If your baby sucks his or her thumb, you’re not alone. Many babies suck their thumbs, often before they are even born! We’ve all seen the ultrasound photos of the baby in utero sucking away.
All infants have the desire to suck. This desire goes beyond feeding time. It’s natural and it’s normal. Many parents give their babies pacifiers to help with this need; others opt not to. Many of these babies eventually find their thumbs to meet their sucking needs and sometimes, to calm themselves. If you observe your baby, you’ll likely notice increased thumb sucking when he or she is bored, tired, or upset.
The advantage of thumb sucking over pacifier use is that babies can find their own thumbs when they need to be lulled back to sleep. Pacifiers, on the other hand, quickly disappear, leaving baby crying for parental help. The downside of pacifier use is that parents can take away a pacifier from a baby in order to break the habit, but they can’t take away a thumb!
If your child is a thumb sucker, don’t worry about it. The desire to suck usually goes away around nine months, and many babies stop sucking their thumbs by their first birthday. The American Dental Association has found no permanent damage to babies who stop sucking their thumbs by the age of four or five.
Additionally, sucking on pacifiers has been shown to reduce the occurrence of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). Thumb sucking requires the same sucking action, which may help baby as well.
So if you notice your baby has started sucking his or her thumb, don’t panic. He won’t get “buck teeth,” or suck his thumb till he’s 20. It’s a natural reflective action that meets a need all infants have.
Look for future articles about how to stop your child’s thumb sucking or pacifier use in the future.
Does your child suck his or her thumb? When did he stop?