Just one more ice cube, please

Of late I’d been noticing my almost 3-year-old son had been eating a lot of ice. He points his index finger high in the air and says, “Just one more ice cube, please.” It melts my mommy soul and I almost always open the freezer and give him one. Once he’s done chewing the hard ice, he comes back with an Oliver Twist look, asking for more.

Then a few days ago, a visiting friend told me that his love for ice may be a symptom of a problem — pica, an appetite for non-nutritive foods. It turned out that chewing ice could be a sign of iron deficiency. He also drinks large amounts of water, and that set my brain thinking of other problems like childhood diabetes where kids are thirsty all the time.

In a panic I rushed him to the doctor. It turned out he was fine — he just loves ice and water, the doctor said. What a relief!