Mild Issue.. Not Sure If I Should Bring It Up?

[Indoorvoice]

One of my dcg age 3, constantly has her hands on her face or in her mouth, makes weird expressions with her mouth and lips, gets scared and emotional easily, chokes and gags on certain textures of food, and doesn't respond to her name being called from a distance. I'm thinking maybe a sensory processing disorder, but it isn't really causing any major issues here. She gets along with others and straightens up pretty quickly when I correct her or redirect her. Should I bring it up with parents? They are friends of mine and I don't want to cause concern if I'm wrong and these are just normal behaviors. She just strikes me as odd for some reason. Do any of you see these behaviors in your almost-3-year-olds?

[AuntTami]

That's not something I've ever encountered, but there are people who've been around way more 3 year olds than I have, so hopefully they'll chime in.
In the mean time, could you maybe try bringing it up to the parents gently, in the least frightening manner possible? Just say "I've noticed DCG is having some behavior that I've never experienced with a 3 year old before, such as not tolerating certain textures of food well, and being easily frightened. Do you notice these things at home? Have you ever brought the issues up with her pediatrician?" Even if they haven't brought them up with the pediatrician, simply putting the bug in their ear that she's having weird behavior(if they haven't noticed it) could make them pay closer attention and watch for the specific behaviors.

[cheerfuldom]

I personally would not. If the behaviors are not disruptive, I would leave things alone for now. The "something might be wrong with your kid" talk is very hard to manage and not worth it if the behaviors are not disrupting the group. At least not for now.

[DaveA]

I wouldn't bring it up right now. If the parents mention it, you can say something then. Just be gentle- even if they have there own concerns, hearing someone else put a voice to them is rough. If you start seeing signs she's regressing or not developing or the behaviors begin being disruptive, then you can talk about it with the parents.

[Blackcat31]

I personally would not. If the behaviors are not disruptive, I would leave things alone for now. The "something might be wrong with your kid" talk is very hard to manage and not worth it if the behaviors are not disrupting the group. At least not for now.

I agree with Cheer...

I'd watch, document and not bring it up to the parents. If you do any type of yearly assessments with the kids you can always share with parents then, any concerns you have if the child is not meeting the proper developmental milestones.