In fact, this is not just a bad habit, but an unsatisfied sucking instinct. Do not worry if the baby sucks fingers up to 4 months. Gradually, the need to suck the child to grow less and, as a rule, completely disappears in 7-12 months.
Parents often worry about why their child sucks a thumb. There are several reasons that explain this behavior of babies. If this occurs before eating, then your baby is hungry.
Children, who are on artificial feeding, often suck the thumb . After all, if the baby eats breast milk, then the mother allows him to stay at the breast as much as he wants. So the baby satisfies his desire to suck. But a child who eats from a bottle does it faster, so you need to make sure that the feeding process lasts up to 20-30 minutes. To baby slowly sucked from the bottle, it is recommended to make small holes in the nipples.
Having considered why the baby sucks the pollen, we were convinced that it is not difficult to solve this problem. But the older the age, the habit of sucking a finger can already become a cause for concern for parents.
Why does a child suck a finger in 4 years?
It happens that the child continues to suck a thumb up to 4, and even up to 6 years. This habit is dangerous because the baby can have dental problems - a wrong bite, or difficulties with pronunciation of letters, stretching the tongue during a conversation.
Consider the opinion of a psychologist, why a child at the age of 4 years sucks a finger. Among the common reasons are:
feeling of boredom, i.e. the child has no one to play with or has become uninterested in some occupation; - a feeling of fear, anxiety; the baby at this time begins to suck a finger, as if recalling that he was reassured before;
- affects the degree of immaturity of the child.
In such cases, psychologists advise not to ignore the child who continues to suck a finger. Parents should be patient and show to their child love, gentleness. Do not forbid him to suck his finger, and distract him from this habit of entertaining games, make his life more diverse and interesting.