Should we stop babies from eating their hands? If they exceed this age, we have to take care of it. The reason is obvious…

It is a very common phenomenon for babies to eat their hands. Although it looks cute, parents often worry more. For example, will eating their hands cause any bacterial infection? Will it affect teething? Is there any psychological abnormality…Should we stop the baby from eating hands? The first thing to tell the mother is that it is normal for babies to like to eat hands. Babies all over the world have this hobby! Reasons why babies eat their hands: 1. Human primitive reflex: Babies are born with a sucking reflex so that they can successfully suck breast milk after birth. This ability is innate, and some parents can see their babies eating their hands during an ultrasound. 2 Oral Appetite Stage Babies in the oral stage explore the world through their mouths. Whether it\’s eating hands, biting feet, biting quilts or biting nipples, this is a process of exploration. Through the mouth, he gradually knows that \”hands\” are his own hands and \”feet\” are his own feet. 3. Self-soothing: Babies eat their hands to cope with negative emotions such as anxiety and uneasiness, just like some adults shake their legs and pick their fingers when they are nervous. 4 Teething In addition, babies in the early stages of teething will also eat their hands to relieve tooth itch and pain. Benefits of baby sucking hands 1. Intellectual development: Many babies start sucking their fingers at the age of 2 to 3 months. This can be said to be a signal of the baby\’s intellectual development! Sucking your fingers can promote the growth of the cerebral cortex, and you can learn about your body and the world by \”sucking everything\”. 2. The development of the motor system: the baby goes from eating the whole fist to sucking a certain finger dexterously, which shows that the baby\’s hand-eye coordination ability and ability to control his own movements have increased. 3. Soothe emotions. When nervous, uneasy and other emotions occur, babies can reduce their own anxiety by sucking their fingers! But…but, everything has a degree. Before the age of 2, because the baby is in the oral stage, the exploration of the outside world is felt through the mouth, so there is no need to deliberately intervene at this time, just pay attention to hygiene! But if you still eat your hands frequently after the age of 3, this is not a good habit. Long-term hand eating can cause problems such as uneven teeth arrangement, inability to bite the upper and lower teeth, peeling of the fingers and even infection. Therefore, after the age of three, it is necessary to slowly guide and intervene, but it cannot be forcibly prohibited! Note: If the baby under 2 years old has caused serious effects by eating his hands, such as peeling of the fingers, sunken nails, etc., it is necessary to guide the baby to stop eating his hands in time! How to guide and correct? Babies after three years old still frequently bite their hands, which is mainly due to emotional problems. They may be wronged, psychologically stressed, or insecure. So the most important thing at this time is to solve the baby\’s emotional problems. 1. Provide high-quality companionship. Parents should provide high-quality companionship and give enough love to reduce the baby\’s sense of insecurity and anxiety. 2. Divert the attention: \”Baby, look there is a plane in the sky.\” While diverting the attention, hold the baby\’s little hand that wants to eat. At this time, the baby will stop eating from the hand. 3. Exposure to more different things. The older the baby grows, the more things he is interested in, and eating hands gradually becomes less important! Bringing your baby into contact with different types of things can effectively reduce attention to your fingers. 4. Instead of comforting objects, you can look for other suitable comforting objects, such as bears, rabbits, toys, etc. If a baby relies on his hands to fall asleep, you can give him a comfortnipple. Elderly people in the family usually think that eating hands is a bad habit and will stop the baby from eating hands. But for babies, eating hands is just a normal stage of development. So about eating hands, parents can tell the elderly about it, and everyone can learn together!