Stopping Your Child's Thumb-Sucking
Photo courtesy of Kyle Nieber (Unsplash)
Thumb-sucking is something that many parents worry about, but usually it is not something worth losing sleep over.
Sucking is a natural reflex children are born with in order to satisfy their basic need for nutrition. Sometimes this reflex can even be seen in the womb when the infant sucks on their fingers or thumb. By around the age of three months old, this reflex action has been replaced by that of a voluntary one; the infant cries because they are hungry, causing the mother to offer a feed which the baby accepts. Now they are no longer hungry. The sucking, then, provides them with comfort and security because their needs are being met. As a result, they may suck their fingers or fist in order to induce the same feelings. As your infant grows into a toddler, this can then be transferred to the action of sucking their thumb.
Because of the feelings of comfort and security it gives them, sometimes it can turn into a habit, and you may find your toddler or young child still sucking on his or her thumb, particularly if they are stressed, tired or unwell. As I began this post with, thumb-sucking is not usually something you need to be overly concerned about as, often, children will stop by themselves. But occasionally you may have to take steps to break the habit yourself. Certainly if they have lost all their milk teeth but are still sucking on their thumb, you should try to get them out of the habit in order to avoid problems later on.
But if children find sucking their thumb comforting, why stop it at all, you may ask yourself.
Well for a start, depending on how hard they are sucking, thumb sucking can alter the physiology of their palate, possibly resulting in the need for later dental treatment and, in some cases, possibly speech therapy because it impedes their ability to form certain sounds properly. In this age of cleanliness, one also has to think about oral health, and a child’s hand can be a breeding ground for bacteria, particularly under the fingernails. So, from a hygiene point of view, sucking their thumb is a habit we need to break.
As adults we all know how difficult it can be to break our habits, especially if it has become so deeply ingrained in our behaviour that we do it without thought, so how do we go about helping our child break their own habit?
The first thing to point out is, as always, prevention is better than cure, so try to nip thumb-sucking in the bud before it has a chance to develop into a habit. You can do this in a number of ways, but it begins with their pacifier. By getting rid of that as early as possible (without causing stress on your child), you are discouraging what I call ‘empty sucking’. This means sucking with no purposeful outcome. You should also avoid giving your child a bottle post-infancy, instead swapping the bottle for a sippy cup with handles. And, immediately upon seeing them suck their thumb for the very first time, it helps to ask them to stop, thereby letting them know that thumb-sucking is not a behaviour you encourage.
Photo courtesy of Bruno Nascimento (Unsplash)
But, should the habit root itself and you feel your child’s thumb-sucking has gone a little too far, there are a number of ways you can tackle this:
Remind your child not to suck their thumb each and every time you see them do it. You may find yourself doing this time and time again but sometimes all children need is a reminder. This is often the case when they are doing it absent-mindedly, such as when they are tired or just relaxing at home. Eventually the reminder will stick.
You can give them a verbal reminder or, alternatively, put a clean cotton sock on their hand to serve as a visual reminder to leave their thumb alone. After a time, the habit should lessen and eventually you can ditch the reminders. However, if you choose to use a sock, it may be helpful to still use it at bedtime if they have a habit of slipping that thumb into their mouth while they are asleep.
Positive reinforcement can be used to promote all sorts of desirable behaviour, so if your child has a tendency to suck their thumb while they are watching television, try to catch them without their thumb in their mouth and, at this point, praise them for not sucking their thumb.
Rewards can also work very well. Use something such as cotton balls in a jar or a sticker chart so your child has a visual reminder of how well they are doing.
With so many parents facing a similar situation, the range of products available to consumers is plentiful and wide. From thumb guards and thumb gloves, to child-safe bitter tasting nail coatings, each type of product comes with its own advantages and disadvantages, so it is up to you to decide what one you think will work best for your child.
Whilst most children will probably have grown out of thumb-sucking by the age of four, if your child is old enough, you can explain in simple terms the reasons why they should not suck their thumb:
‘You might need to wear dental braces when you’re older.’
(The resulting physiological change to their jaw may result in the need to see an orthodontist).
‘Sucking your thumb isn’t very clean because you have lots of germs under your nails and in your mouth.’
(Sucking their thumb increases the chance of infections due to hygiene issues).
Photo courtesy of Sincerely Media (Unsplash)
The final thing to remember is not to worry. Putting unnecessary stress on you and your child will only hamper your efforts to break their habit. Try to stay positive, and use that positivity as reinforcement when your child is not sucking their thumb. Your approval is highly sought after by them, so your praise and encouragement at the right time can only be a good thing.