eye rubbing?

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Is constant eye rubbing a stim (obviously if there aren't allergies or some other reason)? My daughter (age 3 1/2) has started rubbing her eyes so much that the skin is cracking and her eyes look bruised . Usually it starts out when she's upset but then continues even when she calms down.

I remember when I was a kid (~age 7) I would rub my eyes to try to calm myself down, the swirling lights it made me see calmed me down. But... I don't remember ever doing it THIS much.

She also has constant dark circles under her eyes despite getting lots of sleep... and she had those before she started eye rubbing.

yes, ofcourse if she does it when she is upset then it most definitely is a strategy to try to cope with her emotions

Have you asked her why she likes doing it? IF she likes doing it?

Are you sure she doesn't have allergies? Dark circles under the eyes can be a sign of allergies too.

Are you sure she doesn't have allergies? Dark circles under the eyes can be a sign of allergies too.

When I was little, I used to rub my eyes a lot. I mainly did it and then closed my eyes because it made cool patterns under my eyelids. Not sure if that was aspie related or not though.

I rub my eyes yes, for the same reason as fidget. And because it feels nice.

My son rubs his right eye. I have had him thoroughly investigated and a physical cause could not be found. Sight is 20/20 no infection, good tear quality and quantity and he only does it when stressed. In fact I can tell his mental state fairly accurately because of it.

I would always want to rule out a physical cause first, just to be sure but for my son it's a stim.

She only recently started talking so can't discuss something that complex. When I tell her not to rub her eyes she just gives me a blank look... I'm not sure if she understands.

Then, I guess, as long as it doesn't seem to harm or distress her, I would let her do it. It sounds from other posters above like it might not be an uncommon thing. The more we can refrain from giving our kids instructions that they can't see a basis in, the smoother things go.

I used to do the eye rubbing thing, I grew out of it when I hit 12. I don't know why I did it tbh