How to change the habit of finger sucking?
By dandan07
@dandan07 (1906)
China
September 11, 2011 5:08am CST
One of my senior had a baby girl four months ago.
Now the baby spend most of the time sucking her own hands and fingers. The parents worried about that. It is said that if the baby form the habit, it is very hard for it to give up the habit.
Is it common for a baby sucking something?
And how to change it?
1 person likes this
3 responses
@huilichan8 (1378)
• Singapore
12 Sep 11
I think it's quite common for babies to suck their own fingers. Have they tried to use a pacifier? That might help.
1 person likes this
@huilichan8 (1378)
• Singapore
13 Sep 11
I don't understand...why the habit will make the baby fall sick easily?
1 person likes this
@GemmaR (8517)
•
12 Sep 11
I don't think that you have to worry about things like that when the child is that age. It is nothing but a comfort habit that the child uses, and she will grow out of it when she is ready to do so. Parents often worry that thumb or finger sucking is going to have an effect on the child's teeth, however this isn't something that you need to worry about until the adult teeth start to grow at the age of around 5 or 6. By this point, the child should have grown out of it and even if she hasn't she will be old enough to be told why she shouldn't do it by her parents, which should make her stop.
1 person likes this
@dandan07 (1906)
• China
13 Sep 11
Thank you.
But a new parent, my senior has no experience on how to be a good parent, and she worried about her baby. If it is common and has no bad effect, i think there is no need to force the baby give up that habit now, and it may give up natural when it grows up.
@cream97 (29087)
• United States
13 Sep 11
Hi, dandan07. I would like to get the answer on this too. My oldest daughter started sucking on her thumb for about four months now. She has picked up this bad habit from one of her classmates during Head Start. She was not born sucking her thumb at all. She just picked up this habit from someone else that is around her age. I have constantly told her to stop. Both me and her father have. I have even taken her finger out of her mouth, when I see her thumb in her mouth. She also goes to sleep sucking her thumb too. I will also remove her thumb/finger from her mouth as she is sleeping. She still has her baby teeth in her mouth, they have not came out yet. Her front teeth, baby teeth are still present. She has lost a few baby teeth at the bottom though. I hope that I don't have to worry about this, because it is a major concern for me. I just pray that she quits this bad habit of sucking her thumb.
