Thumb sucking

The Thumb sucking or Suck is an innate, human reflex that is completely normal in infancy. However, if the behavior does not stop on its own in older children, this can become problematic. Thumb sucking must be counteracted here with consideration for the jaw and palate.

What is thumb sucking?

The Thumb sucking is a human habit. Here, the newborn or toddler puts their thumb in their mouth to suckle or suckle.

Sucking the thumb is basically an extremely natural process that is placed in the cradle of every baby at birth and in most cases is unproblematic. In many cases, the reflex disappears on its own by around two years of age. It is assumed that children calm down by suckling and thus cope with stress independently.

Babies also find comfort, protection and security in such behavior. In many cases, thumb sucking does not only involve chewing one's own finger. Children often also use familiar objects such as blankets, soft toys or clothing to suck on.

causes

The causes of the reflex of the Thumb sucking are deeply rooted in the innate behavior of humans. The child already has the sucking reflex when it has just been born.

Accordingly, sucking on the thumb is one of the first activities that the child instinctively and unaided. As a result of this reflex, a newborn baby starts sucking immediately when his lips or even just the tip of the tongue comes into contact with a foreign object such as the thumb.

This phenomenon, which can also be found in monkeys, is particularly evident from the fact that food intake is guaranteed during the first year of life. From a psychological point of view, thumb sucking is not just a sucking reflex, it is also a form of self-soothing in small children, even adults.

Diagnosis & course

The rule among specialists was that the Thumb sucking is completely normal and harmless up to about three years of age. However, if the behavior continues beyond this age limit and can possibly even be observed in adults, one must not only speak of a bad habit, but also of behavior that is harmful to health.

However, not all medical professionals attribute a negative meaning to "sucking" in adulthood. Thumb sucking is considered calming, comfortable and stress relieving, even among adults. Despite all of this, thumb sucking is often an embarrassing taboo subject among adults.

With increasing age, the constant suckling behavior can usually lead to a misalignment of the teeth. Growth progresses quickly, especially in critical infancy, the incisors are pushed forward and tilted by the constant thumb sucking. In the later course, however, in most cases, jaw misalignments also develop, which last a lifetime and can only be corrected with difficulty and with great effort.

Treatment & Therapy

Do not show permanent harm in children because of the incessant Thumb sucking treatment of the problem is inevitable.

The rule always applies: the earlier the better. Basically, the pacifier is always better than the thumb, so a substitute activity for the child makes sense initially. From the age of three, in view of possible permanent damage to the teeth, cognitive strategies must be used to stop thumb sucking.

It is often useful to give the child an understanding of the dangers of their habit and to modify their behavior through praise and positive reinforcement. Sucking on a pacifier, which serves as a substitute, is also an option up to about the age of five, although dentists usually recommend that this option should also be completely ruled out at an early age. Basically, however, rubber is far more compatible than any other foreign body.

However, if thumb sucking continues into older children or even occurs in adulthood, psychological problems can also be assumed. If suckling is perceived as annoying, treatment by a psychologist is appropriate, who will get to the bottom of the causes of this form of self-soothing.

prevention

Since the Sucking and sucking the thumb If it is an innate reflex, there is hardly anything that can be done preventively to prevent the behavior.

However, studies in recent years have shown that the number of thumbsuckers is far lower among children who have been breastfed. The reason for this is probably the very long, intensive time units that are spent sucking the mother's breast.

In this way, the children completely satisfy their reflexes while they are eating and then no longer feel the need to suckle their fingers. Therefore, even with babies who are bottle-fed, it is important to allow them to suckle for a long time.