Why do toddlers love to suck their thumbs?

My friend Xiao Ai posted a \”Help\” circle of friends. She asked everyone: My 2-month-old daughter loves to chew her fists. How can I correct this bad habit of hers? Many novice parents will have such \”troubles\”. Once they see their baby sucking their fingers, they can\’t help but want to correct it. As a senior mother of two children, I advise you not to stop your baby. Babies can’t escape the “temptation” of fingers. Why do I advise you not to stop babies from sucking their fingers? Because finger eating has a very important impact on babies. First, the development of the oral phase of infants. Scientific parenting knowledge: Complete video collection of infant and toddler home care encyclopedia videos. When babies are born, their mouths will suck their mother\’s nipples. As they grow older, they develop a desire for the outside world. Babies begin to use their mouths to make sounds, eat fingers, etc. , these behaviors are all developing in the oral stage. The oral period plays an important role in a child\’s life. If the oral period is satisfied, the baby will not only be comforted in his heart, but also feel a sense of security and pleasure. At the same time, his sense of smell, taste, muscle coordination, etc. will all be well improved. development! Therefore, what everyone must do when they are babies is sucking their thumbs! Secondly, transitional objects. Psychologist Zeng Qifeng once said this: The greatest gift God has given to us humans is that our mouths have been very well developed and have strong sucking power when we are born, so that we can get enough nutrition and life. Go down. As teacher Zeng Qifeng said, the first satisfaction that the mouth brings to children is sucking, which allows newborns to satisfy their body\’s need for breast milk through sucking. As the age of the baby continues to increase, the baby\’s mouth not only stops at sucking the mother\’s nipple, but also begins to look for external substitutes. At this time, the finger is the best transition object. Clean, safe, and a transitional object within easy reach. Finally, intellectual development. The famous educator Suhomlinsky once said: A child\’s wisdom is at his fingertips. When a baby eats from his hands, his intelligence is actually developing. Touching the mouth with the fingers will stimulate the baby\’s brain neurons, thereby promoting brain development. Strictly speaking, the brain development of a baby who likes to eat his hands is faster than that of a child who doesn\’t like to eat his hands or is prevented from eating his hands by adults. Don’t do these two things during the baby’s oral period. Many new parents or older adults have no idea about the “oral period” of babies. Therefore, during the oral period, two things are often done, which affect the development of the baby\’s oral period. The first thing: You shouldn’t stop your baby from eating Doumiao, the cousin’s daughter, who is 5 years old and a beautiful and cute little girl. But this kid has a habit that makes people look at him and shake his head, which is sucking his thumb. No matter what time, you can always see her with her thumb in her mouth. The adults corrected me many times, but to no avail. I went to the hospital for a checkup and there was nothing wrong. Later, after many rounds of verification, I discovered that the reason why Doumiao was still eating his hands at the age of 5 was because when the oral stage was developing, he was always prevented from eating his hands by the experts around him. This is a mistake that many adults often make. They always feel that it is wrong for babies to eat their hands. Therefore, once they see the baby put their hands into their mouth, they will nervously take them.come out. As everyone knows, this move caused two problems for the baby. 1. Delayed Oral Appetite Stage. Blocking of the infant\’s Oral Appetite Stage will lead to \”Delayed Oral Appetite Stage.\” If this stage is allowed to transition normally, he may not eat his hands again in six or seven months. If they are satisfied, some children will still eat their hands even when they are 5 or 6 years old. 2. Psychological trauma: Babies perceive the world through their mouths and gain psychological satisfaction. If it is blocked, not satisfied, and traumatized, the baby will feel insecure and panic about the surroundings. To adults, it may seem like a bad habit for babies to eat their hands, but in the growth process of children, eating their hands is a necessary process. Some studies have found that babies\’ hand-eating is the result of staged development, just like turning over, sitting up, and walking. So, stop trying to stop your child from eating. The second thing: Ignore the hand-eating. Some parents are too nervous about their baby\’s hand-eating, while some parents turn a blind eye to it. In their view, eating hands is just for children to play and they don’t need to take it seriously. You can become addicted to anything, including hand eating. Parents should note that eating hands before the baby is 1 year old is a normal development of the oral stage, but if the baby continues to eat hands after 1.5 years old, it needs correct guidance. If they are not guided after 1.5 years old, hand-eating will become a habit. When they feel bored or anxious, they will eat their hands unconsciously. At the same time, it is also believed that eating hands causes many bad oral habits, such as uneven teeth and buck teeth. Three tips to help your baby transition through the oral phase. The oral phase is an important part of a baby\’s growth. How can parents help babies transition through the oral phase better? As a mother of two children, I would like to share with you 3 tips. Tip 1: Allow your baby to eat your hands. If you find your baby eating your hands, don\’t rush to interfere, but feel happy. It proves that the baby is growing up healthily. Compared with lying down and crying, they have begun to develop new skills. At this time, parents should allow babies to eat their hands and let them perceive the unknown world through their mouths. Tip 2: Keep your baby hygienic. The oral period has stages. From eating your own hands, to eating surrounding objects, to eating other people\’s hands, etc., these all belong to the development of the baby\’s oral period. At this stage, mothers should take good care of their baby\’s personal hygiene, as well as the hygiene of toys and people around them, to avoid bacterial infection of the baby. Tip 3: Help your child divert their attention. During the oral period, you can learn about things and objects around you by eating your hands. However, long-term hand eating will have an impact on your child\’s habits and oral health. This requires parents to help your baby divert their attention. force. Of course, the transfer of attention cannot be forced. It can be done in two ways: the first is for parents to have more contact with the baby, hug him and touch him. When the baby feels the touch of parents, the sense of security will increase. This will reduce hand-eating; in the second case, when the baby eats the toy, the parents will first allow it, and then help them understand the correct way to play with the toy. Through these two methods, we can step by step help the baby reduce his dependence on fingers during the oral period. The oral period is a normal stage in a baby\’s growth. Adults should not make a fuss about it, let alone try to stop it. You have to know that once a certain stage of a child\’s growth is missing, there will be many problems in the future.It takes a long time to make up for it. Once parents discover that their babies are eating their fingers, it is actually a good sign, indicating that their intelligence and various senses are developing rapidly. However, you need to observe whether it is short-term or long-term. If it is long-term (lasting until after 2 years old), you need to help the baby divert his attention during the oral desire period!