Question
My 3 year old son has a habit of licking all of the toys at Mothers Morning Out (which he attends 2 mornings a week), "with compulsion" as his teachers describe. When it comes time to play outside, he also heads straight to the dirt and begins to eat it. Although we have seen the dirt eating at home and have addressed it with discipline so that he does not do it around us anymore, the licking is not something we've seen outside of this setting and church nursery. The MMO teachers do not tell him no, because they believe he cannot help it and it is therefore not negative behavior, but rather just try to redirect and tell him that it is yucky. I have asked them to make him sit out if he licks or eats dirt, but they say they do not feel comfortable because they don't' see this as negative behavior, but something he has no control over. What can I do to deter this behavior? What is it about these environments that he does this? I have worked church nursery and seen him licking and it is constant, and I made him sit out, but he just went right back to licking when he was let back into the play area. The teachers have suggested that perhaps he needs a psych evaluation and an occupational therapist, but I am hopeful that this is something that can be solved with good discipline, but I am at a loss.
Thanks for your help.
