I saw a very different question asked by a parent recently at my son's school as well as our app today...
Why is my kid eating inedible things around?
Inedible means anything that we cannot eat like paint chips, soaps, sand, brick pieces etc.

Many parents gave a reply saying that feed your kid well at home or this would lead to sine other diseases.

Please don't say that.. These are kids who are well fed yet they crave for such substances. Let me put in in lay man language and not be technical about it.

Such cravings are known as pica in kids. It may be benign or may have life-threatening consequences.

Pica include iron-deficiency (anemia), zinc deficiency, mental retardation, developmental delays, and a family history of Pica.

So don't give any answered saying the child is not fed properly, but needs diagnosis to help the kid from eating such things. The kid has to run through a few diagnostic tests and once done supplementation or change in diet stopped the pica behaviour in nearly all children that had deficiencies.

If your child has pica not related to nutrient deficiency, other action is necessary to check for any other brain related or developmental disorder or obsessive compulsive disorders.

So any parents who finds their kids eating inedible things please meet your pediatrician for advises.