How do I get him to stop?

[nikkiARNGwife]

DS is driving me nuts! He has started licking his bottom lip..like you know along the outside of his bottom lip and it is totally chapped and red. I don't see him when he does it.kind of like an upside down milk mustache except it's red lol...I've been putting vaseline on it and trying to talk to him about not doing it anymore but he just won't stop. It's driving me nuts! I remember having a kid in my class when I was teaching that did it and it drove me nuts then too and now my own kid is doing it.

Any suggestions on how to get him to stop?

[Heather Roselli]

All three of mine do this! I use Carmex (in the squeezy tube) on it and it usually clears it up almost overnight. I try to put it on them in the mornings when I can remember. I ask them all the time not to do it, but it doesn't help!

[amystoffel]

Mine does this too...it is annoying!!! And he chews his lower lip too...

[Leila]

The only thing that made JP stop was Blistex in the little blue tub. It's got menthol or camphor or something "tingly-making" in it and he HATED the "burn" so much that he stopped licking his habitual lip licking. Every once and a while I'll catch him and pull out the tub...he stops before I can even open it.

[CA Dreamer]

I sneak Carmex on their lips at night when they are sleeping if they ever have any chapping. It really heals quickly!

[DawnMarch]

I sneak Carmex on their lips at night when they are sleeping if they ever have any chapping. It really heals quickly!

LOL. This is what I do too!

[BrattyMeg]

I bite my bottom lip...drives me nuts too when it gets chapped b/c of it..but i can't help it lol I realize I do it mostly while scrapping or on the computer lol

[nikkiARNGwife]

Here's a pic from yesterday...see it's under his lip where he's doing it...I'm going to have to try the carmex or blistex thing I guess

http://i40.tinypic.com/fp8j0i.jpg

[SamaraGugler]

My son does this too. I just make him put neosporan on it at night.

Other than that, no advice.

[LenaGardner]

Okay, if you are interested in treating it, then for sure the blistex, carmex, or even aquaphor...but if you are interested in deterring him...I'd totally rub a small amount of hand sanitizer on his chin.

Hand sanitizer has a very bitter taste. I found this out the hard way :p It doesn't have Bitrex or other bittering agent in it like nail polish remover does, but it does taste very badly. I use hand sanitizer after diaper changes most of the time. I wash my hands a few times a day but mostly I use hand sanitizer. I'm not a huge nail biter but I do find myself with a nail in the mouth here or there, and using the hand sanitizer stopped that very quickly. Tastes horrible! While you wouldn't want him to actually ingest it, I'm sure tasting the residue once or twice could deter him!

[beaucat]

DS does this too! Except his is the whole way around the mouth - ugh!

[melmos75]

I wish I had some advice for you on getting him to stop, however, I have the same problem with my 10 yr old.

https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com/gallery/data/569/clown-lips.jpg (https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=72175&ppuser=5966)

I might have to try the hand sanitizer thing Lena suggested.

Good luck!!

[mlewis]

I wish I had some advice for you on getting him to stop, however, I have the same problem with my 10 yr old.

https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com/gallery/data/569/clown-lips.jpg (https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=72175&ppuser=5966)

I might have to try the hand sanitizer thing Lena suggested.

Good luck!!

Oh, that looks painful!!

[maryinaz]

My 10 year old has lips just like that right now...and it's going over to the side because he keeps swiping it with his hand. We've been working on getting it healed for days.

[heatherdumas]

Okay, if you are interested in treating it, then for sure the blistex, carmex, or even aquaphor...but if you are interested in deterring him...I'd totally rub a small amount of hand sanitizer on his chin.

Hand sanitizer has a very bitter taste. I found this out the hard way :p It doesn't have Bitrex or other bittering agent in it like nail polish remover does, but it does taste very badly. I use hand sanitizer after diaper changes most of the time. I wash my hands a few times a day but mostly I use hand sanitizer. I'm not a huge nail biter but I do find myself with a nail in the mouth here or there, and using the hand sanitizer stopped that very quickly. Tastes horrible! While you wouldn't want him to actually ingest it, I'm sure tasting the residue once or twice could deter him!

I was thinking along these lines. My kids bite thier nails. To be honest, I do too. But I find that I don't do it when I am on my laptop. Why??? Because I clean the keyboard with the air in a can, and the bittering agent stays on the keys for days, and it gets on my fingers. So if Lena says hand sanitizer is bitter, give it a shot. Or lotion.

[Siryn]

Actually, I might be careful using the hand sanitizer as a deterrent:

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/sanitizer.asp

[LenaGardner]

well I'm not suggesting he eat it as the child did in that article :p I'm saying that the dried residue on my hands was enough to make me not put my fingers in my mouth. I've never tried putting it on my face but I can imagine it would stop me from licking my lips. for sure wouldn't anyone to get hurt though :)

Heather, that bittering agent in canned air is the WORST! I hope it does stop kids from huffing it. I was researching canned air after our canned air "incident" and I found ALL of these people online complaining they had a horrible taste on their lips, and it was all traced back to them using canned air on their keyboards :p

[knlchevys]

We had the exact same thing at our house. Occasionally he still does it. Lots of Aquaphor-it's awesome. We just have to watch him close and remind him not to. But Aquaphor cleared it up. Good luck