The child sucks his thumb: the neurologist tells what to do to the parents in this situation. What to do if a child sucks a thumb Child sucks a thumb how to wean

Thumb sucking is very common among young children. Some people manage to put a whole fist in their mouths. While this seems commonplace, young parents have many questions about this. Why does the baby suck his thumb? Isn't it harmful? How to wean a baby from this habit?

Why does the baby suck his thumb?

Sucking is one of the primary reflexes that appears even before birth. In the womb, babies suck on the fingers or rings of the umbilical cord, thereby calming themselves. This habit is also valid after birth, especially babies actively suck their fingers or fists in the first months of life, but closer to the year the reflex begins to fade away.

In the first year of life, children suck their thumb for the following reasons:

1. Unsatisfied sucking reflex. In some babies, it is very developed, so they are trying to make up for the deficiency in available ways. Babies who spend little time at the breast or who are bottle-fed often pull their fingers into their mouths.
2. Hunger. This reason can be distinguished by the behavior of the child: finding his finger and putting it in his mouth, he begins to suck it greedily, trying to get milk. Sometimes you can see a child sucking on his fist, and after a while, not receiving the desired milk, he begins to get irritated, nervous, cry.
3. Boredom. A bored toddler may begin to suck a thumb or other objects out of nothing to do. Mom needs to pay attention to this in time and try to devote time to the baby.
4. Research interest. Up to one year old, children learn the world through their mouths, and fingers, having turned out to be a subject for research, go there. In this case, after sucking on the object of interest, the child takes it out of his mouth, examines it, and puts it back in his mouth. This reason does not cause problems, the main thing is to keep your hands clean.

If the child is older than a year, then the reasons are different. These include:

1. Stressful situations. Moving, the appearance of a newborn in the family, illness or injury, the death of a loved one or pet can provoke the emergence of the habit of thumb sucking. In this way, the child tries to calm down and feel safe. Family conflicts also negatively affect the psychological state of the baby, even if he is not even a year old.
2. The child does not have enough attention, care, he feels unnecessary. This is especially true for children who were not wanted from the very beginning. Deprived of warmth and mother's affection, children acquire a whole complex of neurotic habits.
3. Boredom, fear, nervous tension, fatigue, overexcitement. Children under three years old can calm themselves in this way. Then we can talk about a habit that was formed according to the principle: I experienced negative emotions - a finger got into my mouth - the child liked it, became calm, and fell asleep. After a while, the situation repeated itself, the child followed the path already known to him, and again he managed to calm down. Now every difficult situation is accompanied by sucking fingers.

If up to a year the reasons for sucking fingers are in most cases harmless, then after a year parents need to be especially attentive to their baby. Until the age of three, this situation is also normal. If the child did not experience any emotional upheavals, the atmosphere in the family is calm, and the baby is loved and cared for, then parents need to pay more attention to the child in moments of fatigue, stress, anxiety. Then thumb sucking will not become a serious problem.

If the habit persists even after three years, then parents need to think about the reasons for this behavior, analyze if the child has psychological problems. In some cases, you may need to consult a psychologist.

Isn't it harmful?

The most important question that worries mothers is whether it is harmful for a child to suck fingers? If the habit goes away by one and a half to two years, then, as a rule, it does not have serious negative consequences. But we must not forget about the danger of bringing the infection through dirty hands. If a child constantly sucks his thumb for a long time, this can adversely affect his development:

• problems with bite appear;
• teeth deteriorate;
• skin and nails are traumatized;
• persistent skin irritation can lead to dermatitis.

Therefore, you need to fight the habit of thumb sucking, but do it correctly and consistently.

What shouldn't be done?

Before you figure out what to do, it's worth asking what you can't do. Some of the tips are very common and seem to be effective and efficient. In fact, they harm the baby.

Among these tips is to smear your fingers with mustard, bitter varnish, or something else bitter or pungent. The logic is simple: the baby will try, understand that it is not tasty, and will stop pulling his fingers into his mouth. In fact, everything is not so harmless. A child's gastrointestinal tract is not adapted to digest spicy or bitter food, so even a small ingestion of it can cause negative health effects. Moreover, this applies to varnish, a chemical that can cause poisoning even in small quantities.

Other similar methods include tying or bandaging handles and wearing mittens. All these methods give the child great discomfort and even suffering. In addition, he is deprived of his usual way of calming himself, and this is even more reflected in the nervous system.

If the child is a little older, some parents find it acceptable to shout and tug at the child, asking him to remove his fingers from his mouth. This, too, will not help in solving the problem, but, on the contrary, will aggravate it. Feeling the irritation of his parents, he experiences stress, as a result - the desire to calm himself down in a familiar and familiar way.

In such cases, the habit itself is safer for the baby than the wrong reaction of adults.

How to wean a baby to suck his thumb?

The question then becomes how to wean a child from thumb or cam sucking in a safe and effective way? To help a child, parents first need to find out why he is doing it. If we are talking about a child under one year old, then you can try the following:

• If the matter is in the unsatisfied sucking reflex, then you need to make up for it. A breastfed baby should try to keep it at the breast longer, even when the breast is empty, and the baby is already asleep, periodically sucking. If the baby is artificial, then in order to satisfy the sucking reflex, you need to purchase a high-quality nipple. It will help shape the correct bite. And it is much easier to keep the pacifier clean than the hands of a child exploring the world.
• If the child is worried about hunger, then you need to feed him. And next time, try to react faster, feeding the baby even before he begins to show strong anxiety.
• More often take the toddler in your arms, play with him, spend time. Then he will have no time or reason to suck his fingers.

If the child is older than a year, then the following methods will help:

• If this is a way to calm down, then observe the child, which still calms him down. You can give him a toy that is pleasant to hold in his hands. But the most important "calming" for the baby is her mother's participation and warm hugs. Try to divert the child's attention to something else, distract him, fondle him, read an interesting book. At the same time, not focusing on what he is doing wrong at the moment.
• Talk to your child - explain why you shouldn't put your fingers in your mouth. You can talk about how when he stops sucking his fingers, he will become just like an adult.
• A visit to the dentist helps some children - the doctor will tell you about the dangers of such a habit for the teeth, and this will encourage the baby to strive to get rid of this activity.
• Use fairy tales, games that will help your child fight the habit. You can use finger games.

Do not focus the attention of the crumbs on the problem of sucking fingers. If his parents constantly pull him down, then this only aggravates the situation. If, however, gently and imperceptibly switch the attention of the little one to another activity, then the habit can go away on its own.

It is important to remember one more extreme: if the mother begins active communication with the baby only after she notices the fingers in her mouth, then another reflex may develop - he will do this every time he wants the attention of the mother. Therefore, you need to show interest and start communication before your finger or fist is in your mouth.

Think about the situation in the family: a showdown in front of children always affects them negatively. Therefore, try to avoid such situations. If the child is going through a stressful situation, help him cope with feelings: pay more attention to him, treat his feelings with understanding. Encourage the baby to express his opinion about the changes in his life - whether it be moving, the appearance of a baby in the family, or something else. This exchange of thoughts will help the child see parental support and reduce anxiety.

Thumb sucking after a year

Usually, by a year or a year and a half, the sucking reflex fades away, there is no need to suck fingers. But some children continue to do this until the age of three or more. By the age of six or seven, this habit can cause peer problems. At school, it is unlikely that it will be possible to avoid the ridicule of children, so the issue of weaning will become especially acute.

But it's important for parents to stay calm and not panic. Children sense the mood of their parents, and your anxiety can be transmitted to the crumb. If the child continues to suck his thumb after five years and no method helps to get rid of it, then most likely you will have to consult a child psychologist.

Irina Sizova
Bad habits or why do children suck their thumb at 3 years old?

Thumb sucking is one of the most common bad habits occurring in young children.

A small child requires constant attention and care, a lack of parental care is often leads to bad habits such as lip biting, thumb and fist sucking.

At the age of 3 and older - this is already a psychological factor and the main reason for this, most likely, is a lack of attention from relatives. Thus, the baby is trying to calm down and make up for the lack of warmth and affection, most often in this situation, the child sucks a large finger... Another reason may be fear or excessive excitability, for example, after active games before bedtime, sucking soothes and removes excess activity.

If the baby sucks finger for a long time, this is leads to the destruction of the enamel of the nail plate, deformation of the phalanx of the finger and can cause a curvature of the bite, as well as damage to the gums. In addition to the aforementioned troubles, constant sucking of fingers contributes to the introduction of pathogenic bacteria and microbes into the body, which causes all kinds of diseases.

Noticing in your child the habit of sucking fingers parents should take timely measures to eradicate such bad manners.

How can you wean from thumb sucking?

"Ingenuity" some parents simply know no boundaries. They:

They smear their children's fingers with mustard, aloe juice, cover with a special bitter varnish;

tie handles and bandage fingers;

Put on (and sometimes they are sewn to the shirt so that it cannot be removed) woolen mittens.

These are quite cruel methods that bring a lot of suffering to the baby. And, most importantly, they stop working as soon as the parents stop repressive measures. And everything returns to normal. Constant shouting is also useless. "Take out finger out of mouth» - from some moment children they just stop reacting to them, this is a kind of a protective reaction of the body to habit, which for one reason or another is important for the body. Moreover, threats and punishments are sometimes lead to the exact opposite result. After all, as we found out, the child often sucks calming finger... So, in a stressful situation for yourself (namely stress lead shouts and punishments) the baby will try to calm himself down with a vengeance - with the help of sucking.

How to wean from thumb sucking habits at age 3?

Keep your child busy, walk with him more often!

Make your sunshine's life calm. Often at this age, the baby begins to use his fingers for a kind of relaxation. Your task is to create the most peaceful atmosphere in your home. As soon as the child becomes anxious or nervous, try to change his mood from a minus sign to «+» ... Play with it, offer to take a walk outside, or just listen to some nice music.

The child should always be in a good mood.

The child is already big enough to be a full-fledged interlocutor of an adult. You should explain to your child that this habit detrimental to the teeth and outline all sorts of its consequences.

Girls can be easily weaned off by offering to make them an adult manicure, of course, with a special children's varnish. Little women of fashion will not want to destroy the beautiful coating, especially if you promise to paint your nails all the time.

You can visit the dentist together, who, along with checking the teeth, will tell you about harmfulness of finger sucking, usually the opinion of such an authoritative person (which almost all children are afraid of) has a positive impact.

The emphasis on the age factor also influences the child's behavior a lot. Tell him that grown-up girls and boys are not suck fingers, and this behavior is permissible only for the smallest, remind him of this in those moments when the baby claims that he is already an adult.

Such distracting maneuvers will have to be done for more than one day, so get ready for a long weaning from sucking fingers and in no case scold your baby. Remember that the main reason for the appearance of any bad habits lack of your attention and affection. So, try to spend as much time as possible with your pet and often show him in word and deed how much you love him.

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Recently, pediatricians and psychologists agree that a finger in the mouth is, first of all, an unsatisfied sucking instinct.

Sucking reflex

By the way, one observant mother noticed an interesting thing. Her son is on a mixed diet - that is, he is fed with milk formula from a bottle together with breast milk. So, the child copes with the bottle much faster than with the mother's breast, and after that he immediately pulls a fist into his mouth. This example is a living illustration of the fact that thumb sucking is required for a nursing infant precisely to satisfy the sucking reflex. Babies who are breastfeeding for a long time (moreover, not according to the regimen, but on demand), as a rule, do not have such a habit.

The fact is that for an infant, the concepts of “suck” and “exist” are very close. They suck not only for saturation, but also for development. Studies have shown that when sucking, natural processes that have been debugged for centuries are triggered: nutrients are absorbed, digestion improves, the brain develops, and the child feels psychological comfort.

What is the mechanism responsible for sucking?

Sucking involves three nerves with very large areas at once: the vagus, ternary and nasopharyngeal nerves. No part of the body has a receptor as powerful as the mouth. The best thing that nature has come up with for the development of these systems is the mother's breast. That is why it is so important that the baby can get it at his first request.

Unfortunately, sometimes you have to look for a replacement for the mother's breast. Of course, a bundle with breadcrumbs (as in the days of our great-grandmothers) or modern "correct" orthodontic pacifiers are just a miserable likeness of a warm mother's breast. But, alas, to some extent they are necessary if your baby is bottle-fed.

Another way to satisfy the sucking reflex, which is literally always at hand, is with your own finger. But dentists and speech therapists unanimously argue that sucking a pacifier, and especially a finger, leads to deformation of the palate, the formation of an incorrect bite, and poor teeth closing. Thumbs-sucking kids often have their teeth growing in a specific way - the upper ones protrude forward, and the lower ones grow slightly backward.

What to do? On the one hand, this habit is natural and natural, but on the other hand, it is harmful, and you have to fight it.

Why does a child suck his thumb?

There may be several reasons.

• It is not uncommon for breastfeeding babies to suck their thumbs before or after feeding to indicate that they are already hungry or have not yet “sucked”. After all, the crumb eats the main portion of milk in the first 5-10 minutes, and the rest of the time they suck just "for pleasure", squeezing out the milk drop by drop. If your baby pulls his fingers into his mouth after breastfeeding, you may be holding him less than he needs to.
• The child's teeth are teething - and then with special enthusiasm he pulls into his mouth everything that comes to hand.
• At an older age, a child may suck his thumb if he lacks parental love and affection.
• Sometimes thumb sucking becomes a sedative - so the baby instinctively relieves excessive excitement or calms himself before bed.
• Your child may just be bored.

How can you wean from thumb sucking?

The "ingenuity" of some parents simply knows no bounds. They:

• smear the fingers of their children with mustard, aloe juice, cover with a special bitter varnish;
• tie handles and bandage fingers;
• put on (and sometimes sewn to the shirt so that it cannot be removed) woolen mittens.

These are quite cruel methods that bring a lot of suffering to the baby. And, most importantly, they stop working as soon as the parents stop repressive measures. And everything returns to normal.

Constant shouts “take your finger out of your mouth” are also useless - at some point, children simply stop responding to them, this is a kind of protective reaction of the body to a habit, which for one reason or another is important for the body. Moreover, threats and punishments sometimes lead to the exact opposite result. After all, as we found out, the child often sucks his finger to calm down. This means that in a stressful situation for himself (namely, shouting and punishment lead to stress), the baby will with a vengeance strive to calm himself somehow - with the help of sucking.

How to wean your thumb-sucking habit

• For an infant under one year old, try increasing the suckling time. You can simply offer the breast more often and keep it with her for a longer time (thirty to forty minutes). It is more difficult with artificial people - you will have to pick up such a nipple from which it will be quite difficult to suck, in this case it will take the baby more time to absorb the same portion of the mixture than before. Ideally, this should take about twenty minutes. It may be worth adding one more feeding, over time it will be canceled.
• If your toddler is out of infancy and sucks mostly for self-soothingness, find other ways to calm him down. For example, if he is upset, teach him how to express his feelings in words, hug him, pet him, read an interesting book together. Sometimes children pull their fingers into their mouths in a repetitive situation - for example, while watching TV. In this case, find an adequate replacement - slip him a small rubber ball or other toy that you can wrinkle with your fingers.
• It is important to keep your hands busy. Speech therapists and psychologists get tired of repeating the benefits of developing fine motor skills - this is very important for the development of speech. Let the kid fiddle with clay, pebbles, sand, assemble a constructor from small enough parts, put together mosaics or puzzles.
• The little fashionista will appreciate the first "real" manicure, just like her mother's. Perhaps she would not want to spoil such a beauty?
• Sometimes a visit to the dentist helps, who will tell the child about the dangers of sucking fingers. This is a rather authoritative person for the baby, and he will confirm that parental requirements are not their empty whim.
• Emphasize the child's attention to the fact that he will be completely grown up when he stops sucking his thumb. This habit is permissible only for the smallest, and for such a respectable young man or adult girl, it is simply unacceptable. By the way, most children actually unlearn this habit by themselves between the ages of two and four.

Inessa Smyk

A small child requires constant attention and care, a lack of parental care often leads to the emergence of bad habits such as biting lips, sucking fingers and fists. If a child sucks a finger for a long time, this leads to the destruction of the enamel of the nail plate, deformation of the phalanx of the finger and can cause a curvature of the bite, as well as damage to the gums. In addition to the aforementioned troubles, constant sucking of fingers contributes to the introduction of pathogenic bacteria and microbes into the body, which causes all kinds of diseases. Therefore, the best option would be the timely weaning of the crumbs from such a bad habit.

Why does the baby suck his fingers?

The sucking reflex in an infant is considered one of the most important, since three main nerves are involved in this process - the ternary, nasopharyngeal and vagus. The simultaneous work of such important organs leads to improved digestion, stabilization of the nervous system and psychological balance of the baby, and activation of brain activity. The need for a newborn baby to suck on the breast or something else is due not only to the feeling of hunger: in this way, babies calm down and develop.

What should parents do to normalize the state of the crumbs? First of all, determine the cause of the anxiety. There is no single reason why a child sucks a finger, a prerequisite for this may be:

• lack of breastfeeding- if the child spends little time near the mother's breast, his sucking reflex is not fully satisfied, so the baby can suck fingers or toys;
• tooth pain- the process of teething of the first teeth brings quite painful sensations, and thumb sucking helps to soothe irritated gums;
• psychological factor- if a baby sucks fingers at the age of 2-3 years, the main reason for this is most likely a lack of attention from relatives. Thus, the baby tries to calm down and make up for the lack of warmth and affection, most often in this situation the child sucks his thumb. Another reason may be fear or excessive excitability, for example, after active games before bedtime, sucking calms and relieves excess activity;
• boredom - the habit of sucking fingers can be acquired due to a lack of interest in what is happening around, it happens that children suck their fingers just out of boredom.

In any case, if parents notice the habit of sucking their fingers in their child, they should take timely measures to eradicate such harmful behavior.

How to wean a child from thumb sucking?

Few know what to do when a child sucks on their fingers or other objects, so often inexperienced parents take radically irrational and unacceptable measures to eradicate this habit.

There are several ways to wean your child from thumb sucking, for starters you can do this:

• for a baby, try increasing the time of breastfeeding, leaving him near mom for 30-40 minutes. If the baby is bottle-fed, choose a nipple with a narrow opening so that the baby sucks food out of the bottle longer;
• older children who suck their fingers more to calm down, it is important to do something... Offer your child new activities: either clay, folding puzzles or a construction set, etc., so the hands will be busy and the need for sucking will disappear;
• often babies pull their hands into their mouths at certain times, for example, while watching TV or reading together. In such a situation, the easiest way is to switch the baby to another object - give him a soft ball or cube that you can wrinkle with your hands;
• girls can be easily weaned off by offering them an adult manicure, of course, with a special children's varnish. Little women of fashion will not want to destroy the beautiful coating, especially if you promise to paint your nails all the time;
• you can visit the dentist together, who, along with checking the tooth, will talk about the dangers of sucking fingers, usually the opinion of such an authoritative person (whom almost all children are afraid of) has a positive effect;
• emphasis on the age factor also a lot affects the behavior of the child. Tell him that adult girls and boys do not suck fingers, and this behavior is permissible only for the smallest, remind him of this in those moments when the baby claims that he is already an adult.

Such distracting maneuvers will have to be done for more than one day, so get ready for a long weaning from sucking fingers and in no case scold your baby. Remember that the main reason for the emergence of any bad habits is a lack of your attention and affection, so try to spend as much time as possible with your pet and show him more often in word and deed how much you love him.

What can not be done to wean crumbs from sucking fingers?

Many parents make a lot of mistakes when weaning children from thumb sucking. There are some measures that should not be applied under any circumstances, these include:

• wrapping arms and legs in gloves or diapers is the most common wrong way to wean babies from biting and sucking pens. This method does not give any result, because immediately after opening, the baby will again begin to suck on the fists;
• smearing fingers with bitter substances (mustard, red pepper, aloe vera, etc.) - this method can lead to damage to the mucous membrane of the mouth and the walls of the child's stomach;
• Shouts and physical measures of influence are a categorically unacceptable measure for raising babies, since it is by no means possible to punish a child for disobedience in order to avoid a subsequent disorder of the child's psyche.

All of the listed means of dealing with a bad habit do not lead to a positive result, but, on the contrary, aggravate the situation and cause the whims and anxiety of the baby. It is worth noting that constant punishment and threats of physical violence negatively affect the mental state of the crumbs, and sucking fingers in this case will become a protective reaction of the body to fear.

In our practice, we often encounter parental concerns about their children's finger-sucking. Parents ask questions : what if the baby sucks his thumb? How and why does the habit of thumb sucking arise? when does the habit of thumb sucking go away? How can parents react better and should the child be weaned from thumb sucking?

Thumb sucking is a topic of much debate and myth. We would like to clarify all the questions in this article.

How does the thumb-sucking habit develop?

Let's start with the most important thing: sucking is an innate reflex. Nobody teaches a baby to suck. Thumb sucking appears in all children during the prenatal period already at 12 weeks and performs an important function: receiving pleasure.

Sucking on a finger or fist stimulates the "pleasure center" in the child's brain, which produces endorphins, the so-called "joy hormones". It is through receiving pleasure that the baby can learn new experiences and develop the sucking skill that he will need after birth.

Thus, sucking is not a habit, but one of the innate reflexes that ensures your baby's survival! Do not rush to wean your baby from thumb sucking, first figure out why he does it.

Why does the baby suck his thumb?

If we understand the question "why does a child suck a finger", then we can find 4 reasons for this:

1) Hunger. Thumb sucking can be a signal that the baby is hungry.

What to do? Make sure that the feeding is sufficient in volume and duration. Meet your child's nutritional needs in time.

2) Unsatisfied sucking instinct. Thumb sucking may indicate that the baby has not satisfied his sucking instinct.

What to do? It is important that the baby spends as much time at the mother's breast as he needs not only to eat, but also to satisfy his sucking reflex and get a sufficient "portion" of physical and emotional communication with the mother.

3) The need for pleasure and complacency. This is a basic need for all children, especially at an early age. Thanks to sucking, which actively produces "hormones of joy" - endorphins, the baby is protected from the stress associated with adaptation to new living conditions. Thumb sucking may mean that at the moment the child is experiencing some kind of discomfort: he is bored, scared, something hurts, etc. At night, with the help of thumb sucking, the baby tries to calm down on his own, which indicates his sufficient maturity and ability to cope without your support.

What to do? Take notice and in a timely manner satisfy the needs of the baby , give him enough care and attention. Give your child an alternative to thumb sucking, soothe them yourself. If you see that your baby is sucking a finger, try to gently and calmly switch it to something else: games, communication, body contact, etc. Hug and comfort your child if something is bothering him. Do not tug at the child or show negative emotions. These rules of conduct are especially relevant when the baby is awake. At night, just ignore this habit.

4) Teething period. During the period of teething, the gums swell and itch, the child. With his fingers, the baby tries to help himself relieve the itching.

What to do? Talk to your doctor, he will recommend medical supplies which will ease teething discomfort. Make sure your baby has safe teethers and rubber toys within reach.

When does the thumb-sucking habit go away?

Normally, it gradually fades away in half of the children by the age of one year. Much depends on the physical and mental state of the baby. The more mature his nervous system is, the easier it is for him to switch to other methods of complacency. This is why the mother's support is so important!

Up to a year - finger sucking is observed in absolutely all children and goes away naturally. You can only help your child to quickly learn new self-soothing skills that he will need during sleep and wakefulness. Then this habit will go away by itself quite easily and quickly.

If your thumb-sucking habit hasn't gone away?

If you observe the baby actively sucking the thumb until it turns red

If thumb sucking continues for more than 1, 5 - 2 years and is not finished by 4 years

These are alarming signals that can indicate a clear trouble for the baby: dissatisfaction with breastfeeding and poor care. If the basic needs of the child are not met, then with the help of active sucking, he tries to cope with stress and compensate for his negative experiences. Such a child needs properly organized breastfeeding, good care and, possibly, psychological help.

Does thumb sucking cause any problems?

Thumb sucking is not a problem in children under 4 years of age. Children who frequently or intensively suck their fingers at age 4-5, or continue to suck their fingers after age 5, may experience serious dental and speech problems.

Most often, parents worry that thumb sucking can lead to bite problems. Swedish scientists have proven that this habit does not affect the bite, provided that if it does not persist until the period of milk teeth change (up to 6 years).

If your baby sucks his thumb before bed?

We think thumb sucking is a great bedtime habit that allows your toddler to calm down and fall asleep without any help at any time, unlike a pacifier, which is easy to lose and difficult to find in the dark.

If your toddler is thumb sucking, take your time to come up with ways to wean him from this habit until your child is 4 years old. Thumb-sucking is a good mother's helper!