Thumb Sucking: Should I be Concerned?

Thumb sucking is a normal and acceptable behavior in infants and young children. In fact, about 75 percent of babies under one year of age suckle with their fingers or thumbs. Thumb sucking helps them feel safe, happy, and reassuring, including children who are separated from their parents or who are under stress.

Thumb sucking becomes a problem if the child continues after the age of five. Prolonged sucking of the thumb can affect the growth and development of the mouth, especially the palate. You can visit this website to purchase various thumb sucking devices for your children online.

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The bones of young children are very soft and flexible, and the roof of the mouth can become very narrow as it forms around the thumb. As a first step, parents can ask the child's dentist to speak with the child, who can take the advice seriously as it comes from a health care professional. Other ways to stop thumb sucking are as follows:

• Wrapping the thumbs in mittens or soft cloth at bedtime

• Establishing a reward system in which the child earns points or tokens toward a reward for not sucking their thumb

• Getting a special appliance recommended by the ADA to make sucking the thumb more difficult or less pleasurable

• Paint a bitter-tasting but harmless liquid on the thumbnails

On the other hand, scolding or scolding a child will not work. Nor did he take his thumb out of his mouth. Such actions only provoke a power struggle in which the child constantly sucks his thumb.