Toddler Vomits to get his own way

[JoandBen]

Our 14 month old son has been diagnosed with reflux and was prescribed Ranitidine, but hates the taste so refuses to take it, and we grew tired of the fight before each meal.  We are now dealing with what we think is a slightly different problem and that is he is able to make himself vomit if he gets anyry with us if he does not get his own way.  This morning, he vomited when he saw me spill some milk on the kitchen floor - we are most confused!  Have you heard of this before and what should we do as we dont want him to become a 'brat' and get his own way the whole time, but the vomiting is really a daily problem and we are tired of it and concerned too?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

With such a physical symptom, it's important to be sure that medically he is well. If medical problems have been ruled out and you know the matter is behavioral in nature, try not to make too much of it. Certainly do not defer to your son. In other words, regard it much as you would any other expression of anger or frustration. You mentioned that the behavior occurs when your son is angry and/or does not get his own way. However, it's not clear from your example (of your having spilled milk) how this related to the overall problem. Would you explain it a bit further?

[MLWTR]

I wonder if when he gets upset, his sobbing and/or screaming, and consequently irregular breathing, is triggering his reflux, causing the vomiting (especially since you know he has severe reflux already). Also, in some cases, perhaps the occurrence of the vomiting at the same time as the upset may be coincidental; he could be just vomiting more in general because he's not taking his medication. Have you considered asking the doctor for a different drug for your son's condition? There may be others that he and you would find more acceptable.

Anyway, these are just some thoughts. Hope you solve this soon.

[Pearl99]

My son vomited a lot due to developing multiple severe food allergies around 12 months.  It became more and more frequent. Of course we didn't quite figure it out at first. His dad was convinced it was an emotional reaction and would actually chastise him to stop it but I always saw it as some sort of illness and tried to figure it out (which led to dr's).  When we found out through RAST testing what he was allergic to and cut them out, he stopped vomiting.  (BTW, our big ones were dairy, wheat, eggs, nuts, soy, fish--so it was hard to tell there were so many). I guess today they would have just said "reflux" since he had of course lots of bellyaches and didn't sleep well. (had some eczema too) Have you considered this possibility?

[shawnys_grl]

For me personally, there have been times that I have gotten a little anxious or upset and it upset my stomach.  Like I can feel the acid churning if I'm in a tense situation.  With your son's reflux, I would think it's even more possible for something like that to happen, and him end up vomiting.  Does he seem like he gets a touch of anxiety in tense situations?  

Him vomiting when YOU spilled some milk doesn't seem like he did it to get his way.  It seems like he reacted to the tension of the situation.  I would suggest in a situation like that, make sure he's OK and calm and knows the situation is just fine, before cleaning the milk.  Just to calm his anxiety a little bit.      

[JoandBen]

Hi, Its us again.  To clarify some of your points.  
We have had him tested for all sorts of things and medically he seems fine, we have not had a look down his throat with cameras etc as we dont see the issue as being serious enough to warrant that sort of invasive investigation in a young child.  
The issue with the spilt milk was a really bizarre thing that I just mentioned, in my mind at the time I thought perhaps he saw the splat on the floor which looked like vomit, so he thought he should too.  I definitely did not make out that it was a problem that it had spilled, so I was very confused at his reaction, he did not seem stressed or worried at all.  
I am a very allergic person, so I guess we will test for allergies soon, but it is amazing how if we do something he does not like, he coughs to threaten that he could vomit.   If we tell him 'no', he generally stops, but if he gets really angry about something, like coming indoors when he does not want to, he just vomits.  For sure, if he cries hard, due to a fall or knock, he vomits, and I know this is quite common, and possibly understandable, but the vomiting to threaten us is really alarming.  He definitely has a very strong gag reflex, so finds it easy to vomit and therefore use it.  I guess if we rule out allergies, and he continues to vomit when he gets annoyed, we will just have to try and ignore so that he does not get a reaction out of us - its just a little difficult not to react when there is vomit all over the place.  I sincerely appreciate all of your comments and suggestions.  Any more are most welcome. Thanks.

[Tiffer]

I actually use to do this exact same thing as a child. My mom said as soon as I got angry/upset...usually when I didn't get my own way, I would make a cough sound and throw up EVERYWHERE. I was hardly ever crying at the time so it was just my form of a temper tantrum.
It went on for awhile, while my mom exhausted every thing she could to try to get me to stop....then one day in the car I went to do it (and she had had enough) and said you throw it up, I'm going to make you eat it! LOL. She never would have, it was just an empty threat. But it worked.***in no way am I advising you to do this, I just though it was a funny story to chare**

I can't recall how old your child is, but maybe making them help you clean it up would be of some help? I know I wouldn't want to keep doing it if I had to clean it up.Good luck.

[tiffanyacase]

My best friend's 6 year old son has been doing the very same thing since he was tiny.  Only difference is that he only does it when you try to make him eat something he doesn't want to eat.  He will projectile vomitright there at the dinner table.....absolutely disgusting.  If you figure out how to make it stop, let me know.

[mommy23boys]

My little boy used to do the exact same thing! Well, he would stick his fingers down his throat and make himself vomit. He also has reflux. It would drive me nuts! He would do it just for the fun of it- to see my reaction. Finally, one day, I put him in time out! He is 2, so that meant he went back into his crib. He cried and cried. I went back and got him after a couple of minutes and said, "Keep your fingers OUT of your mouth!!!". He put them there and fake coughed like he was going to do it again. I put him right back in time out. He hasn't done it since and that was about a month ago. He was doing it every single day!!! What a mess! Now, he has fake coughed a couple of times and I just ask if he wants to go to time out. He says, "No!!! Fingers out of mouth!" and that is the end of it.

[Nicole311]

My son started vomiting too all the time when he started to cry. I really did start to think it was a "tactic" too but then I realized it started when his father began cooking his breakfast in the morning. He was making him eggs with cheese, cereal with milk, pancakes with milk & butter and he's lactose intolerant! His belly was just so upset to start with that as soon as he got the slightest bit upset he couldn't hold it back anymore. Removed the dairy & the vomiting stopped! Could it be the same for your son? Sometthing he started eating or maybe a stomach bug?