Thumb Sucking

Most baby’s preferred soothing mechanism is sucking.  Which makes sense in that the first predictable comfort for a baby is feeding and the primary action required to feed is sucking.  So, when a baby is fussy, but not hungry, they will often rely on a pacifier or something similar to suck on.  Some parents will avoid pacifiers as to not promote this behavior but, if your kiddo is a sucking soother, they will find something else to suck on to meet their needs. This may mean asking for more breastfeeding sessions when not hungry or finding their hand or fingers to suck on.  And, on the opposite side of the parent spectrum, some parents promote the use of the pacifier to prevent the sucking on thumbs in later infancy and toddlerhood.  I mean it’s easier to throw the pacifier away than get rid of the kiddo’s thumb, right? 

Over time this drive to suck-to-soothe diminishes with most kiddos; the majority of pacifier or thumb sucking kids get rid of the habit on their own by the time they hit kindergarten (save for maybe sucking on their thumb while sleeping or in very stressful situations). 

Back in the day parents used various methods to stop their kids from sucking on their thumbs.  From bad tasting or spicy nail polish to thumb guards that make it difficult and downright uncomfortable to put the thumb in their mouth.  Over time, though, we learned that none of these things worked, and they can actually reinforce the tendency in children to suck their thumb rather than deter them. The current notion is trying not to pay too much attention to it.  And, fortunately/unfortunately, most kids who are still sucking their thumb in elementary school will quickly have that habit examined by other kiddos in their class and, often, this unwanted attention will quickly make the habit dissipate. 

The exception to not paying too much credence to the thumb sucking is if, due to thumb sucking at later ages, we observe odd teeth movement in the mouth.  At that time a dentist/orthodontist may talk about spacer options for a kiddos mouth to allow the teeth to go back into a healthier formation.