth(toothbrush bristles are now red) and gave her almond milk, she seems fine and is now asleep. I am watching her because I am so scared. She, like most of the kids here put everything in her mouth,and what can’t hold in her little mouth she use her tongue to lick off all the bacteria she can get. ewww, she wants to share everything with the dogs and then eat what the dog has left. After the ink incident, she had crayon then red ink pen in her mouth,all in the space of 2 hours. If she’s not doing that then she climbing up high and attempting to jump off. I think i might have to go to the ER before the day is out…..OH NO ITS NOT GABBY WHO NEEDS TO GO TO ER its me with the heart attack she’s about to give me.
er
ER
F.K. Duncan says
OMG I’m not the only one. My 10 month old likes chewing and swallowing soap plus she wakes up some nights only to eat her soaked diaper. Gross….
B says
My 9 month old just had a piece of corn (like you feed horses) in his mouth while visiting at my mom’s house. The bad part is my mom has been chasing a mouse for three or four days trying to kill it and I am sure this is how the piece of corn got into the house… eekk not sure what to expect!
2SetsOfTwins2&3 says
I have 2 sets of twins 2 year old and 3 year olds my 3 year olds were ok my little girl used to finger paint with her poop if I didnt get her from her nap or bed fast enough but the younger set that are 2 the boy was fine BUT my little girl thinks everything is food from fuzz balls to her own poop it is so gross but I am glad to see I am not the only one…. LOL
Christina says
My son put the toliet brush in his mouth too so gross!
Melody says
My 13month old daughter just put the toilet bowl brush in her mouth. Im so horrified. Has this ever happened to anyone elses toddler?
Kaye says
Our grandson just swallowed a pencil eraser and we don’t know if it’s ok to wait and see if it “comes out later” or what. He’s napping and apprears to be fine???
miraclemommy32 says
I have to say I have enjoyed all the stories,thanks for sharing! My daughter now 10,ingested ant poisoning,went to ER,gave her charcoal which made her poop black!Deadbeat dad finally came home,and changed her to find her poop black,guess after that he was convinced she was his..hint..he is black:\ My son is 2,and about an hour ago came in with a mouthful of Gain powdered detergent,calle my BFF,she said too give him lost of water..he seems to be fine.Didn’t call PC,because I just called them last week!My 10 year old ate half a bottle of her brothers gummy vitamins:0,she thought they were gummy bears.My son has eating poo,dirt,rocks,a coke cola bottle cap,candle wax,toilet water,soil out of my plants,crayons,and survived! My sister ate a cow pie,slug,baby frog,and yes she even decided to eat a smoke bomb(firecracker).I ate detergent,dishsoap,diluted bleach water,poo,insect spray,petroleum jelly,glue,glitter,crayons,ants,beetles,and yes flies!I survived,and P.C wasn’t even around then!But that nasty castrol oil was:\
tasha says
My son had a snail in his mouth the shell was crushed outside but half the snail was dead on my kitchen floor and my son had brown fluid around his mouth dont know if he swallowed any has ur child/children ever done this im worried …..
irah duron says
my 30 mos.old daughter has same problems with yours, i constanly follow her cause im afraid she migh chew or put something n her mouth. she put her mouth: her sandal, tv control,toys,crayons, and the worst she swallowed her earing, i found it in her other end when i changed her diaper, and its was so pointed, im so lucky and thnkful to god that shes fine.
sapphire says
I am so relieved that I came on the internet and found this. My 22 months old daughter just eat some of the same silica… every possible thing goes in her mouth.. and I was so horrified as what to do… (I am here typing this now and you know what she has gone to the vanity and took up a watch and you can guess where it is)… but I thank you that there is nothing poisonous about these tiny little beads.
Thank God for the internet and person like yourself who contributes to this so that other parents like myself can have something to resort to when in need.
Thank you
Sapphire
Shanna says
I feel better I was just looking online because I was outside playing with my daughter looked away to answer my phone for a second and found her sticking her tongue inside of a snail shell. Her face was covered in slime and I think she killed the snail. We don’t have any posion around the house that the snails would have eaten, but I was still worried about her eating it. She seems fine, I will just have to do a snail check next time we go outside, she seemed to like it. :/
Barb says
I sent him to his great grandfather with a little pack of raisens. On the way, about a foot from GrandDad’s knee he started to be distressed. Asked if he had put a raisn up his nose as he pointed to it he said “YES”. I’m sorry I threw the little raisen box at GrandDad when he did not move fast enough to find a flashlight. I said, “Sorry”. GrandDad told me that was the worst thing I had ever done. Oh, Shit…I thought I had done worse thatn that. I am now 74.
Mammy
Steffani says
Ever seen chewed up (and swallowed!) CRAYON??!! My oldest, who is now 3 1/2, ALWAYS put crayons in her mouth and bite the tip, chew on them a little, etc. We’d always take em away hoping someday she’d just “get it” and use them the right way. Well, we missed one once while we were out to eat. We noticed the wrapper too late, and didn’t see the blue crayon anywhere. I worried a little, but forgot about it. The next day (I’d still forgotten about it) I changed a poopy diaper and saw, to my amazement, a perfectly in-tact, round ball of usuable blue crayon wax, SEPERATE from the rest of the poop! It was the craziest thing I’d ever seen, i just had to laugh that it was seperate and “clean looking”! I saved and now she colors with it….just kidding, gross!!
Monica says
I am laughing so much and I so needed to right now!!! Well my daughter just appeared with a whole mouth full of purple marker at 1 and so this just made my day. My son, now 4, liked to enjoy things in his diaper and yes I checked 2 kids, mouth stage survival with one and one to go, still mentally sound…haha…yeah me!!
Theresa says
Thank you for publishing your story about your son eating one of those silica gel packets. As I was dialing poison control, I typed it into the search engine, and your story came up. My 2 year old managed to find one and get it open, I’m unsure if he actually ate any or not but none the less, thank you for telling your story. It gave me some relief.
alyiasmom says
I am LOVING these stories! Phew! Not as worried now. I just had an incident with my 2 yr old, she was brushing her teeth in the bath (her daddy was in there) and he was letting her use the brush herself, and apparantly DUNKING IT INTO THE BATHWATER, not a good idea, but wouldn’t be too bad, except that when he drained the tub and the bubbles were all gone, she had some MAJOR poop in the tub too, so she effectively BRUSHED HER TEETH WITH POOP WATER for a good 10-15 minutes. YEEEECH. But apparantly not dangerous.
Krikette says
on won. I found this googling “toddler ate eraser throwing up” because after a long night of cry 13 month old waking up throwing chunks I finally inspected it to find little bits and pieces of what I recognized to be Big Brother’s Santa Claus eraser kindergarten sent home for Christmas. Funny thing is I’m not sure if it’s related to the throwing up as it seems to have been chewed well. LOL! Luckily niether of my kids ever really swallowed any nonfood items (until now) because when l had my first I thought I would experiment with a different mommy approach and make very little “off-limits” – not interfering for the most part if something went toward their mouth unless it was unsanitary-etc. As a result, neither kid had “hurry and put it in the mouth before mom takes it away!” mode, and as a rule, neither will swallow anything they can’t chew. This doesn’t completely work out though as there ane some very horrible things that have gone into mouth of glutton *2: An entire crunchy JUNE BUG. Which got me bit and screamed at until I gave up getting it out of his mouth. FECES which I thought was chocolate. HERSHEY’s almond kisses, which i thought was feces, until I noticed he’d eaten around most of the foil (chewed through it) and spit out every single almond sucked clean. TOILET PAPER: moistened by toilet water. (he didn’t cat this because it wouldn’t dissolve, just chewed on it forever until I realized there really was something in his mouth and saw the boys’ bathroom floor wet.) Kids, man! If anyone knows if one year old eating eraser & throwing up is emergency please email. He’s done for a few hours now so will otherwise google a bit more then sleep. 😉
shawna says
My toddler broke a glass chess piece and put the piece in his mouth, i got the piece out but im afraid that maybe tiny little shards when down his throat, he is acting fine and all and im thinking that if he did swollow something it will come out in his poop but how can i be sure… im scared
Jesse says
hmmm..I also have a daughter who puts EVERYTHING in her mouth..3 sons also..but the boys never did it…only my sweet little princess! LOL Let’s see..to date she has actually swallowed the following:
1. at least 10 whole crayons (on different occasions)
2. a piece of the car air fresheners that look like large sweet tarts (no they are not toxic Thank God!)
3. a decent amount of Dove deodorant (once again not toxic -Ain’t God good! 🙂
4. a half of a new cigarette..most certainly toxic but didn’t eat enough to harm her
5. Dove, Pantene and John Freida shampoo (not toxic lol..yes..poison control does know me on a first name basis LOL )
6. pieces of some very unfortunate cricket
7. her brother’s poop while we were potty training him..this she managed to do on several occasions..much to EVERYONE’S horror!
8.9. and.etc..glue, newspaper, pages of books, a piece of my leather purse (little bugger), leaves, sand, dirt, most of a butterfly, pieces of colored pencils and the head to several markers, small hair bands, hair gel, lipstick, and these are just the things that she actually swallowed..many many more things I was able to pry out of her little mouth-but boy is she quick..when she sees me running she gulps it down FAST! She drives me insane trying to keep up with her LOL I hope she outgrows it soon!! It is funny to read everyone else’s posts and know I am not the only Mommy dealing with this craziness. Thanks for sharing!!
Janice says
You guys are awesome – I am laughing, squealing, cringing and more… THANKS for sharing!!!
Terri says
My husband was watching our son while he worked in the kitchen, and noticed that he was playing with a beetle. Did he kill the beetle? Take the beetle outside? Nope. He thought it was cool that his son was playing with bugs. Within a matter of seconds, that beetle had found a new home inside my son’s mouth. How gross! Can you believe my husband called me and said, You’ll never believe what our son had in his mouth?
Cascia says
My son (Conan 15 mos) puts everything in his mouth just like your daughter. The strangest thing that I had (well my husband did it because I did not have the guts to) to pull out of his mouth was a snail from the garden. We have snails all over the place in our garden and not only did he put one in his mouth he is constantly eating dirt. A fly wouldn’t be too bad. I’ve also pulled buttons, coins, kitty litter, you name it out of Conan’s mouth. Oh my husband just informed me that when he pulled the snail out of Conan’s mouth all that was left was the shell. We still don’t know if the snail was alive or not before it was mouthed by our little boy.
andrea says
Did he got sick my daughter just do the same and I am freaking out
Moriah says
Oh yes. Both of my girls have been floor-sweeping vacuums. Dead flies and worse. Even the screw cap thingie that popped off from where the toilet is attached to the floor.
Thankfully, we’re nearing the end of that phase.
Jen says
Dog poop. Left in the yard by our neighbor’s dog.
Amy says
I hate to even admit this because it makes my stomach churn. I am pretty sure she ate cat puke. I think the cat must have ate too much dry food and threw up. I found Kaitlynn with a spoon right by it chewing on something. Ewww!
Strudel says
Oh dear – I just remembered the Rat Poison incident … how bad is that – and worse that it wasn’t the first thing that came to mind! My husband was with her when we were out somewhere and turned back to check on her and discovered her with a chunk of rat poison in her hand and near her mouth like she’d taken a bite. He did all the right things – washed out her mouth and hands, rang the poison line and rushed to the nearby hospital – where we waited for a good 20 minutes while they worked out what to do. They gave us this syringe of charcoal to “feed her” and while they told us how messy and difficult it would be to administer she grabbed it, stuck it in her mouth and started sucking. Whole syringe gone in under a minute.
Strudel says
Drawing Pins – as many as she could get in her mouth and wherever she could find them. Never hurt herself and luckily she’s never shown interest in swallowing anything but food/drink but jeeze what a thing to want to put in your mouth.
DJ says
I plead the 5th, enough said!
Mommy Instincts says
My son once ate one of those packets of silica acid that companies put in with various items, you know, the ones that say “DO NOT EAT!”. Luckily, after a paniced call to Poison Control we learned that the only reason why it says “DO NOT EAT” is because the tiny balls that are inside of it are considered a choking hazard. And since I was able to get all the pieces out, and he obviously wasn’t choking, there was no need to worry.
Now seriously, shouldn’t this be something they should advertise, because really…I thought it was like rat poison or something. LOL.
Jen
Mrs.CHerrera says
My son ate rat poison, lol. He was 14 months old and we had literally just moved in to a new place the night before…and we’d only been awake for a few mins. I went to the bathroom and when I returned I found him on the floor with an opened packet of rat poison in front of him, and pellets in his mouth. I freaked out and called 911 instead of poison control first…all they did was stick me in a room by myself and told me to breastfeed him…then came back like an hour later saying poison control said I should have called first…and to just give him something to drink. Then, came the 1,500 ambulance bill…ugh. Better safe than sorry, I suppose.
Kate says
This is too funny! I just posted about this the other day, and about how my dad tried to convince me, when I was a naive, young mom that a baby can NOT choke on a cheerio because it has a hole in the middle. So, even if they swallow it whole, they’ll still be able to breathe. I actually believed him.
Now my 4 year old also put everything in his mouth as a baby. He has swallowed or tried to eat:
1. A penny
2. A large piece of crafting glitter with jagged edges (resulting in a call to 911)
3. Coffee grounds from the garbage
4. A pencil eraser
5. A whole crayon
6. A diaper tab
7. A dead spider
8. An eggshell
Fun stuff! My two younger girls have also followed suit with putting things in their mouths, but they haven’t been anywhere near as bad as he was.
All Rileyed Up says
My son has eaten dishwasher detergent, neosporin, and flexall. At least fles are not toxic. On a closely related body part note, my friend’s daughter put a roly poly up her nose, where it got stuck and die and had to be removed at the ER, where everyone came in to watch because none of them, to that date, had encountered a roly poly in the nose scenario.
Mrsbear says
My toddler has surprised and appalled me with the things I’ve finger swept out of his mouth. Rocks, twigs, paperclips. He will ball up an entire wet-wipe and stuff the whole thing in his face. He’ll eat dog food, pencils, stickers, ponytail holders. He hasn’t eaten a bug because he hasn’t been able to catch one. Oddly enough, he is one of my finickiest eaters.
He will also drink out of a dirty puddle or the dog bowls. 🙁
Allison says
UGH! Now that really is gross!
My son is the same. He puts anything and everything in his mouth. He somehow manages to find things that I didn’t even know we had…and of course, I suddenly realize they exist when they are IN HIS MOUTH. It’s horrifying!
Just today, he found an old dried up pea in the corner of our kitchen (yeah, haven’t vacuumed in a while!). He loves peas, so he, of course, put it right in his mouth. We had been in the living room for a while before I realized he wasn’t babbling at all and his mouth was oddly shut yet moving a bit. I fished in there to pull out this old dried up pea that had been sitting there for who knows how long.
Much empathy. You’re not alone 🙂
Kim says
We have a saying around here: “fuzz is NOT food”
Abby will rub her hand across the floor turn it over to see if she managed to pick up a “snack” and then proceed to put the contents of her hand in her mouth.
The other day I fished an old dried up piece of corn out of there and I ALMOST had to fish a dead fly out…I caught her with it in her hand as it was going up to her mouth. I’ve never moved faster in my life.
Plus she is ALWAYS chewing usually pretending, but how can I know that?
BTW, twice as I was typing this I had to check her for “fuzz”
GreenJello says
My 13yo STILL chews on things. Beware!
Emily says
And I thought something was wrong with my son! He too puts everything in his mouth.
Let’s see: We have a dog so dog poop (when she had an accident that we didn’t catch in time) and dog food, books, thumb tac, my older son’s homework, a bee, tried to pick up a live earwig but I caught him in time, everything he touches! He also keeps trying to chew on the window shades.
By the way, he shares his food with the dog but the dog growls at him whenever he comes close to her dog food.
I have two boys and they both are so different. The older one, we never had to worry about putting things in his mouth and he was so calm. This younger one is crazy!
Jamie says
EVERYTHING has ended up in my kids mouths! Paper, coins, dirt, food off the floor, toys, and any other small objects you can think of.
Virginia says
I have to embarrass my husband here. My little boy was just over a year old and my husband came across these raisins on the floor. I told him I hadn’t given Isaac any raisins in days and that looked way too plump to be a raisin. He picked them up, threw them away and proceeded to watch the TV. I, realizing my son has a poopy diaper, lay him on the floor to change him. When I open up the diaper, I realize where the “raisins” came from and look up in horror to see my husband biting his finger nails. Yea…
Jessica NBP says
Let’s just say it’s too nasty to type!! LOL Being outside with the boys and having a dog will clue you in. There’s also been coffee beans, ashes from cigerattes(sp), dog food, and a few others that I can’t think of off that bat.
Heather says
My daughter used to pick up live ladybugs (but not the nice ones, the Japanese beetles that bite) and put them in her mouth when she was a toddler. Those things excrete a stinky oily substance if you touch them too.
That was pretty gross now that I think about it again.
Briana says
This is not even a toddler story, but yes, some gross things have been stuck in my kids’ mouths. One such incident was when we were driving down the road, I looked back and happened to notice my daughter of four years! licking her flip flop. “Stop licking your flip flop!” … “But, mo-o-o-o-om … it’s only the bottom!” As if that makes it okay???????? Ewwwwwww …..
Ren says
Ewww! I am so sorry. I’ve been lucky and no bugs have made it into Evie’s mouth, but we have had carpet, cat food, cat litter, stale old waffle, dirty shoes…just to name a few. ^^
heather says
Okay, nothing as gross as some of the above comments.
But I have one that no one has mentioned – guitar picks! My hubby is notorious for not putting anything away (I swear I have TWO children sometimes!) and MANY, MANY times I have found our 16 month old sucking on a guitar pick.
maybe not yucky, but definitely hazardous!
Janice says
Oh my goodness ladies – you all had me laughing TOTALLY out loud! You all ROCK for sharing your stories.
Thank you SO MUCH! You totally made me feel better about the fly. 🙂
Shera - A Frog In My Soup says
LOL Janice I’m rolling on the floor! I am thankful that a fly (or other insect) is one thing I havent’t found in their mouths, but to be honest I have found too many other terrible things to mention 🙂
Stacy says
My 3yr old loved and still loves to put everything in his mouth. I remember one time taking a thumb tac out of his mouth which scared the crap out of me but at least he didn’t swallow it. I have also had to take away all of this books because he will eat the paper. I don’t know where this started but we are just now getting to where we can read a magazine or newspaper in front of him without him coming to take a bite out of it. I found him one day very quite in his room. When I got there I realized that he had eaten half of his “Put me in the zoo” book. Knock on wood he is getting over the eating books. But his new thing is chewing on the window sills. I have bite marks in anyone that he can reach. It is crazy. I am so grateful that his little brother hasn’t followed in his footsteps when it comes to that.
SarahHub says
Ugh!
Luckily, Evie is not a “mouther” so I can’t really relate.
Indulge me for a second, because this made me think of a story when I was growing up.
My younger sister somehow had a moth stuck in her ear. She could hear its wings fluttering and kept screaming that it was eating her brain.
Maybe it’s better that the fly was in Olivia’s mouth…
Charlsie Swadley says
Oh my thank you for the laugh! My daughter almost put a cockroach in her mouth, and my youngest recently had some spindly black legs sticking out of her mouth…when I pulled a gross beetle out and threw it in the trash she was really upset about it and let me know!!! Thanks for letting us know that these moments happen to others as well!
Heather.PNR says
Today my toddler spilled his milk in the kitchen, so I asked him to clean it up. I stepped out of the room for a second and when I returned he was LICKING THE MILK OFF OF THE FLOOR. And, no, my floors are not clean enough to eat of off.
Next time we’ll get a little more specific about just how to clean up. 🙂
Happy Mama says
OK I can identify with everything except for Pill bugs and “rice Krispie Bugs”
Jessica says
My 1 year old puts everything in her mouth too. Tree bark, dirt, diaper wipes and dare I say I dirty diaper my husband left on the floor one day! Thankfully it was just pee!
MaryEllen says
Thankfully I haven’t found anything disgusting in my son’s mouth yet, but I always find dangerous things there. He always seems to get ahold of little pieces of plastic bags when I come home from grocery shopping. As I was reading this post, he tipped over the trash can and proceeded to eat aluminum wrapper from a piece of candy. I tell him many times a day that God protects him.
Megret says
Ugh! Gross sounding stories already here. I’ll add ours:
– Cat throw up. (You read that right. When I called the pediatrician, he actually laughed outloud.)
– Hair clipper lubricant oil. (Poison Control said it was only mineral oil, and that it would only act as a mild laxative. 🙂
– A dead beetle.
– A 3″ screw. This one was swallowed by our 2-1/2 year old and landed us in the ER for an entire night.
Lani ~ The Wooden Porch says
I’m loving the comments on this post!
Belle once ate a cockroach. I was able to fish out a couple of legs and part of the body, but I wasn’t able to find all the pieces.
Erin says
Since my little guy isnt here yet (5 more weeks) I thought I would share a funny story about my sibilings. I am the oldest of 7 and even tho I cannot remember what i put in my mouth I remember all the stuff in the other 6’s. My one sister would climb on the dining room table, steal an entire stick of butter, sneak it outside, and dip it in the sandbox, adding red ants when she could, and then take big bites out of it!!! She was also known to eat cat poop! eww! She still has bad tastes when it comes to cooking! LOL! I have another sister that ate change anytime she got ahold of it. We used to laugh about “the first national bank of the united states of Amber” She would eat anything from pennies to half dollars. She actually ate so many years later when she got pregnant with her first child they actually found out she still had 50 cents in her stomach that had never passed or dissolved! A brother of mine always put legos in his mouth and another brother liked to lick keys.
You know its a wonder i turned out sane after being surrounded by these crazy children! hehe
Paper Bridges says
I enjoyed a spicy soup in Indonesia once. Didn’t recognize the meat, didn’t ask. I didn’t want to ruin the experience!
As for my kids, I’m with Shannon – used cig butt off the ground.
Wendy says
My son ate a lady bug when he as around 9 months old. It smelled super nasty and just looked plain old gross.
Ecki says
Kayla goes to hippotherapy (horse therapy) and likes to eat horse poop. Which is probably why one day I got a call from the nurses office saying they found a SIX INCH ROUNDWORM in her diaper. She missed three weeks of school while she was being “dewormed”. Blech.
Rachel says
Oh yes, I can definitely empathize with you on the bug eating.
Ali ate a ladybug. The good news is that she only did it once! Now if she finds a ladybug, she hands it to me and says “TRASH!!!”
I made my URL on this comment the permalink to my blog about her bug eating experience. So don’t feel bad!! It happens to all of us!
Melanie says
Okay, this isn’t my story, but my husband’s:
A friend of my husband one day took his 4 year old nephew out for a walk in the woods. As they were looking around, the nephew spotted cicada shells (June bugs) all over the trees. “Uncle Kelly, what are those things?”
“Well, those are Rice Krispie bugs!”
“RICE KRISPIE BUGS?!”
“Yep.”
The kid came home with an armful of them, MUNCHING ON THEM and proudly announced to his mama, “Look Mama, Uncle Kelly helped me pick Rice Krispie bugs!”
>faint<
Organizing Mommy says
With four kids in five years, I had the poison control number memorized. Hud “the gulper” ate: laundry detergent, ink pad stamp, handsoap, and I think that’sit. Oh, wait: a few coins. None required a doctor visit. The laundry detergent came up right away. The ink pad was just a like. The handsoap was just enough, and the coins came out in the toilet. Yes, I am still sane. Love ya,
Tamara Cosby says
Sadly enough it wasn’t my children who ate the fly but rather myself…yes…you read that correctly…took a BIG HUGE SWIG of a Cherry Limeade and thought I had a bit of lime in my mouth…I love to bite into bits of lime…only this, this, this horrible tiny bite…was a fly. I thought I was going to be sick right then and to this day (it’s been 2 years) I still cover my straws when outside because that is how the little lime fly got in my drink…
Alana says
A pill bug (or roly poly). Sadly, only half was retrievable. Yuck.
Ashley - The Adventures of Supermom says
Between my three children, I think just about everything has ended up in at least one of their mouths. Everything from bugs, dirt, cat/dog food, dust balls and even poop.
Jamie says
When my oldest daughter was just a toddler, probably about 16 months old, she was sitting my our sliding glass doors and ran her finger down the groove and then stuck it in her mouth!!! GAG! I vacuum it periodically but I’m sure there were dead bug parts, etc. GROSS. Glad Olivia is OK! 🙂
DH says
A cat hair ball. My husband found her chewing right next to one that was half missing. She’s 18 and in college. Whenever she turns up her nose, he tells her that if the hairball didn’t kill her when she was a year old, most likely the food on her plate won’t either.
katie says
That is so funny!
Donielle says
Oh let’s see….
dog food, cat food, rocks, food from the garbage, coins, and yes, diaper substances. Now that REALLY made me freak!! Almost threw up while I was washing him off.
Kids are so gross.
kadusey says
My 6-month old sticks everything in his mouth. He will chew on anything he can get to (including so far: my husband’s nose, my shoe, the foot of the computer chair, the tags on his baby gym, and many attempts at electrical wires so far). It will be interesting when he learns to crawl. I suspect he might eat a few cockroaches and crickets (both of which regularly find their way into our house).
Shaina Pearce says
My 17 month old is like Olivia – EVERYTHING gets into his mouth. Where we live we have bugs that look like lady bugs, but they are orange and they STINK. If you crush them, you can smell it. And I canNOT count how many times I have found Kyran with literal ‘bug breath’ and pieces of shell on his lips. They have to taste bad.
But the REALLY bad one was the time I found him with chocolate around his mouth, only to discover that it was NOT chocolate, and he had removed the brown substance from his diaper. Oh yes. He did. I flipped: grabbed him and a handful of hand sanitizer, which I rubbed on his face and in his mouth (much to his dismay). Then I threw him in the shower and scrubbed his face, and afterwards, re-sanitized him again. {shudder]
Amanda says
NOw that is funny. I have actually watched my oldest put dog food in his mouth. The first time I FLIPPED out. The 12th I let him eat it. He hasn’t eaten it since.
If you had any idea how many parasites and fungus’ and bacteria we actually do encounter everyday with everything you do, it would either force you to live in a bubble or let it go.
(Although sometimes the bubble sounds good…) Letting it go is easier!
God bless-
Amanda
Alicia says
Dog crunchies, at my mom’s house.
Cat crunchies at our house.
And like Olivia, most recently, a dead fly. I too almost gagged.
And my little angel has some sharp teeth too, and will chomp down hard!
kelli says
We were lucky. Things rarely ended up in mouths. However, that being said- Jonathan was a “nose plugger”.
Sometime around Katie’s 3rd birthday, when Jonathan was about 20 months my mom sent jer a thing of small beads.
Of course the y ended up all over the floor. No matte how much I vacuumed, Jonathan found them and shoved them up his nose. Way up his nose.
We ended up in the ER more times than I care to count.
WE were finally sent home one time by a kindly older doctor with a bent up paper clip. I worked perfectly for retrieving those beads from his sinuses.
Needless to say, we were very good at pinning him down ad removing those beads after a few times…
Rocks In My Dryer says
An old cigarette from the ground on the playground. Also an old wad of gum stuck underneath a restaurant table. Some bad parenting moments!