My son has been eating our MDF cabinet! Poisoning ?

My son has been gnawing on absolutely everything but he has progressively been chewing a hole in our tv cabinet which is made of MDF, no matter what I have tried to cover it with, he eats through it! I’m planning on buying a new cabinet however I just read that MDF is made of Formaldehyde! What the heck do I do now? He had been doing this for a few weeks now! I have again covered it but not sure how long that will last until I get a replacement!

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I would be a bit worried of why he keeps doing it, I know it’s a sensory thing for them to explore textures, but if he’s keep doing it their might be a reason behind it. I would maybe ring the doctors and ask for advice. X

This isn’t “normal” behaviour - i would speak to your GP for some guidance. I hope everything is ok, I’m sure it is though :)

Well his 17 months and everything I read says while teething they can continue gnawing on wood until 2 1/2 or sometimes they always chew ( I’m hoping not). Whenever I bring up him eating everything like non food items I’m constantly fobbed off as it’s apparently normal for them to explore with their mouth even though I have thought he has Pica. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Mdf is bonded with different things depending on the company that made it, would be hard to know what’s in the one used for your cabinet. Have you looked into pica? Might be worth bringing up pica with your usual healthcare professional you see - or get a second opinion! Sensory seeking can be super normal but can also be signs of other things going on such as neurodivergence etc.

@Cesca yeah iv looked into pica when he was a lot younger than he is now and whenever I bring up him eating things that are non food items I’m always told it’s normal and that I shouldn’t worry until he is 2 1/2-3 as apparently that’s when this behaviour calms down. I’m not going to keep worrying myself about this aspect of things as I keep being told it’s fine so I will just see when he gets older if it calms down, as for now I’m trying to protect surfaces he chews

How long have you had the cabinet? I believe the gasses release over time (off gassing) so if it’s older than a few months/few years, you’re probably ok. Take pics to show your gp or health visitor if that helps for pica later down the line.

@Bee oh it’s very old, about 7 years old maybe more since we got it and it was 2nd hand then so who knows how old it really is🤦🏽‍♀️ I’ll take pics before I throw it out but they likely won’t be interested to look at them🙄

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