Babies like to suck their fingers, often out of normal sucking needs, but if they continue to suck after one year old, it is a bad habit that needs to be corrected!
Is it normal for a one year old baby to suck on their fingers?
For newborn babies, sucking their fingers is a normal behavior. On the one hand, it is their exploration of the body, and on the other hand, they also have their own sucking needs. However, around the age of one, most babies' finger sucking habits will gradually disappear. But if a baby is still fond of sucking their fingers after the age of one, it should be considered a bad habit and parents need to correct it!
Possible adverse effects of sucking fingers
1. Affects the growth of permanent teeth. When a baby is sucking on their fingers, if they happen to encounter permanent tooth growth, the direction of force applied by the sucking fingers will cause the teeth to grow in the wrong direction, thereby affecting the alignment and bite of the teeth.
2. Affects deformation of the upper and lower jaws. Due to improper direction of force applied by the baby's sucking fingers, it can cause deformation of the upper and lower jaws of the mouth.
3. Bringing in pathogens. Baby sucking their fingers is likely to bring bacteria into their mouth, causing diseases such as gastroenteritis.
How to help babies quit sucking their fingers?
1. Some parents will hit their baby's little hands as soon as they see them sucking their fingers. This not only has no effect, but also makes the baby feel depressed and emotionally uneasy, which is not conducive to their psychological development. The correct way is to patiently and calmly help the baby correct their behavior, and avoid using simple and rough educational methods.
2. If the baby is sucking their fingers out of boredom, parents can distract their attention by playing some parent-child interactive games with them, which can gradually make them forget about sucking their fingers.
3. Babies love to suck their fingers more to satisfy their physiological and psychological needs, so parents should try to enrich their babies' lives as much as possible, give them some fun toys or play with their friends, so that they can satisfy their psychological needs and gradually give up the habit of sucking their fingers.
4. Cultivate good hygiene habits in babies and patiently warn them that sucking their fingers is unhygienic and can easily bring dirty things into their stomachs, causing discomfort in their stomachs. I believe he will gradually understand what you mean.
