This will depend on what items the child is ingesting. Some other kids seem simply to like the sensation of different objects and textures in their mouth. There’s also been a suggestion in some studies that pica might be a compulsion for some children, like those seen in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Some children with pica are found to be iron and/or zinc deficient. Researchers haven’t found the answer to this yet and, as is often the case, it’s likely that pica happens in different children for different reasons. It also seems to be much more often seen among children with an intellectual disability or an autistic spectrum disorder. It seems to be most common amongst 2-3 year olds with the incidence reducing as they get older. That said, figures of between 10-30% of young children have been quoted. This therefore excludes some cultural practices such as the eating of clay or soil in various parts of the world.īecause of the inconsistencies in the definition and due to the general under-reporting of these things, it’s difficult to know how prevalent pica is among children. The word ‘pica’ is defined differently depending on where you look but the DSM-IV (the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) calls for “persistent eating of non-nutritive substances for at least 1 month that’s developmentally inappropriate and not culturally sanctioned and severe enough to warrant clinical attention”. It seems to depend largely on how mobile the child is as to what they can access. These non-foods can include dirt, clothing, paper, toothpaste, hair, glass, paint, string, stones…the list goes on. Very young children, under the age of 18 months, will put a range of things (other than food) in their mouths but repeatedly eating items which are considered ‘non-nutritive’ (ie not food) after that age is generally considered abnormal. The word ‘pica’ comes from the latin word for ‘magpie’ since these birds are known to eat just about anything.
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