Weaning a child from thumb sucking: tips and tricks. How to stop a baby from sucking fingers? Child sucks thumb at night

How does a baby, peacefully snoring in a cradle and sucking its little finger, make you feel? It's a nice sight, you'll agree. Well, what about a seven-year-old first-grader who, forgetting himself and getting lost in thoughts, inadvertently puts his fingers in his mouth? The situation is different, there is nothing to be touched by here. Indeed, even children have bad habits, which are sometimes very difficult to get rid of. You already guessed what we are talking about. Let's talk about how to stop a child from sucking his thumb and where this childhood habit comes from.

Where do feet (read: toes) grow from?

You won’t have to look for the root cause of this phenomenon for long: it’s all due to an unconditioned reflex, namely sucking. Reflexes are instinctual behavior patterns that help the newborn survive. Attentive mothers can observe how, during an examination, the doctor checks these same reflexes in the newborn and already reveals the presence or absence of developmental abnormalities or pathologies. Those who are especially curious can even experiment and test them themselves (it’s easy and safe).

Among all these reflexes, it is the sucking one that allows you to eat your mother’s breast so skillfully and thereby not die of hunger. Knowing how to suck, the baby will be able to get his own milk from the breast or bottle. It must be said that breastfeeding is very strongly associated with the habit of thumb sucking (more on that later). After all, what does a mother mean to a newborn? These are her breasts, tasty and nourishing milk, a warm body and a gentle voice. Did you catch the associative series? Sucking a breast/finger/corner of a blanket means being warm and safe, full and calm, and having fun.

Thumb sucking and child's age

It is known that the sucking reflex tends to fade by the age of 3-4, so modern pediatrics tries not to focus on the problem of thumb sucking at this age. In the overwhelming majority of cases, having crossed the four-year mark (often much earlier), the baby forgets about this habit. But, as practice shows, this does not always happen.

At the age of up to 1 year, the baby's sucking reflex is pronounced, and after six months the child himself begins to actively explore the world around him. How? Of course, tasting everything, including your own fingers. However, nothing prevents him from calming himself down in this way or trying to satisfy his hunger.

At 2-4 years old, a child sucks his thumb (or even several), again for the purpose of calming and receiving pleasure, since positive emotions are associated with this process.

In preschool and primary school age, this habit is less common than in children under 2-3 years of age, but it can signal both the child’s stressful state, lack of self-confidence, and various types of neurological diseases.

It’s worth mentioning right away that the solution to the problem cannot be simple and obvious. Each child needs an individual, often complex, approach.

Causes

In children under 3-4 years of age, this phenomenon is directly related to the sucking reflex and is especially pronounced in the first two years of life. In older children, this can be a direct signal of increased anxiety, neurosis and psychological discomfort. But, let's take it in order. What could be the cause of persistent thumb sucking?

Hunger

A child under one year old may try to drown out the unpleasant feeling of sucking “in the pit of the stomach,” thereby letting the mother know that it is time to have a snack;

Teeth cutting

The child is scared/sad/uncomfortable

Such psychological stress can be caused by many factors (new environment, social circle, tense parental relationships, separation from mother, etc.). Remembering how safe it is at the mother’s breast, the child instinctively tries to calm himself down, especially if he is no longer breastfed;

Chronic stress and neurological disorders in children over 4 years of age

Usually the matter does not end with just thumb sucking; the child can show his anxiety in different ways (biting nails, pulling out hair, scratching, obsessively and constantly performing some kind of manipulation).

Thumb sucking and breastfeeding

While preparing this material, I had to deal with a curious relationship between the nature and duration of breastfeeding and the presence of such an unpleasant habit in the child. It is curious that various sources and studies by scientists from different countries contradict each other, which suggests certain conclusions.

As you know, thumb sucking is in many ways similar to the habit of constantly sucking a pacifier, or these two phenomena are interchangeable non-food habits, if suddenly one of them is prohibited (not allowed, not given, etc.).

Brazilian scientists from the University of Sao Paulo in 2008 conducted a series of studies showing that children from 3 to 6 years old who were breastfed for less than 9 months, in the overwhelming majority (70-85%, and the percentage is higher the earlier breastfeeding was stopped) have persistent non-nutritive habits (pacifier sucking, finger sucking). This fact is confirmed by numerous materials on the Russian Internet, describing insufficiently long breastfeeding as one of the reasons for the occurrence of such behavior.

Our scientists from Moscow State University of Psychology and Education received contradictory data when they highlighted the results of their research in 2011. According to them, thumb sucking as a habit was observed in the vast majority of cases in those children (39%) who suckled at the breast for more than a year than in those (9%) who were switched to formula after 6 months. Moreover, the results were confirmed by long-term observation of such children, and, therefore, are not based only on the results of a survey of parents. It was possible to note that children who were breastfed for longer than 13 months were more anxious, lacking initiative, and showed self-doubt. Data from children who were breastfed for at least seven months and no more than a year were used as a control group.

Consequences

Some of the consequences of prolonged thumb/finger sucking include:

✓ Maxillofacial pathologies (“open” bite, deformation and impaired development of permanent teeth, facial asymmetry);

✓ Possible intestinal infections and increased risk of developing infectious diseases (the child often puts dirty hands in his mouth);

✓ Injuries to the skin (the skin of the finger swells under the constant influence of saliva, seals, calluses, sores and cracks may appear, and the nail plate may become deformed).

But the most serious consequence, of course, is malocclusion. It is interesting that Komarovsky’s advice on the topic of thumb sucking cannot be called radical. The pediatrician does not consider this a problem at all if the child is under 4 years old. He is even sure that this is a problem of mothers, and their attempts to conform to social norms (so big, and also sucks a finger, other children don’t do that).

Komarovsky believes that such a bad habit should be tried to be eradicated at the stage of formation of a permanent bite, since a finger in the mouth does not significantly affect baby teeth. In other cases, there is no need to focus special attention on this if the small child feels well.

We solve the problem gently

All you need to ensure is patience and delicacy. Remember that an individual approach works here, and often you need to influence the child in a comprehensive manner. Be sure to consider the age and needs of the child. So it’s better to talk and explain with older children, talk about the consequences of such an addiction; they are already quite capable of understanding and analyzing. It is important for very young infants to ensure maximum tactile contact with their mother and satisfaction of the sucking reflex.

✓ If the baby is breastfed, do not be afraid to breastfeed on demand, overfeed him or that he will get used to it and will constantly “hang” on your chest. To be honest, even without breasts he will strive to be in your arms all the time. Feeding on demand usually helps to quickly resolve this issue.

✓ If you want to stop breastfeeding, do not do it abruptly, so as not to create a stressful situation for the child. Try to wind down feeding gradually and very smoothly (spread the process over several weeks, 1-2 months), spend as much time as possible with the child and do not let him think that if the boob is not there, then the mother will not be around either.

✓ The temporary habit of putting a finger in the mouth, associated with painful pain, can be solved by distracting attention, using special cooling gels and teething toys.

✓ Opinions about pacifiers are controversial. A pacifier really helps to distract a child and stop him from thumb sucking. But it turns out that we are simply changing the “awl for soap”, although the same Komarovsky does not see anything wrong with a pacifier, especially if it is a special orthodontic one.

✓ Achieving psychological comfort in the child. Thumb sucking is a kind of calming ritual, something satisfying and pleasant for the baby. He feels comfortable during the process. Your goal: to make him comfortable without it. Think about it, perhaps frequent, difficult adjustment to kindergarten, a new nanny, moving, and phobias or other factors could influence this.

✓ It is better to keep older children occupied and captivated by an interesting activity involving their hands and the need for subtle manipulations with their fingers (assembling a puzzle, drawing and modeling). Many argue that visiting clubs and development centers has a positive effect on correcting the habit (the child is enthusiastic and forgets about thumb sucking, takes an example from other children).

✓ Delicate conversations with a child over 2 years old. This cannot be called a 100% solution to the problem, but the experience of many mothers proves the effectiveness of such conversations. The child is explained why thumb sucking is not necessary (it is not beautiful, it will “hurt” and become different).

I really liked the example of one mother who weaned her two-year-old daughter from obsessive thumb sucking: in a conversation she explained to the little girl that if this continues, the thumb will one day turn green. Naturally, at night the finger was smeared with brilliant green, and in the morning the child was stunned, to put it mildly. But the habit quickly became a thing of the past.

✓ Colored fingertips. Perhaps there is some comparison with the restraints, which are described a little lower, but it is unlikely that the elastic bandage somehow limits the baby’s freedom. These colored fingertips remind fidgets that they shouldn’t do that. Of course, nothing prevents the child from taking it off or sucking his finger just like that, but they say it works.

Controversial methods for solving the problem

Many will call the option with greenery controversial, and they will be partly right. And there are no guarantees that a particularly impressionable child will not be injured, and indeed whether such a trick will work at all.

But definitely controversial methods include all kinds of physical punishment and restrictions on freedom, verbal rudeness and shouting, and causing discomfort to the baby. For example:

✓ C touching prohibition, screaming and corporal punishment. I think there is no point in saying that beating children is terrible, absurd and completely unacceptable. There is no way to get rid of the habit this way: the baby will simply do it in secret from you until you see, and therefore will not be able to punish;

✓ N smearing with all sorts of bitter and pungent substances (mustard, pepper, vinegar). It is expected that a child, having put a finger in his mouth, will immediately change his mind about doing it. Maybe. But what prevents a child from simply changing his finger, wiping it or washing it if he is already smart enough?;

✓ About borders and special bandages. Yes, there are special structures that fix the finger and prevent it from sucking. Moreover, the design is such that there is no way to remove it yourself. Whether or not to use such devices is a personal matter. In some cases this actually works.

There were also cases of simply bandaging or tying the thumb to the palm. Judge for yourself whether this is acceptable at all.

Conclusion

It is much easier to fight a bad childhood habit if you know the root cause why a child sucks his thumb. It is important to understand one thing: is there really a need for weaning right now? Since in the overwhelming majority of cases children simply satisfy their sucking reflex in this way, over time it fades away along with the obsessive desire to put a finger in their mouth.

Otherwise, just have a lot of patience and try to act as delicately as possible, trying different methods.

In our practice, we often encounter concerns from parents about their children’s finger sucking. Parents ask questions : what to do if a child sucks his thumb? How and why does thumb sucking develop? When does thumb sucking go away? How should parents react better and should they wean their child from thumb sucking?

The topic of “thumb sucking” raises many discussions and myths. We would like to clarify all the issues in this article.

How does thumb sucking 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 as early as 12 weeks and performs an important function: obtaining pleasure.

Thumb or fist sucking 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 the baby’s survival! Don’t rush to wean your baby off thumb sucking; first figure out why he does it.

Why does a child suck his thumb?

If we understand the question “why does a child suck his thumb,” then we can find 4 reasons for this:

1) Hunger. Thumb sucking can be a sign that your baby is hungry.

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

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 receive a sufficient “portion” of physical and emotional communication with his mother.

3) The need for pleasure and self-soothing. 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 stress associated with adaptation to new living conditions. Thumb sucking may mean that the child is currently 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? Notice and promptly meet your baby's needs , give him enough care and attention. Give your child an alternative to thumb sucking and soothe him yourself. If you see that your baby is sucking his thumb, try to gently and calmly switch him to something else: games, communication, physical contact, etc. Hug and comfort your child if something is bothering him. Do not reprimand your child or show negative emotions. These rules of behavior are especially relevant while the baby is awake. At night, just ignore this habit.

4) Period of teething. During teething, the gums become swollen and itchy for the child. The baby uses his fingers to help himself relieve the itching.

What to do? Consult your doctor, he will recommend medical supplies , which will ease discomfort during teething. Make sure that safe teethers and rubber toys are within your baby's reach.

When does thumb sucking go away?

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

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

What if your thumb sucking habit persists?

If you observe your baby actively sucking his thumb until it turns red

If thumb sucking continues for more than 1.5 - 2 years and has not stopped by age 4

These are alarming signals that may indicate obvious problems with the baby: dissatisfaction with breastfeeding and poor care. If the child's basic needs 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 suck their thumbs frequently or intensely between the ages of 4 and 5, or who continue to suck their thumbs 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 it does not persist until the period of change of baby teeth (up to 6 years).

What if your baby sucks his thumb before bed?

We think thumb sucking is a great pre-bedtime habit that allows baby 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 baby sucks his thumb, don't rush to come up with ways to wean him off this habit until your child is 4 years old. The habit of thumb sucking is a good helper for mom!

Hello everyone, dear readers. Many parents wonder: why does a child suck his thumb? Is there any reason to worry? How to stop a child from sucking his thumb? How to react to such a habit of a child? Maybe this is just pampering or is it still a signal to action? Let's find out in today's article. Read on to learn ways to stop your child from thumb sucking.

Who among us does not have or have not previously had any bad or strange habits? Surely such people are few in millions. Such habits can be developed in a person over many years or throughout his life. And someone can “get infected” with them from people around them. Young children are also no exception to this all-consuming “virus”. They also reward themselves with such bad habits as a result of some constant actions, which in the understanding of an adult and sane person are deviations.

Most parents have observed such socially unacceptable behavior in their children as thumb sucking. It can appear in children of all ages. And for some reason, some mothers and fathers have a strange, incomprehensible feeling about what to do about this and how to deal with this problem. While some parents prefer to turn a blind eye to this, thinking that everything will go away on its own, others urgently undertake to wean their children in every possible way.

According to many experts, if a child is not yet five years old, then such behavior will be the norm for him, and parents should not be afraid for anything. As a rule, thumb sucking goes away after five years, when the baby has already grown physically and mentally. Therefore, until the age of five, parents should not sound the alarm or worry about this. The situation is much more dangerous with children who have reached the age of five and continue to keep their fingers in their mouths. In these cases, parents should think about methods and measures for weaning. And we will tell you how to do this further.

If the habit of thumb sucking has exceeded the acceptable age limit, parents need to resort to the following measures to rid the baby of his bad habit.

What to do if your child sucks his thumb:

Screaming, swearing, reprimanding and forcibly pulling fingers out of the mouth will not give positive results in an attempt to wean a child from a bad habit. Such behavior on the part of the parents will only provoke the baby to continue his actions.
Often, thumb sucking does not occur out of nowhere. As a rule, this is preceded by some circumstances in the baby’s life. The task of parents is to monitor the behavior of their child in order to understand why and under what circumstances he puts his hands in his mouth. Perhaps with such actions the baby is hinting to his parents about something. For example, thumb sucking may indicate that a child is tired and bored, or that he is hungry. If this is true, then parents need to start teaching their child to talk. So that he can express his feelings and wishes through words.
Parents should talk to the child about his bad habit, explaining its cessation by saying that his friends and peers will laugh at him when he goes to kindergarten or school. They should also mention that such actions can spoil the baby’s health, and this is very bad for health.
A very good way to rid your baby of bad habits is to draw up a special calendar in which mother and child can mark all the days that have passed without thumb sucking. To do this, mother and child must talk and set an expected date for completely getting rid of the habit. For example, they chose a period of deliverance of one week. That is, after a week the baby should stop sucking his fingers. To do this, starting from today, you need to mark all subsequent days on the calendar, up to the agreed date when the baby does not put his fingers in his mouth. The child must make these notes independently. In this way, he will master the techniques of self-control and planning. He will undoubtedly like this.
The well-known “old-fashioned” method, which consists of smearing the nails or fingertips with mustard, a drop of perfume or vinegar, is also effective in this problem. Thus, when the baby puts his fingers in his mouth again, he will feel an unpleasant taste or bitterness. Several such repetitions can develop in the child an aversion to this activity.
Various rewards in exchange for giving up a bad habit can also help. For example, you should offer your baby something that will stimulate him. It could be a toy or candy.
Since the habit of thumb sucking is extremely attractive, getting rid of it can develop a certain emptiness and lack of action in the baby. To prevent this, parents are obliged to compensate for the loss with all sorts of approving and affectionate words addressed to the baby. This will greatly support and encourage the child.

Bad habits - a child sucks his thumb, how to stop it

In conclusion, I suggest watching a video in which Dr. Komarovsky tells how to deal with a child’s habit of sucking fingers.

A baby sucking its thumb is not a rare sight. The first time future parents can see it is during an ultrasound: many children “entertain” themselves this way in their mother’s belly. True, over time, the fact that a child sucks his thumb causes a little anxiety rather than tenderness. Let's figure out together when this cute prank develops into a bad habit, what is behind this child's behavior and what parents should do so that the child stops putting his fingers in his mouth.

What does a baby dream about when he sucks his finger?

The whole life of a newborn child is controlled by instincts and... These are behavioral programs laid down by nature that help an immature creature survive in the big world. Any actions performed by a child are a signal for the mother. The baby doesn't have many needs. The child wants to be: dry and warm, well-fed, safe, to be loved, accepted and happy to see him.

Children most often report problems with physical comfort by crying loudly (), but if the baby constantly sucks his thumb, the mother should “go through” the remaining points.

Causes of thumb sucking

Where do reflexes end and problems begin?

1 year

A baby sucking its thumb rarely causes concern in adults. The situation seems much more problematic when the child is one year old and he sucks his thumb. Parents of one-year-old children can also approach this problem without much fear. At this age, sucking continues to be a reflex, and you can get rid of an unwanted habit if you correctly understand the cause and try to eliminate it.

2 years

With two-year-olds the situation is somewhat more serious. If a child at 2 years old continues to suck his thumb, parents should think about the child’s psychological well-being. Behind such behavior there may be fears, anxieties, lack of self-confidence and in one’s loved ones, attachment trauma and many other reasons that have psychological roots.

Weaning your baby off thumb sucking: do “one”, do “two”

The older the child, the deeper the causes of his “sucking” problem. This means that parents will have to make more efforts to eliminate the bad habit.

In order not to aggravate the situation, it is better to respond to the first “symptoms”. Even for those who are still faced with this problem, it is useful to know how to wean a child from thumb sucking. This knowledge will help you take preventive measures and relieve the whole family from worry.

Do not deprive the child unless there are serious obstacles to this (severe illness of the mother, taking medications that are incompatible with feeding). Breasts for a child are not only mother’s milk, but also safety, security, mother’s affection and love.
Avoid pacifiers and other “mummy substitutes” (). Offer your baby your breast at literally every squeak. It is reliably known that children who receive breastfeeding on demand do not have problems with thumb sucking, since their sucking reflex is completely satisfied.
Protect your baby from unnecessary stress. The rule “calm mother - calm child” works flawlessly. Remember that for a newborn child, the mother is his whole world, so you should not overload the baby with new impressions, acquaintances, and information. Just always be there, be responsive to his needs. All tensions and conflicts should remain outside the threshold of the home where the child is.
With an older baby who has not breastfed for a long time, increase the amount of physical contact. Gentle hugs, kisses, invitations to hold each other, lying in bed together, reading a fairy tale on the mother’s lap - all this brings the child very close and fills the child with a sense of his own importance for an adult.
Stock up on rubber teething chewers. It is better to anticipate the child's desire to suck his finger by showing that there are more interesting objects for these purposes. Let these useful toys always be at hand.
Contain negative reactions towards a child who sucks his thumb. In public, you can calmly remove the pen from your mouth and distract. At home, it is best to actively fight the causes. Just imagine: the child is already feeling bad, he is trying to cope with his stress as best he can, and his beloved mother scolds him for this, driving him into even greater stress.

Here's another way:

What should you refrain from while weaning your baby from thumb sucking?

Using these methods will only lead to the whims of the baby.

Main secret

If you are spinning and desperate looking for a “recipe” on how to stop your child from sucking his thumb, stop. Yes, this is a warning sign. Yes, you need to work with this. But this is not a disaster that has irreversible consequences. You can wean your child off thumb sucking only gradually. Be patient, and consistently, with love, give the child what he really needs, create a favorable environment for his life and development. The well-being of children is always in the hands of parents. Let this thought add strength to you, and then the chances of success will definitely become higher.

Remember with what tenderness you looked at your baby sucking his finger during the ultrasound. But what seemed so cute during pregnancy or the first months of a child’s life, after a year, qualifies as a bad habit that is not only desirable, but also necessary to fight. It's time for you to find out why a baby's thumb sucking is dangerous and how to wean a child from thumb sucking.

Reasons for the habit

You may notice that almost all babies suck their fingers, and there is a physiological explanation for this. As a rule, the phenomenon goes away on its own in infancy. Another thing is a psychological factor, or even a pathological one.

Physiology of thumb sucking

Just imagine that the process of finger sucking involves the central nervous system, the brain, not to mention all the muscles and nerve endings on the face.

Fingers in the mouth with loud smacking is a clear hint to you that the baby is hungry;
Your baby may actively pull his fingers into his mouth during teething. It is impossible to say the exact time when this will happen, since the gums can swell at both three and 12 months. Read about the age of teething in the article Teething in children >>>

Psychological reasons

Thumb sucking by a baby may also have a psychological explanation.

Often this habit occurs in children who are weaned early. In this case, thumb sucking is compensation and a kind of reassurance (at what age and how is it safest to stop breastfeeding? Read about this in the article Weaning a Child >>>);

Until one year of age there is no particular problem, and if the child feels the warmth and affection of his parents, the habit will go away on its own;
Another thing is age from one year and older. Please note that something may be bothering your baby, he may feel discomfort. A similar situation may arise when you go to work or during a move; perhaps the baby has gone to kindergarten or he simply lacks mom and dad’s attention.

The pacifier and bottle are another real reason for developing a bad habit. When a child is offered breast substitutes from childhood for comfort, he will reflexively put his fingers, and later a pen, pencil and other objects under his hand, into his mouth.

Pathological factors

Doctors may associate this habit with neurological disorders associated with sleep disorders, general weakness, and previous colds.

Age-specific habits

You can talk about sucking as a bad habit after celebrating your first birthday.

In yearlings, thumb sucking is reflexive in nature. In this case, the reason is either weaning, or the increased stress to which his nervous system is exposed;

This behavior is typical for children who sleep poorly/little/anxiously. If this is about your child, then be sure to start working on improving your child’s sleep on a sleep course.

This is an online course that you will take from home. By acting consistently, in 2 weeks you will help your child learn to fall asleep easily and sleep peacefully throughout the night. Follow the link: How to quickly put your child to sleep?>>>

After the age of 2 years, it is time to call thumb sucking a bad habit. The reason is psychological, and the finger in this case is a means of calm. It's time to think about how to stop a 2-year-old child from sucking his thumb;
A three-year-old toddler with a finger in his mouth is a phenomenon that can be explained by his first trips to the garden. The reason is psychological: the baby lacks your attention, he is worried that he is being left in an unfamiliar place;

4-5 years is the time of the first fears and phobias. If the baby, who has not previously put his finger in his mouth, begins to suck it, it’s time to talk to the child and find out what is bothering him.
Thumb sucking over the age of 5 is a pathology associated with neuroses, phobias, and lack of self-confidence. Observe whether there are accompanying bad habits; maybe the child bites his nails or pencils, or wraps his hair or the edge of his dress around his finger. An active sucker needs your help.

You need to fight bad habits, but you don’t have to wave a saber. At any age, it is necessary to move away from threats, and instead give the child more attention and affection.

The main principle of fighting any bad habit is to find the cause at the first sign and eliminate it.

Breastfed baby

If your baby is breastfed, then the action plan for how to wean a child from sucking his thumb at one year is extremely simple: breastfeed, do not limit the child’s sucking time, but at the same time maintain clear boundaries in your relationship with the child. The pacifier will not only not help solve the problem, but will also worsen the dependence on sucking, since in its absence, the baby will suck his thumb even more actively.

Artificial child

When, due to circumstances, you are forced to give up breastfeeding, feed your baby more often, perhaps fingers in the mouth are a signal of hunger;
Pay attention to the bottle you give your baby. Orthodontic tight nipples should be a priority so that the baby fully satisfies his sucking reflex;
But when teething, ointments for the gums and teethers with a cooling effect will help (there is an article on this topic on the website: Gels for teething >>>);
Don’t forget about tactile contact, don’t be afraid to carry your child in your arms, the time will come when he himself will want independence, but now he needs you.

Thumb sucking in children 2-5 years old

When asked how to stop a child from sucking his thumb at 3 years old, I can advise you to spend more time with your child.

Observe at what moments a naughty finger ends up in your mouth. Perhaps the child is simply bored or is unable to do something. Keep your little one busy, come up with an interesting way to spend time together, draw or read books, play with mosaics or puzzles. When your baby's hands are busy, you won't notice his fingers in his mouth;
You can have a serious conversation with a child aged 2 or more years. Find out what worries him, because it is through psychological experiences that a bad habit most often arises. Explain that thumb sucking also has a harmful side, namely germs and bacteria that are just waiting for an opportunity to get into the child's body.

A good psychological move is to write a fairy tale about a hero who sucked his thumb, but was able to overcome this bad habit.

Important! But what you shouldn’t do is threaten a child. Screaming or force won’t help matters, just like grandma’s methods with pepper or brilliant greens.

Thumb sucking in sleep

If during the waking period you can be close to the baby and control the location of the fingers, then in a dream it will be more difficult to do this. Popular suggestions on how to wean a child from sucking his finger in his sleep are to block access to the fingers with a glove or scratch, or to coat the nail with “Non-Bite” varnish.

Please note that this is only a technical side of the issue, and you need to determine the cause of thumb sucking. Perhaps the emergence of a bad habit is associated with the transition to separate sleep, and the baby is simply afraid to sleep alone.

Offer him his favorite toy;
Buy a night light;
Do not close the door to the children's room.

By the way, you can choose a toy that would easily fit in your palm and have silicone rodent inserts (read the article