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Talk to parents, get their written approval to put bitter apple spray on the erasers.
Agreed, putting something repulsive is the key here. This kind of strategy is used for nail biters as well.
That only works for so long. My mom got special nail varnish from the doctors that was supposed to stop me chewing my nails. Properly vile rotten stuff.
I ended up developing a taste for it.
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My mom used to threaten me with hot sauce, but I love hot sauce.
Ooooooh very nice idea!!!!! Thank you!!!
Something similar to the spray they use on animals after a surgery? It's safe for consumption but it tastes god-awful to stop the animal licking the wound.
Sounds like it could be a stim thing - impulsive, you say? Any chance there's (undiagnosed?) ASD there? The mentions of bitter spray reminded me of when my mother tried that to get me to stop biting my nails. I just stopped using my lips and tongue, and only used my teeth...
Anyway, if it's a stimulation thing, maybe finding an alternative would be easier than getting him to stop entirely.
Yeah, this is exactly what I was thinking, too. You redirect the behavior somewhere safe while still fulfilling the essential need.
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Some pharmacies sell a bitter liquid (no idea how it's called) intended to to put on children's fingernails to prevent nail baiting. I guess this would also work on erasers.
I had this, it was called Stop n Grow
I eventually got used to and, even liked the taste
Yeah... I discovered I could file the upper layer of my nail to remove the polish. Guess how my nails ended up.
I had a bitterant put on my hands and now I just like bitter flavors lol
Long shot but it could be a sign of iron deficiency. Eating, smelling and licking odd things like paper, erasers, I’ve heard of these associations. I even read about a woman who would spend her lunch hour smelling the concrete in the stairwell. Turned out to be iron deficiency.
Chewing ice as well, supposedly it is motivated by iron deficiency.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pica_%28disorder%29?wprov=sfla1
Maybe a vitamin b or magnesium deficiency?
Don't all children do that?
I used to shew on everything, my friend used to literally destroy pens by shewing them too much. I think it's normal.
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Why do you want that? Is there some inobvious harm in chewing erasers? Or money is the main problem? Let him chew his own erasers then.
Other kids have to use them.
Communal erasers? Are they extremely expensive in some countries?
If this is in the U.S., teachers typically have to buy their own supplies on meager salaries. Watching one kid literally eat those supplies must be pretty demoralizing.
He's not chewing them. He's putting them in his mouth whole. I don't think he'll choke, but other people want to use the eraser too. Yes I paid for them myself, as someone else guessed in the other answers.
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Don’t bother trying. It isn’t going to hurt the kid.
It can easily be a chocking hazard, it’s unsanitary, and it can cause the child to be ostracized by peers which can limit their social development.
Is eating erasers going to get you more ostracized than constant nagging from the teacher to not eat erasers?
Personally still going to put the blame there on eraser eater, but the whole point of this post was to find something that actually works to curb the behavior
It doesn't sound like they're necessarily his erasers though
They are not
Well, there is stuff you paint on kids nails to prevent them from biting them, which basically tastes bitter. Maybe apply this to the eraser?
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If they are the school's I would simply not give them to that student anymore, for very obvious reasons that every 9yo should understand. Let him use his own.
Is the act itself disturbing the class or his own ability to concentrate? If not, I do not see any further problem.
Haven't we all chewed on pencils to concentrate?
Well, yes, it interrupts the class because every few minutes I have to stop him. The other lemmings have given me some great ideas
Roundhouse kick that kid to the moon.
Do like my ol' dad did make him smoke a whole pack. It'll put him off forever.
"you can put that eraser in your mouth as much as you want, but first you have to eat this pallet of erasers from the supply storage"
Did the parents take Tylenol? Equip him with erasers.
Cover them in spicy
If the parents don't support you, and you can eliminate the existence of mental issues that require treatment or special attention for chewie, and you can't use a spray solution, I would go for gentle peer pressure. Point it out in class, do a friendly dressing down how none of the other students want to use the chewed on eraser. If he won't stop if you say so, maybe you can get other kids to do the trick. The unwanted public attention from his peers might be enough. Would your principal be up for a bad cop routine where you can be the good cop?
Peer pressure would be a disaster. Kids are vicious creatures when they have the chance, and I know that several of his classmates are certified brats with a taste for blood.
In summary: you have the cooperation of the parents, you cannot exclude the existence of a mental issues, and you are allowed to spray the item then. These are conditions I put ahead of any other suggestion.
I understand why you'd go there when it sounds like other options have been exhausted, but I don't think it would be a good idea. Seems like calling the kid out like this would only open up opportunities for bullying, without doing anything to address the source of the issue.
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Point it out in class, do a friendly dressing down how none of the other students want to use the chewed on eraser.
Seems like a great way to get your own private eraser!
They sell stuff called Chewelry; it's a necklace or wristband you can chomp on.
Maybe get the kid one of those? If not, maybe make one out of a piece of string and eraser?
This one's for chewin', this one's for undoin'.
This is something the parents should do - along being in the driver's seat of correcting this behavior in their 9yo. In times of teachers crowd funding classroom supplies, I don't think it's fair to suggest "throw money at it" to a teacher. It's not going to cost $5 just once and that's it. If you have to beg for boardmarkers in general, this will be a line item that matters.
Talked to the parents because this kid is known for doing weird/illogical stuff. They say that they know that something is not right and that they are trying to figure out what it is.
So till we know if the student has an issue or of he's simply the Herald of Chaos, I will keep coating the pencils with bitter stuff.
Also, yes I have to beg for board markers and all the materials in my class have been paid by me, and I'd like them to last.
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this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2025
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