What to do if your child has a thumb-sucking habit?
Written by: Early Childhood Education Expert Chen Shuan
According to research by Dr. David Levy, children who finish a bottle of milk in 10 minutes (possibly due to a larger nipple) are more likely to suck their thumbs than those who finish in 20 minutes. Dr. Levy also experimented by feeding puppies with a dropper, preventing them from sucking their thumbs while nursing. The puppies reacted by sucking on their own skin or the skin of other puppies, some sucking so intensely that the skin was peeled off. This shows that thumb-sucking behavior in infants in their first few months is due to a lack of sucking satisfaction; it is a need, not an innate behavior, and not necessarily a bad one.
Breastfeeding Enhances Parent-Child Bonding
Babies who can breastfeed are the happiest. They not only receive adequate nutrition and the warmth and security of skin-to-skin contact, but also enjoy a profound emotional connection with their mother through the soft nipple. This deep love and familial bond cannot compare to feeding from a cold bottle, especially since the baby derives immense satisfaction from sucking.
However, many mothers work away from home, and for various reasons, may have to bottle-feed their children. Special attention should be paid to the frequency and duration of feedings. Mothers should calmly allow their babies to eat slowly, paying particular attention to the size of the nipple hole. Ensuring the baby experiences sucking satisfaction prevents the development of a thumb-sucking habit. Babies’ thumb-sucking is often unconscious; their little fingers move and unintentionally end up in their mouths, providing pleasure and satisfaction.
Releasing Psychological Tension
However, if a child continues to suck their fingers at age 4 or 5, the meaning changes; it may be a way of releasing psychological tension. For example: parental discord may cause anxiety; the arrival of a new sibling may lead to fear of losing parental love; busy parents may cause loneliness and a lack of family warmth; or early enrollment in kindergarten may result in inadequate care and a lack of security. These factors contribute to anxiety, unease, tension, and fear in children.
Like adults, children need to release psychological tension, which is a natural phenomenon. Adults often use smoking to relieve tension. Children may use finger sucking or shaking to release emotional tension. In this situation, parents, besides improving their attitude towards their child, should be extra patient and maintain a calm and kind mindset to make the child feel relaxed and stress-free. Conversely, parents showing worry, tension, or even rushing to correct the habit by scolding, binding the finger, or applying bitter medicine will only backfire, increasing the child’s anxiety. The child will then be unable to control themselves and create a vicious cycle, prolonging the finger-sucking habit.
Prevention and Correction Methods
1. Breastfeed as much as possible. This is the most natural and suitable method of feeding infants, reducing the chances of developing a finger-sucking habit.
2. When bottle-feeding, parents should pay special attention to the feeding time; 15 to 20 minutes is ideal.
3. Use toys and dolls to engage in finger activities with the child to divert their sucking habit.
4. Spend more time with the child, playing together, telling stories, and singing nursery rhymes to prevent loneliness and boredom that might lead to finger-sucking.
5. When a child sucks their fingers excessively, parents should remain patient and calm. Sometimes, ignoring the behavior or not reminding the child will naturally make the finger-sucking disappear.
6. If a child has had a finger-sucking habit for many years before the age of 6, it will gradually disappear naturally, especially when the child stops sucking their fingers during the day and only sucks them while sleeping. This indicates that the habit is nearing its end. Parents should wait patiently; rushing to correct it will not be effective. Especially after children start kindergarten, the habit often disappears unconsciously because they don’t want to suck their fingers in front of their peers or are busy with other activities at school.
7. Sucking on fingers will leave an unpleasant odor. If a 5- to 6-year-old child still has the habit, try letting them smell the unpleasant odor; this may correct the bad habit.