You know how crawling babies “vacuum” floors exploring the world putting everything that fits directly into their mouths? My daughter is like that. Only she’s not crawling — she’s been doing this for years.

When Shaindy is three her playgroup teacher alerts me to this worrying phenomenon after finding a safety pin in Shaindy’s mouth.

“Oh?” I’m not a panicky mother.

“Toys are one thing; safety pins are another” the morah explains. “They’re really dangerous. Perhaps Shaindy has a sensory issue.”

Sensory huh? Isn’t that when kids dislike textures and things like that? I’m not concerned but I don’t want to be neglectful. I call my sister whose son struggles with sensory issues.

“What can you tell me about sensory issues? Shaindy’s teacher told me that she keeps putting things in her mouth.”

“How is that related to sensory issues?”

“I can’t figure it out either. What does ‘sensory issues’ mean anyway?”

“As far as I know sensory issues are about extra sensitivity to specific textures. Yitzi has clothes that he doesn’t like wearing and he complains about tags being scratchy and elastic belts being too tight. And on Shabbos he gets all nervous if his kugel comes in contact with chicken—”

“At our Shabbos seudah Shaindy can’t sit still. As soon as she comes in for Kiddush she grabs everyone’s cups and cutlery… My husband says I should stop setting the table.”

“I give my kids a stack of plastic cups to play with at the Shabbos table” says my sister. “They’re not in prison! Going back to Yitzi there’s a lot more but I really don’t see any connection between putting things into the mouth and his issues.”

My concerns are laid to rest yet toys and small household items continue appearing in Shaindy’s mouth. I remind her several times each day to empty her mouth. Still I’m not worried. Kids will be kids — and they’re entitled to their shenanigans. She’ll outgrow this. Eventually.