7 year old eating random things

[mandy_sch]

Hi there,
My 7 year old daughter has been eating random things for a while now, the latest things she has eaten are cupcake wrappers (1st one i got her in trouble for eating, then the next day she did it again) then she ate some tick tacks she found on the floor in a store even though she is constantly reminded not to (regular thing eating random things off of floors) and today she was eating crayon wrappers. she tends to eat things like fluff or if there is something in her hand she will just put it in her mouth. I don't think it is Pica, but I am still looking into it. She is Diagnosed with ADHD and we are looking into other behavioral issues. she is very impulsive and doesn't always realise what she is doing and cannot tell us why she does certain things. does any one else have issues with this?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

The behavior is an example of pica. That simply means that she is ingesting non-food items. The behavior does not have a single cause and she needs to undergo some diagnostic studies. Discuss the options with her pediatrician. He will likely order some routine lab work and refer her for metabolic and/or endocrine studies.

[yourmothersir]

First, I am fairly sure she was misdiagnosed. The idiot doctors say every kid with behavioral issues has ADD. I really don't know why she is eating weird things. However, one thing you could do is tell her when she feels like eating something "different" instead of eating, write down, or draw a picture about how she is feeling. Then discuss the feelings and try and find habits you can use to replace the strange behavior.