How to Encourage Thumb Sucking
The need for babies to suck is so strong that many start sucking on their fingers while still in the womb. Parents can help babies develop self-soothing and comforting skills early on by gently encouraging thumb sucking.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Easy
Instructions
-
-
1
Watch for cues that a newborn is trying to get her hand to her mouth.
-
2
Help baby bring her hand to her mouth.
-
3
Hold her hand gently at her mouth if she is starting to suck. If she protests, remove her hand and comfort her.
-
4
Respect her natural inclination to suck on her fingers or not.
-
5
Avoid removing other fingers from her mouth, as she may be just exploring or prefer to suck on them. Eventually she'll probably gravitate to the thumb when she has more dexterity.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
If people offer unsolicited comments about the dangers of thumb sucking on baby's teeth, remind yourself how clever your baby is to have found a convenient way to calm and settle herself. And you are not forced to get up at night to put a pacifier back in her mouth. Besides, many children give up thumb sucking on their own before any threat to dental development.
Avoid sweetening the taste of the thumb with sugar water, honey or any other sweet substance. If she wants to suck on her thumb, she'll do it without sweet enhancements.
Do not be surprised if baby starts becoming a switch hitter with thumb sucking. She may suck one or the other as her brain decides which hand will be dominant.
If thumb sucking progresses, be aware that thumb sucking in the preschool years may cause dental problems. It is certainly not a reason to stop a baby who has figured out a handy tool for self-soothing. Consult with your child's health care provider or a pediatric dentist, if concerned.
Related Searches
Comments
-
jooniefrom
Jul 17, 2010
To xrayspecs thumb sucking is just a habbit like twirling your hair, would you really stop your child from twirling their hair if that was their biggist habbitt? Also thumb sucking is a kind of meditation and studies have proven that it relaxs the brain. Parents who criticize their chldren thumb sucking or pull the thumb out of their child's mouth tend to trigger a rebilious streak from their child who then keep sucking their thumb that can go on into adulthood. Also critcizing the child's thumb sucking can cause stress in the child's life making the child suck their thumb more. Parents can result in their child sucking their thumb wither you admit it or not. I'm twenty five years old a certified genius and the healthist child in my family. Oh yeah did I mention I still suck my thumb? -
xrayspecs
Jun 26, 2007
P.S...to the guy who is 22 and still sucks his thumb...there is a point when it is ridiculous and buddy, you crossed that line years ago. To the person above whose niece can't put her front teeth together...there is no evidence that the problem your niece is experiencing is due to thumb sucking and not just normal growth.
-
xrayspecs
Jun 26, 2007
P.S...to the guy who is 22 and still sucks his thumb...there is a point when it is ridiculous and buddy, you crossed that line years ago. To the person above whose niece can't put her front teeth together...there is no evidence that the problem your niece is experiencing is due to thumb sucking and not just normal growth.
-
xrayspecs
Jun 26, 2007
To the guy who sucked his thumb until he was 18...what's wrong with you? You mention emotional neglect but I think that only means you don't have a child of your own and therefore don't understand how important it is for a child to learn how to self-sooth. It's not always about wanting or needing attention. Sometimes it's simply that the child has awoken and cannot get back to sleep, therefore a simply solution to help this should be encouraged. The fact that you sucked your thumb until you were 18 only reflects on you, not your parents.
-
xrayspecs
Jun 26, 2007
To the guy who sucked his thumb until he was 18...what's wrong with you? You mention emotional neglect but I think that only means you don't have a child of your own and therefore don't understand how important it is for a child to learn how to self-sooth. It's not always about wanting or needing attention. Sometimes it's simply that the child has awoken and cannot get back to sleep, therefore a simply solution to help this should be encouraged. The fact that you sucked your thumb until you were 18 only reflects on you, not your parents.
