How to stop baby sucking/eating her fingers/fist

T

taysty

Registered User
My baby is nearly 4 months but recently she loves to put her fingers/fist inside her mouth alot no matter she is full or bored or wants to sleep. I wanted to quit her out of this habit by giving her soother but am not successful.
 
Why would you prevent your baby from doing this ? there is nothing more natural for a baby to put her finger/hand/fist and toes in her mouth, as well as anything else she'll find on her way. That's they way to discover their world.
 
unfortunately this is the stage that they are in - they are exploring - I'd only start worrying if habit were to last till 1year old...for now, keep her hands clean so no germs go in...
 
My 6 month old has the same problem. It weren't so bad if he would not leave drool everywhere. And also as the weather is cold, his little hands are now wet and cold all the time.
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I now put on bib on her which she hates it. I felt sorry for putting on a bib as i personally thought bib is for feeding not for her saliva only. Maybe, i should just give her more chewy books or etc to let her explore rather than her little fingers/hand.
 
EVERY baby goes through that stage. Just because they go through that stage doesn't mean they will still be doing it when they are 3 or 4 (if that were true, EVERY 3-4 year old would be doing it). Apparently, the mouth has an even "stronger" sense of touch than the fingers, so that truly is the most effective way for them to explore the world. In addition, around 4-6 months, they often start teething and so chewing on things can relieve the discomfort.

I personally think that I'd start correcting it if a) they were hurting themselves by it, or b) if they were well and truly old enough NOT to be doing it. At four months, it really is age appropriate though - and letting her wear a bib all the time to collect the saliva is probably a better response than trying to MAKE her stop... and it's easier on you too!! Chances are, she'll grow out of it soon enough :)
 
Thank you all for your advices. Now i've reassurance from non first time mum that my baby can quit when the times come.:flower:
 
I wouldn't, it's part of their development. A small minority of babies/children are very 'mouthy' and they put things in their mouths and need to suck way past when most children give it up, that's when you get those nightmare stories of people not giving up the thumb or pacifier for years. My son is one of those babies and he sucks his thumb all the time but I know if it wasn't his thumb it would be a pacifier or blanket or whatever, it's just part of who he is and he'll grow out of it eventually.

For the vast majority of kids they go through this stage then stop on their own.
 
My boy is 2 and still sucking his thumb. I get comments nearly every day from the locals, always have. I don't mind so much, but apparently it's a real no-no here. I don't see too many Chinese kids sucking their thumbs.
 
I don't know what is worse, sucking on a finger or a pacifier. My baby sucks on both. He use the pacifier to sooth himself to sleep, and sucks or his fingers or hands when he is bored. What I do sometime is to take his hand out of his mouth and give him so toy to grap
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@ Gataloca

I dont know too. I would think fingers/hands are worse as fingers/hands are always readily available? When she is feeling sleepy i tried to replace it with a soother, if bored i gave her toys sometimes. Anyway, i cant really stop as many mummies comment that it is a stage that every babies go through. And i cant put my eyes on her 24 hours.
 
Shenzhennifer said:
My boy is 2 and still sucking his thumb. I get comments nearly every day from the locals, always have. I don't mind so much, but apparently it's a real no-no here. I don't see too many Chinese kids sucking their thumbs.
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Us too! I don't mind as I know he'll stop when he's ready, like I said in my earlier post, I think it's just the way he is and if it wasn't his thumb it would be a dummy or a blankie or something, but people comment ALL the time!
 
same here... our baby is nearly 4 months and he chews on anything, but his index finger seems to be his favourite! sophie the giraffe would come in a close second!

seems that he chews on his fingers or side of his palm when he is bored or trying to get himself to sleep. we are totally fine with him doing it, and actually prefer it this way then him using a dummy (which he hates since newborn anyway). we just try to keep him occupay with other toys, games, story, songs etc and always wipe his hands clean with a towel.

what i can't stand is people (esp passer-by, strangers in restaurants) commenting on it and trying to pull my son's finger out from his month, why are they worry when his parents are right there and happy with it?

btw he started being a bit moody this weekend and started crying without reason and chews more then before, will that be teething? so soon?
 
Shenzhennifer said:
My boy is 2 and still sucking his thumb. I get comments nearly every day from the locals, always have. I don't mind so much, but apparently it's a real no-no here. I don't see too many Chinese kids sucking their thumbs.
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You know what I don't get? That is SUCH a no-no here, but locals often give their kids bottles until they are MUCH older than that! I've seen kids having bottles in public in the middle of the day at even as old as FOUR or so!! I think that's MUCH "worse" personally. In western countries, a child is generally weaned from the bottle at the latest by two, and if it goes on later than that, it would be maybe one bottle a day right before bed. I don't get the discrepancy... I'd much rather a two year old thumb sucker than an older child still dependent on bottles!
 
@ blessed

Your son might be teething. For my case, there's a break through in gums when she not even 3 months. We only found out when she doesn't want to drink much, very moody and chew her fist to sleep.
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@ nicolejoy

Good job on pointing out. That leads me to another question how old to wean off formula milk? I know of one still giving formula when more than 4 years old.
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Most Westerners do it between the age of 1-2 - they will transition to cows milk instead. Over here though they make formula for kids up until five or so!!

I don't think it's an issue whether you give formula or cows milk - but I do think that a BOTTLE past 1-2 years old is not great. Besides it's not good for their teeth... Giving it in a cup would be much better for them - regardless of whether it's formula milk or cows milk.

(that said, neither is a pacifier and I'm still working on getting my two year old off that!! I think I need to just go cold turkey one day and stick to it...)
 
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