Some kids are eating soil, why?

dear sis I knew kids acting weird and this is one of those weird things I ever heard. I suggest that you should tell them to ask professional help. Uh oh, my daughter had this habit of biting her nails, thanks she stopped now Have a great weekend dear sis

Hi didi I am that boy And I continued this habit for many years I guess it was until I was 6 that I stopped licking the walls. I loved the taste of cement cover and then later when the walls were white washed. The coating was quite tasty. Maybe it has to do something with the Lime content they have on the plaster. For the soil, I still remember nibbling on those earthen pots which broke. We had a small restaurant when I was that young and we used these pots to make curd and sell. My grandparents did not allow me to eat directly from these pots as they knew I would throw away most of the curd and then start chewing the pot

I too had seen children eating soil..seems children like the taste but not enough to understand its negative side. Not only soil I had read in paper a child had eaten marble that got struck on their throat so on. May be the caretakers have to be careful as they are so innocent to know what is wrong and right.

He must be seen by a doctor because he eats soil. That should be stopped because soil is dirty .

Dear friend good morning I know about this habit of kids but the different person and different opinions some says because of vitamin ki kami due to vitamin problem. I think this habit is only till 2 to 5 years child while child is grow automatically their habit is gone. Only few child is eat the soil in young age also then their parents should consult with Dr. Most of the child has such habit but now these days I think no chance of eating soil because every where only tiles. In rarely we can see the soil.

Hi Sreekala, This is some disorder is happening in children at the age between 1 to 6 years. Its caled as PICA. Geophagia is a form of Pica in which the persons consumes earthly substances such as clay, sand is due to mineral-deficient diet. It is symptom of other disorders rather than its own specific disorder. I heard that it is also due to action of some worms. Better medicine are available in Ayurvedic. You may suggest the parent of the child to meet any of the Ayurvedic doctor (Vaidyan in Kerala) to get the medicine. Some of the pregnent ladies are also doing the same thing. But it is very dangerous they are consumes paint from the wall etc. Now a days all the walls are painted. Earlier in our native places (Trichur) the walls are made from Kummayam (Chunna, Alam) etc. In these wall it is easy to cratch with the nail and had. So I suggest you to take the child to a Ayurvedic doctor and not alopathic pediatrician. Have a nice day.

Hi Sree dear, this is the first time knowing that there is kid in your place eating soil. It's hard to believe that soil seems that delicious to him. Worrying soil would spoil the health of the boy if he keeps on eating such inedible stuffs. Your post as well as the responses I have read widen my field of vision I'm all eagerness to learn more the reason to cause such weird habit. Hopefully after visiting the pediatrician and would help to let the doubt comes out in the wash Happy posting

I have never figured out the reason behind this. I had a niece who would bite the cement in the walls. Her parents tried smearing the wall with chilli powder but that apparently did not work. The habit just went away after a few years.

Hello my friend! This is a good topic! Do you know that my youngest sister and my 3rd youngest brother used to eat soil as well? Yes they did when they were about 2 to 3 years old. So my Mom and all of the siblings would be always on guard so they could not put that dirty thing on their mouth. Once left alone on the ground, they would eat and so we would do everything to wash away the dirt out of their mouths. The doctor said it is the result of a child's sense of curiosity. They'd explore and try things to satisfy their curiosity. But sometimes this is also a result of some developmental problem or nutritional deficiency. The doctors call this condition as "pica". The good news is that this condition could be outgrown once the kid grows older. And that was what happened to my sister and brother. When they reach the age of 4, they stopped the habit.(thank God) And you know what one quite funny thing is that I also had neighbors whose kids eat not soil but rubber slippers. So all their rubber slippers... they"d keep out of their reach. If you happen to visit their house and you leave your rubber slipper by their door, they'd feast on your slipper. Hahaha! But as they grew older they outgrew their habit. They realized rubber does not taste good at all.

I think the kid is not given enough food. He is hungry. The family has to give him food so he won't eat soil or anything dirty.

Thanks for sharing. Sree beti, this is a very common problem in most houses, they lick the walls, eat chalk, pieces from fired clay even, it might be due to lack of calcium mainly; you know many women during pregnancy do this too. Let me tell you, our maid servant said, her baby ate dried excretion; it was his own

Hi Sree Yes I have seen such kids. Honestly I don't know the reason. But may be they are lacking some important thing like iron in their body. Not sure. That's what I have heard from someone. Not only soil, I have also seen some kids eating small pieces of bricks !! This must be related to same reason I guess.

Sounds like he might be anemic, has pica, or he might even have lead poisoning. They need to talk to the Dr. right away.

The child may have some iron or calcium deficiency. I have seen another child like the boy you have mentioned here.

This is a common problem and the doctor would only say that you must keep a careful watch over him. But, normally this problem starts even younger. Children are intrigued by whatever they see on they ground because they are just two feet above the ground and it is all very much within their eyesight.Moreover, they like to fidget around with their little fingers and when they see something colourful they immediately feel like putting it in their mouths.Children always like to dig into something with their tiny little fingers; I don't know why it excites them but my grandson also used to do it.It looks very charming but has adverse consequences on the nails and stomach.We have to tell them firmly not to do it and keep a careful watch. This is why they get frequent stomach disorders too.

they tend to do that because they find whatever they find in all the way and also most probably when they play on the sand,they are tempted to eat it,it must be avoided

Yes, I too have seen this kind of problem among some kids. This habit would disapper when they grew and if it does not consulting a doctor is best

i think this boy is suffering some kind of disorder called "Geophagy" where a person would like and enjoy eating earthy or soil-like substances such as clay, and chalk. this practice also exist in animals also in children and pregnant women. in the long run this will be dangerous for the child because of all the dirt that he can get into his body.

Not only small children but some adults also eat dirt.It's a natural instinct.When the minerals in our body get too low,the brain produces an affinity to dirt and anything colored and looks mineral like.It is profound in some people only.As we become adult we tend to overcome this affinity, due to our knowledge that the soil is dirty and indigestible.But for a small kid,he doesn't know that it's bad for his health,so he follows what his brain says.The tendency is called Pica, I think.

well, I have no idea but I have heared about a pregnant lady who like to eat soil during her pregnancy. is not that about less iron in body which makes people attract for smell of soil or eating that?