I took Joseph to the Dr. today to have his eye checked out. He’s been blinking it repeatedly and I was worried there was something wrong. He’s actually been blinking both of them, often, not at the same time, so it looks like he’s winking at you.
The Dr. says is called a “habit tick” and that we are to IGNORE IT! There is nothing wrong with his eyes, but for some reason he’s developed this. Stress and anxiety are big factors in developing ticks apparently.
According the information they gave us, physical ticks (like the eye thing) and verbal ticks (like clearing your throat) are in some way genetic and affect boys more than girls. They often go away on their own in 2 months – 1 year and if they become incapacitating, can be treated with medication (which we want to avoid).
I’ll be noting when I see him do it more frequently to help rule out stressful situations.
But, in all cases, we are to not say anything about it and just ignore it.