Does anyone's child make themselve throw up on purpose?

Tanya - posted on 07/23/2012

my son is now 20 months and doing this and i think it is a attention thing as he only does it in time outs too. what was the best way you got your daughter to stop?

Alison - posted on 09/13/2010

Our son who is now 22 months old did this from about 1 year on up...only recently has it subsided. He'd stick his hand in his mouth whenever he was angry or bored and he'd try to gag himself. Several times he did manage to throw up on himself. We chalked it up to him being curious about his gag-sensation and trying to feel a sense of control when we'd tell him 'no'. I tried to ignore it mostly and distract him whenever it happened....lots of times he'd do it in the car so I did have to carry extra clothes in case he puked. My husband finally got aggrivated with it and would pull his hand out of his mouth and look him straight in the face and say "NO!" Our son is quite the Daddy's Boy so I think that's probably what got him to stop. But it definitely wasn't overnight.

Jazi - posted on 09/13/2010

Z started doing this around 10 months. My roomate has a bad back & when it siezes up on her she can't breathe & coughs & gags. Z started coughing & gagging himself to copy her.

Best solution found, was to ignore the behavior. Yes, it triggers my gag response, and I want to make it stop, but when he's doing it for attention, giving him attention only encourages the behavior.

Rachel - posted on 09/13/2010

my 22 mo old girls do this, but only one of them has made herself sick doing it. They are teething right now getting those 2 yr old molars in so they are sticking their fingers to the back of their gums to chew and sometimes gets them a little too far. They have not done it when throwing a fit though so I can't help you there..........

Amanda - posted on 09/13/2010

My 22 monthold does it as well, but randomly... I haven't a clue why but am glad to know I am not alone. There seems to be no rhyme or reason for when he does.... it I thought maybe he is just being a "Curious George" He does not do it to the point of making himself sick though, just gets his hand all slobbery and kinda gags. I just tell him no and remove his fingers from his mouth. He has though done it a little less lately, actually haven't seen him do it all weekend, so maybe he will grow out of it! Good luck!

Kim - posted on 09/12/2010

My daugher never actually threw up but during meals when she would not want to eat what we made she would stick her fingers down her throat and gag. This only lasted for about a month and all we did was smack her hand each time and tell her no. I believe the consistency did the trick. Good Luck.

Melissa - posted on 09/12/2010

my little guy used to do that too.. all 3 of them did it usually when they were upset also and they thought it would work as well but they got over it after a while

Georgia - posted on 09/12/2010

Yes he does. It is weird. I wonder if he got it from me. He may have noticed me do it one time when I was feeling unwell.

Serena - posted on 09/09/2010

Thanks Claire did not think of that one but my son does this when he is really upset and is crying, most of the time when he sent to time out.

Marcy - posted on 09/08/2010

Good luck with that. Thank goodness my daughter never did that. She threw up enough with her asthma that she didn't need to make herself.

Claire - posted on 09/08/2010

My son used to do this when he was younger and didnt want to go to bed so he would make himself sick knowing full well I would have to come in to clean up. So eventually I realised what he was up to and went in to his room didnt talk or give him any attention, change his clothes and sheets, clean up and put him back in bed. after a while he stopped once he knew he wouldnt get anywhere with it. I think with him it was an attention seeking thing. Could that be the case with your daughter?

Hope that helps :)