‘Why do kids suck their thumbs?’
Babies suck thumbs to soothe themselves as they have this urge to suck on something ever since they are born.
Mostly, thumb sucking begins at 3 or 4 months of age and remains till 3 to 6 years if not checked. Almost, all babies have this bad habit of sucking on their thumbs all the time.
As the saying goes, “The sooner the better”.
The sooner you help your child get rid of thumb sucking, the happier you are as a mother.
But, the question remains how to help your child get rid of this irritating thumb sucking phase?
In this post, you would see some really helpful tactics of helping your child get rid of thumb sucking.
7 tips to stop Thumb Sucking
Before looking for a solution for a problem, we need to look for its cause.
So why does your child suck his thumb / finger?
TEETHING: If your child is teething, then his gums must be hurting and causing him pain. Sucking his thumb perhaps helps to relieve his pain.
INSECURE: If your child is feeling insecure, then sucking his thumb is an instinctive way of his finding security.
STRESS BUSTER: We all look for stress busters as adults and we have the freedom and independence to do so. We can go the gym and exercise; or go to the park or have an ice-cream. We have ever so many opportunities to relieve stress. But at toddler- level, it is difficult for your child to express his feelings -so in goes his thumb into his mouth!
TIRED: When your child is feeling tired then he resorts to thumb –sucking as a way to relax.
IRRITABLE: The thumb comes in handy when your child is in a cranky mood. So either he’ll cry, whine or suck his thumb.
HUNGER: If there’s a delay in food reaching his mouth, then your toddler is likely to suck his thumb.
WHILE ASLEEP: A lot of toddlers have their thumbs in their mouths while they‘re fast asleep.
A MEANS OF COMFORT: Sucking the thumb is a means of comfort to your toddler. This habit usually lasts the second year and well beyond. By about the third year most children outgrow it.
There is no cause for worry, unless he is sucking his thumb day and night or if this habit is carried on beyond three of four years. Some children have been known to have this habit right into their teens; for such cases counseling is needed.
HOW DO YOU HELP YOUR CHILD KICK THIS HABIT?
Here are some tips to handle this:
1. Distraction
Whenever your child puts his thumb in his mouth, you need to distract him then and there. Give him a really interesting diversion so that he gets involved in it thoroughly.
This is the best technique and should be used as many times as you could.
2. Intervention
Words like ‘No’, ‘Bad Habit’ help your child to understand that he is not supposed to suck his thumb.
Every time you see your child sucking thumb you need to intervene.
3. Put on Gloves
Gloves can help your child to stay away from sucking.
This is often one of the best remedies to help your child stay away from sucking his thumb.
4. Apply Bandage or Cloth around the thumb
You could sometimes apply adhesive bandage or a clean cloth around the thumb to stop thumb sucking. These tactics help your child to give up thumb sucking slowly.
5. Lemon slice or Sweet lime
Keep a slice of lemon or sweet lime handy as an easy diversion for your kid.
Kids tend to suck on it and relish it as well.
You could choose lemon, sweet lime or orange depending on the taste preferences of your child.
6. Deal with it together
Everyone in the family needs to help you with this.
A continuous supervision by all members will bear fruits soon.
The child also learns faster to overcome it if interrupted by one and all.
7. Take it Easy!
If you are trying one or more of these tactics, then it will bear you fruits for sure.
Don’t be desperate to see immediate results.
In conclusion,
Hope, these tips were helpful. These are all small temporary phases of a child’s growth. You should not get too worried over these petty issues but should try to approach it tactfully. The baseline remains that the mother always needs to be smarter than the kid in order to handle him or her well.
More Interesting Articles for You:
Activities for your baby-Sensory Play
Sleepless nights? Get your baby to sleep through the night
Positive Parenting