Health and Suppliments

One of the most common habits associated with children under two is thumb sucking, which is generally related with the need to seek food. This habit may build up as hobby for a bored child or, more commonly, as a coping device to pacify a nervous moment. But sometimes children gets engage to sucking thumb even when they are relaxed, listening to stories or during the bed time.

Remember, the thumb may not always be clean and this means some health complications for the child and vigorous thumb sucking can become the cause of many dental problems. Younger kids have soft and flexible jawline and this habit can cause reshape of the jaw bone. The habit can also influence defective alignment and position of the teeth besides causing infections around the fingernails resulting in spread of transferable diseases.

Let us read about some easy ways to stop thumb sucking so that this may not develop into a bad habit over a period of time.

1. Try to stop the thumb sucking habit at the time permanent teeth of the children are coming in, which is usually around the age of 4-6 years.

2. As a parent, you are required to take necessary actions in the form of qualified medical guidance to prevent the child from developing the habit of thumb sucking.

3. Talk to your child, tell him the reasons and ways to work together to stop the habit, don’t force them to stop or this will reinforce the habit. To motivate a child, a parent can reward the progress, praise the efforts, and offer quality attention when the child is not sucking the thumb.

4. Never get frustrated or express anger at your child when he is sucking the thumb as such an attitude tends to make the habit worse.

5. Try to find the cause of habit, whether the child does it for comfort or due to nervousness and then try to eliminate the cause by spending time with your kid.

6. Provide a substitute and keep them busy (ball or snacks).

By observing these small tips, you can keep your child away from thumb sucking to a significant extent.

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