What should I do if my baby likes to eat his fingers?

It is quite normal for newborns to suck their fingers. However, if they continue to suck their fingers after the age of four, parents should carefully observe the baby's physical and psychological state. So what should we do if babies love to suck their fingers?

Reasons why babies love to eat their fingers

Emotional stabilization effect: For very young and tender infants and young children, the action of sucking fingers can bring comfort to the baby, reduce anxious thoughts and soothe inner tension.

Sucking reflex need: After birth, the baby has the reflex and need to suck, and the satisfaction brought by sucking the thumb is different from the feeling of drinking breast milk. These are two different phenomena and needs. Therefore, even if the baby is full, the thumb sucking behavior will still appear.

It’s fine before the age of four: Basically, before the baby’s permanent teeth erupt, sucking fingers is acceptable, so there is no need to deliberately stop it; in other words, sucking fingers before the age of four is quite normal.

Possible persistent problems: It is normal for children to suck their fingers in the early stages. However, if the behavior continues after they are past the sucking age, the psychological aspect of the baby must not be ignored. Parents should give the baby more love and encouragement so that he or she can feel the warmth of the family.

Common factors that cause babies to suck their fingers

Oral desire is not satisfied: Sucking fingers is a recurring habitual action for children. This is because the baby's dependence desire in the oral and lip stage is not satisfied, so the oral desire will be particularly strong and will be fixed near the lips, making it difficult to change the habit.

Improper education methods: An unsuitable environment or bad teaching methods, such as improper feeding, being alone, or having no toys to play with, may cause children to use thumb sucking as a way to express hunger or to entertain themselves.

Parents scold too much: If a child often cannot control himself, it is because he needs the patient assistance of his parents; if parents always help by yelling or scolding, it is definitely the worst way to deal with it.

Improper feeding techniques: If parents use incorrect feeding techniques or feed the baby too fast and fail to satisfy the baby’s sucking desire, then even if the baby is full, he or she will not be psychologically satisfied and will use the action of sucking fingers to reinforce the desire.

The child feels lonely: In fact, babies don’t like to sleep all day, but if parents are too busy or ignore the child’s need to communicate with the outside world, the child will start playing with his fingers and sucking his hands to entertain himself.

What to do if your baby likes to suck his fingers

Improve cognitive ability: Take your child outside more often and try to let your baby come into contact with different types of things to divert your child's attention. It is also conducive to cultivating your child's interests and hobbies.

Give your baby more toys: When parents really cannot spare the time to accompany their children, they can give their children some toys to divert their attention.

Correct with facial expressions: When communicating with your baby, parents should use facial expressions, gestures and language that the child can understand. Usually, you can laugh with your child and try to meet the child's psychological and emotional needs.

Appropriate zinc supplementation: When the above methods do not achieve the desired effect, parents should pay attention to whether their children are deficient in trace elements. It is reported that one- or two-year-old children who suck their fingers, chew things randomly, and grind their teeth are likely to be zinc deficient.