Almost all parents are faced with the fact that the baby sucks the cam. Only a few will be surprised that someone might be bothered by a similar problem. Why does the baby pull fingers in his mouth? Does such a habit have negative consequences? Is it necessary to wean the baby from sucking fingers, and if so, when and how to do it right? You will find answers to these and many other questions in the article.
Let's start from afar
And to be more precise - from the period of pregnancy. The instinct of sucking appears in the baby long before it is born. While still in the womb, he drags fingers and fists into his mouth. This instinct persists after birth.
So why does a newborn baby suck a cam? The opinion of experts in this matter is unambiguous - for the sake of satisfying the sucking reflex.
Why finger or cam?
It is very simple to explain. The child’s handles are always “with him”, which means that there is no need to search for other items. Although in some cases, babies give preference to the latter and begin to drag a blanket, toys, clothes and other things that fall into their hands into their mouths.
As a rule, parents first notice that the child drags his fingers in his mouth when he is about 2 months old. It is at this age that the little ones begin to gradually control their movements and “find” their own parts of the body, including the handles.
If the baby is breastfeeding
The situation when the baby sucks the cam can occur regardless of the type of feeding: breast or artificial. Let's start with the first option.
If the baby sucks the lip, drags fingers or a fist into the mouth, it is possible that the mother finishes the feeding process too early. It is important to remember that the breast for the baby is not just food, but also a way to calm down, relax, satisfy the sucking reflex. Do not pick it up and leave until the moment when the baby himself wants it.
If the baby is on artificial feeding
In this case, it’s still easier. How much does a child eat per feeding? Depending on its age, the volume of the mixture can vary from 30 to 240 ml. Moreover, the average feeding time is about 5-10 minutes. This little time is enough to satisfy the hunger, but very little to satisfy the innate instinct. In simpler words - the baby wants to suck longer, and an empty bottle has already been taken. Therefore, after feeding, many parents offer dummies to artisans (Avent is one of the most beloved manufacturers, which mothers and fathers prefer).
Conditioned reflex
Moms and dads of 3-5-month-old babies can sometimes observe the picture when their baby sleeps with a thumb in their mouth. In most cases, this phenomenon is observed in children who categorically refuse dummies.
What should parents do in a similar situation? Let it be as it is. Taking a finger from your mouth in most cases means disrupting the baby’s sensitive sleep. Do not worry that the child will get used to sleeping with a finger in his mouth and will not learn to fall asleep on his own! In this case, such a habit is only a conditioned reflex, which will gradually fade away as the baby grows older.
There are other reasons.
Children sucking a finger can tell about some of their other inconveniences:
- Boredom
- nervous tension;
- lack of attention;
- hunger;
- teething.
The first option is characteristic of older children. They unconsciously pull a finger in their mouth just to have fun.
Also, children sucking a finger may be stressed. In this way, they simply soothe themselves. This habit comes from the prenatal period, when the finger in the mouth was a symbol of calm and protection. By the way, a similar phenomenon is sometimes observed among adults. Unconsciously recalling his intrauterine existence, during nervous stress a person feels as comfortable as possible in the fetal position (curled up).
Sometimes babies suck their fists and because of a lack of maternal attention. As in the previous case, this action gives them a state of calm.
Does the child pull everything in his mouth and nibble his own hands? There are two possible options. The first is teething. This process gives the crumbs a lot of discomfort, and the desire to scratch the gums is completely natural. The second option is to study the world. This is how the consciousness of the baby is arranged. To obtain information about an object, he needs to not only see and touch the object, but also “taste” it.
A child 2 months of age or older may also suck his fist because of feelings of hunger or thirst. As a rule, attentive mothers quickly recognize this "sign" and offer the baby a chest or a bottle.
To wean or not?
Many parents, noticing that the baby drags fingers in their mouths, direct their forces to get rid of the "bad" habit as soon as possible. But is it necessary to do this? The advantages of such actions of the child were considered above, but there are also negative points.
Until the age of two, there is nothing wrong with sucking fingers. The only thing - the older the baby becomes, the harder it will be to wean him from this process. That, in fact, is all. Finger sucking in infancy is in no way able to affect the formation of the bite and the appearance of dental problems that “experienced” people like to scare young mothers with.
So is it necessary to wean a child from sucking a finger? Yes. And it is best to do this in cases where the habit has not disappeared on its own by the age of 2.5-3.
How to do everything right? Doctor's advice
Before you get rid of the habit of sucking your finger, you need to identify the cause of its occurrence. This is exactly the advice that all experienced pediatricians give to young parents.
With natural feeding, the baby eats up for 10-15 minutes. All the rest of the time he spends on his chest is not necessary for satiety, but for pleasure. No need to bother him. The baby will let his mother go when he fully satisfies his instinct.
With regard to breastfeeding, there are a few simple rules. For example, feeding a baby on demand rather than on schedule is preferable. The second option is undoubtedly more convenient for mom. But he is not always suitable for the baby.
If the baby is breast-fed, a portion of the mixture is eaten in about 10 minutes. The sucking reflex in this case remains unsatisfied. The way out of this situation is very simple: replace the old bottle nipples with new and tighter ones. But here it is important not to overdo it! A very tight nipple will tire the baby, and he will remain half-starved.
The baby’s desire to stick fingers or a fist into the mouth when teething is very easy to satisfy with the help of special rodents.
As for other ways to learn, parents can try:
- each time replace the finger with a dummy (Avent or any other company you like);
- stick a patch on the child’s hand;
- apply a bitter non-toxic coating on the finger (the method is suitable for older children).
Some mothers and fathers get rid of this habit by the method of capturing attention. You just need to distract the baby with the help of a toy or emotional reading of a book. The baby will be carried away, he will not even have the thought of sucking fingers.
But this is not worth doing
The first thing parents should remember is that in no case should you scold the child for sucking a finger! Otherwise, the risk increases that the situation will only worsen, and the baby will become isolated. You can only gently remind him that you need to pull your fingers out of your mouth, because doing so is ugly, because he is already quite an adult and so on.
It is also better to forget about the "grandmother" methods, which include spreading mustard, salt, pepper and so on on the child's fingers. Such methods of learning are unacceptable in modern society! In addition, they can only aggravate the situation, ruining the stomach of the crumbs and provoking a "protest" from the baby. A child may begin to deliberately drag fists into his mouth at the slightest opportunity.