From birth, babies begin to perceive the world by eating. Observant mothers may notice that for a period of time, their babies will put whatever they pick up into their mouths to taste, and sometimes even have to eat their hands to sleep. So why do babies eat their fingers? What should babies do when they eat their fingers? How to prevent babies from eating their fingers?
Reasons why babies eat their fingers
1. Improper feeding method. The mother's feeding method is incorrect or too fast, which fails to satisfy the baby's desire to suckle. Although the baby's belly is full, they are not satisfied psychologically and will use sucking their fingers instead.
2. The baby feels lonely. Some babies do not like to sleep all day long. If the mother is too busy and neglects the baby's need to communicate with the outside world, the baby will naturally play with their fingers and suck their fingers to relieve boredom.
3. Some babies have a strong desire to suck, but they do not receive attention or satisfaction.
How to prevent babies from sucking their fingers
1. When feeding a baby, it is important to not only provide nutrition, but also offer sufficient care and warmth, and breastfeeding is undoubtedly the best choice.
2. If it is artificial feeding, the size of the nipple opening should be moderate, not too large, to effectively control the flow rate of milk and allow the baby enough time to meet their sucking needs.
3. When feeding a baby, the mother should maintain a calm state of mind, not be impatient or impatient, in order to avoid causing stress to the baby.
4. After the baby wakes up, do not let him stay alone in bed for too long, so as not to make him feel bored and put his hand in his mouth, and develop the habit of sucking his fingers.
5. If the baby has developed a tendency to suck on their fingers, it is important to gently remove their fingers from their mouth as soon as possible and use toys or other objects to attract their attention.
6. Spend more time with your baby, use your free time to talk to them, sing nursery rhymes, play with building blocks or picture books, etc., so that your baby forgets to suck their fingers during game activities.
7. Extending the sleeves to cover the fingers is also a feasible measure when the baby has a tendency to suck on them. It is not impossible to make babies give up sucking their fingers by applying bitter and spicy medicine on them, but special attention should be paid because many topical medications cannot be licked, so special care should be taken to avoid accidents.
What should I do if my baby sucks his fingers
1. Give babies more toys
Encourage babies to use their hands to pull and tug on toys, such as suspended toys and hand cranked bells, to enhance their hand skills. He will naturally understand that his hands can not only be put in his mouth, but can also be held, grabbed, and pulled, and doing these actions will be more fulfilling than sucking his fingers, so he will gradually reduce the action of putting his hands in his mouth.
2. Enhance cognitive abilities
Let the baby be exposed to various types of things, such as flowers, trees, and cars, while talking to them. On the one hand, it can teach the baby to babble, and on the other hand, it can also allow the baby to receive more stimulation from the surrounding things, increase his attention to other aspects, and avoid only thinking about sucking his fingers when he has nothing to do.
3. Use vivid expressions to correct
When communicating with a baby, pay attention to using expressions, gestures, and language that the child can understand. When a baby begins to exhibit bad behavior, it is important to use a more stern tone, facial expressions, and gestures to correct their behavior. For example, saying to the baby, 'Do not put your hands in your mouth!' while also shaking or shaking your head can indicate that this is a bad behavior.
Encyclopedia Warm Reminder: Babies need to be satisfied during their oral period in order to avoid psychological imbalance and lack of security as they grow up. Of course, finger sucking should not become a long-term habit. When correcting or helping babies quit the habit of finger sucking, it is important to gradually find the right methods and not to put psychological pressure on them.
