# Childhood oral fixation: did you eat paper? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 4, 2005, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-oral-fixation-did-you-eat-paper/288359 "2005-02-04T14:04:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-oral-fixation-did-you-eat-paper/288359/1 "2005-02-04T14:04:07Z")
I casually mentioned to friends that I ate paper as a kid; for example, as I read a book I would tear off the corners of pages and eat them. Please tell me I am not alone. Other childhood oralcentric habits welcome. (It may be genetic: As a kid, Mom would buy a box of Red Hots at the movies, eat the Red Hots, and then eat the box.) ---
**Author:** ![Emony\_Dax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Emony\_Dax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emony_Dax)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-oral-fixation-did-you-eat-paper/288359/2 "2005-02-04T14:06:41Z")
Yes, I did this, too :o Not really on purpose, just sort of an absent-minded thing to do while absorbed in reading a book. I don’t think it’s really unusual, and hey, lots of fiber, right? ---
**Author:** ![curly\_chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@curly\_chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curly_chick)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-oral-fixation-did-you-eat-paper/288359/3 "2005-02-04T14:09:00Z")
You must be me. I did exactly that with all my books as a child and I had completely forgotten about it until I was at my parents house this Christmas and my mother had dug out my kiddiwink books from the loft to give to my niece. All the corners were gone. ---
**Author:** ![Sgt.Pepper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Sgt.Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sgt.Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-oral-fixation-did-you-eat-paper/288359/4 "2005-02-04T14:46:30Z")
Yeah, I used to do that as well to my books. My Hardy Boy books suffered the worse. Sadly, I still do it. Not to books though, I appreciate them more now, but I still do chew on paper. Within the last half-hour I have chewed on a peice of white Post-It note that I have here on my desk. I don’t swallow them, though. I’ve extended this to other pulp based products, including toilet paper, napkins, egg cartons, etc. I tend to stay away from glossy type paper and go for uncoated paper. Now I’m slightly embarressed. ---
**Author:** ![hocow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hocow/32/4112_2.png) [@hocow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hocow)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-oral-fixation-did-you-eat-paper/288359/5 "2005-02-04T15:31:40Z")
I used to eat tissues when I was little. Nowadays, if so compelled, I will chew on paper, plastic, wax, … ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-oral-fixation-did-you-eat-paper/288359/6 "2005-02-04T16:34:58Z")
Yeah I did a lot of that as a kid. Mostly eating the wrappers/boxes of gum/candy. The paper sticks from suckers, etc. Sometimes paper cups after fast food meals. I ate all manner of crap as a kid though: glue (Elmers Glue-All, but not School Glue, which tasted disgusting), crayons (Crayola, but not Prang - again disgusting. Brown was the best Crayola because for some reason it was extra “crunchy.”) Pencils - the wood and eraser. Popsicle sticks - I was constantly coughing up splinters. That’s just what I can remember off the top of my head! ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-oral-fixation-did-you-eat-paper/288359/7 "2005-02-04T16:45:56Z")
I did it really bad. I wouldn’t just eat corners but whole sides of pages of books, sometimes even into the words! I still eat straw wrappers (I am 41). My sister somehow became friends with Quentin Crisp, the Naked Civil Servant guy by calling him on the phone and she met him for dinner one night. She brought one of his books to be signed and promised him that she would not loan it to me, explaining that I eat books and doctors had, in fact, found pages 26 and 27 of Little Women in my appendix. Mr. Crisp got QUITE the guffaw out of that. ---
**Author:** ![gfloyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d2c977/32.png) [@gfloyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gfloyd)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-oral-fixation-did-you-eat-paper/288359/8 "2005-02-04T17:07:29Z")
I used to chew on straw wrappers and the like as a kid. I still have a terrible oral fixation, chewing on all my pens, but never wooden pencils, as that’s just icky. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-oral-fixation-did-you-eat-paper/288359/9 "2005-02-04T20:41:15Z")
Sometimes with the computer paper my grandmother gave us for drawing paper (remember the old dot-matrix paper with the little holes down the sides?), but only to be silly. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-oral-fixation-did-you-eat-paper/288359/10 "2005-02-04T20:43:36Z")
I never chewed on book paper, but I do remember chewing on tissues, candy boxes, straw wrappers, napkins, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-oral-fixation-did-you-eat-paper/288359/11 "2005-02-04T20:50:16Z")
I used to eat cupcake wrappers when I was a kid. I’d look forward to it. I’d lick off the frosting, peel off the paper, eat the cupcake, and then eat the paper. I remember showing my cousin once and then her eating it too. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-oral-fixation-did-you-eat-paper/288359/12 "2005-02-04T21:16:28Z")
Me and my sister both ate a lot of paper-- book page corners, crayon wrappers, etc. It was something I felt driven to do-- like chewing on your fingernails. I’ve heard that it can be a sign of a vitamin deficiency of some sort-- might be called “pica” if I recall correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-oral-fixation-did-you-eat-paper/288359/13 "2005-02-04T21:18:38Z")
I still do. Mostly the fringe stuff from spiral bound paper, and Q-Tips. Break off the cotton ends, break the remaining stick into three or four piecs, and unroll them in my mouth. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-oral-fixation-did-you-eat-paper/288359/14 "2005-02-04T21:36:01Z")
[Pica](http://kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_fit/nutrition/pica.html) (also mentioned recently in General Questions, about eating dirt): "People with pica frequently crave and consume nonfood items such as: dirt clay paint chips plaster chalk cornstarch laundry starch baking soda coffee grounds cigarette ashes burnt match heads cigarette butts feces ice glue hair buttons paper sand toothpaste soap Although consumption of some items may be harmless, pica is considered to be a serious eating disorder that can sometimes result in serious health problems such as lead poisoning and iron-deficiency anemia." I definitely ate things like plaster when I was a toddler, and chewed on my hair, but eating paper persisted even until I was long past old enough to know better. I also eat compulsively and sucked my thumb for many years so it may all be connected. ---
**Author:** ![waits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df788c/32.png) [@waits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waits)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-oral-fixation-did-you-eat-paper/288359/15 "2005-02-04T21:46:10Z")
Newspaper. Though my personal preference was for the _Daily News_, I found that the _New York Times_ had a nice, piquant after-dinner flavor - heavy, but with a touch of mellow smoothness. The _Jersey Journal_, on the other hand… YECCHH! ---
**Author:** ![Sgt.Pepper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Sgt.Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sgt.Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-oral-fixation-did-you-eat-paper/288359/16 "2005-02-04T22:00:59Z")
> [@Sean Factotum](#): > > I still do. > Mostly the fringe stuff from spiral bound paper, and Q-Tips. Break off the cotton ends, break the remaining stick into three or four piecs, and unroll them in my mouth. I thought of that after I wrote my post. I do that as well with Q-tips. Unrolling a piece right now, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Khampelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Khampelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khampelf)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-oral-fixation-did-you-eat-paper/288359/17 "2005-02-04T22:47:07Z")
I chewed on random pieces of paper as a child, but I didn’t swallow them, mostly. I remember getting ‘chewed out’ for leaving chewed up wads of paper around the house. I think it was from not being able to afford gum. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-oral-fixation-did-you-eat-paper/288359/18 "2005-02-05T02:22:09Z")
> [@psycat90](#): > > I used to eat cupcake wrappers when I was a kid. I’d look forward to it. I’d lick off the frosting, peel off the paper, eat the cupcake, and then eat the paper. I remember showing my cousin once and then her eating it too. Cupcake wrappers - **THE BEST!!!** ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-oral-fixation-did-you-eat-paper/288359/19 "2005-02-05T03:14:22Z")
I used to eat notebook paper. And the wood from pencils. Now I know I’m not alone!! 😕😛 :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Splanky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@Splanky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Splanky)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-oral-fixation-did-you-eat-paper/288359/20 "2005-02-05T04:29:23Z")
I occasionally eat paper towels and napkins, as well as other paper-like things like lollypop sticks. This wasn’t a childhood thing, though. Maybe it’s pica, maybe I should go talk to a doctor. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-oral-fixation-did-you-eat-paper/288359.md?page=2)