Is it dangerous to let your child eat sand at the beach? (Like a shot glass)

Released July 2021

Ah, nice holidays by the sea … Blue skies, seagulls, fresh sea air, fine sandy beaches and children eating handfuls. Seriously, what’s the deal with kids under two with sand?

Why do they absolutely want to taste this stuff? We also eat it in significant quantities, while we have planned an excellent compote to savor it!

Also, frankly, I tried not to die stupid, well, the sand sucks. He crunches under your teeth and makes you cough. (Like compote you shouldn’t breathe! If you have the reference, say it in the comments).

Eating sand: what are the risks for a child?

And then, as a good responsible parent, you may have wondered someday if it wasn’t a little dangerous to let the kids eat sand all day.

Armed with our shovel, we have decided to investigate the question for you.

First, the main risk with sand is the presence of small pebbles, shells or cigarette butts that could get stuck in the child’s windpipe. Well, there is no need to be on alert 24 hours a day, you just have to keep this in mind and look at the baby out of the corner of your eye. (And dust off your Heimlich ploy on kids before you go on vacation, it costs nothing.)

The second problem with sand is the cracratic side, as confirmed by Tania Totolidis, general practitioner.

” Sand is a breeding ground for bacteria and it is best to actually avoid swallowing it. The risk of infection obviously increases with quantity. These are essentially E. coli infections I can give intestinal disorders such as gastroenteritis. “

So, since I absolutely don’t want to relive an exorcist-style gastro episode with my daughter, I’ll maybe try to control her sand consumption this summer. Unless you install it directly on wet sand previously washed by the ocean? (Yes, they are a high tides team, you will know everything!)

Several American studies have shown this E. coli bacteria were more present and persistent in sand than in seawater.

How to stop your child from eating sand at the beach?

To distract your child from the sand, you can take stepsbring more chew toys to the beachbecause while babies sometimes use their mouths to explore their surroundings, after a while they mostly chew things when their teeth hurt.

Nothing better, then, than a game of rubber (or a flip-flop, better if clean) to distract the little one from the pebbles of the beach (you will notice that this trick also works with dogs).

You can also try to do it distract him by building sand castles that can crush (guaranteed success among budding tyrants).

Otherwise, we can be a little fatalistic and tell us that the child will benefit from these gastronomic sessions on the beach for improves your immunity (it will always be taken for the next winter in the community) and that after a few glasses of sand ingested under supervision, he will tire and move on.

Anyway, apart from avoid taking it to the beach either repeat “no, I disagree” on thirty-six tones different all afternoon, I just don’t see what can be done to prevent a curious child under two with two hands from putting sand in his mouth.

On the other hand, if your child is a little older and continues to eat sand, he may havean eating disorder, pica, which consists in the regular ingestion of non-nutritive and inedible substances (paper, sand, etc.). If in doubt, talk to your GP.

Come on, happy holidays, nice summer (and good tasting?)!