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Almost all babies suck their thumbs. And almost all of them, do away with this habit as they grow up. However, exceptions are always there, and there is no exception in that. After a certain age if your kid still continues to suck their thumb, it is not a good thing. You got to get them rid of this habit, the sooner the better.
Lets us discuss the WHENs and WHYs of being concerned about your child’s thumb sucking and the HOWs of correcting it-
You’ll be surprised to know that some babies develop this habit when in the womb itself. While for most, it is an alternative to sucking on a bottle. For kids sucking their thumb is a way of relaxing and passing on their time. It is nothing unusual and comes not even close to being dangerous. It could however become sort of embarrassing after a point of time, and also affect the development of the child’s (permanent) teeth.
So until the age of 4 there is no reason to worry. Usually kids begin to drop the habit when they are 5-6 (the same time when permanent teeth begin to grow in). But if you do not see this happening, and your child is just not ready to go off this childish habit. Now is the time to intervene.
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But this should not be in the form of force or threat. If you do that, it is likely that your kid will try and hide the action. He might suck the thumb in your presence but will do it at your back. Another thing you shouldn’t be doing is embarrassing them in public. Don’t show your disapproval too loud and shift everyone’s attentions to your child sucking his thumb. This can impact his psyche adversely.
So what you should do?
Keep those idle hands busy:
If you keep your child hands occupied, they will not make it to his mouth. The reason being, many a times kids start to suck their thumb out of boredom alone.
Keep the child stress free:
If the child remains stressed or anxious, it may too be a cause that he isn’t able to let go his habit of thumb sucking. So observe the environment, and note whether things at home or school are not bothering them somehow.
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Make them take pride in growing up:
Tell your child that he is growing up and that make him take pride in the fact. Instill in them a feeling of responsibility and subtly put in their head the idea of what is expected of grown ups. One of them being - not sucking their thumb anymore.
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Use home remedies:
If need be, you can use some home remedies like applying some bitter-gourd juice over his thumb, or vinegar, that stops him from sucking the thumb. But don’t go overboard with this measure.
