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Expert Q&A
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| By Elizabeth Pantley Child Behavior Expert Better Beginnings, Inc. | ||
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My 3-month-old is showing signs of habitual thumb-sucking. I see this as a bad habit. How can I discourage this?
For many babies thumb-sucking comes naturally, some even begin in the womb and are born with a callused digit to prove their efforts! Babies have an instinctive need to suck, and they do so for many reasons: hunger, comfort or just exploring a part of their body. Thumb-sucking is a habit that usually disappears on its own, gradually fading out between the ages of 3 years and 6 years.
You don't say whether your baby is breastfed or bottle-fed, but research shows that bottle-fed babies tend more towards thumb-sucking. Breastfed babies who begin to suck their fingers can usually be "cured" by spending more time at the breast. Bottle-fed babies can sometimes be discouraged from this when they are fed on demand rather than on a rigid schedule. There are certainly conflicting schools of thought about thumb-sucking. Some people approve of this activity mainly because it provides a baby with a way to soothe herself. Others, though, fear that what works today can become a habit that's difficult to break sometime in the future.
Most experts seem to give a thumbs up (pun intented!) to thumb-sucking from birth to about age 2. After that age, habitual thumb-sucking may cause orthodontic problems. There are many gentle ways to help a child stop this habit, most include distraction and keeping those little hands busy.
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