How to Stop the Thumb Sucking Habit

Every baby is born with a natural sucking instinct. It is what makes the baby take its feeds. The sucking instinct though wanes by the time the infant reaches between three to four months of age. Thumb-sucking, on the other hand, develops more like a baby's comfort-seeking mechanism.

Thumb or finger-sucking is sometimes seen to be developing as early as 15 weeks. Within the womb, the developing fetuses have their hands very close to their faces and it isn't much difficult to find their thumbs or fingers. You can take online help to prevent finger sucking habit in children.

Once the baby is born, though, it cannot coordinate enough limbs to bring their fingers in their mouths, and often produce a lot of face scratching. At the time they were three to four months, they can easily guide their fingers into their mouths, and it is when the habit actually seems to take a foothold in the baby's life.

Some children find it easier to suck their thumbs, while others may have some other favorite finger. Some may even find comfort in pacifiers if their parents have given one of them. Thumb-sucking through the age of two to four years of age is not much alarming.

Most children will give up the habit when they have found other more interesting activities to do with their hands. Some children, however, continue to suck their fingers far beyond the age of 6 years.