Attention should be paid to every aspect of a baby's development from the moment they cry for the first time. The behavior of each stage can reflect the baby's developmental status. A few months old baby is very cute and always likes to put things in their mouth. Sometimes they use their hands and feet to stuff things into their mouth. When a baby loves to eat their fingers, it can be very troublesome for their mother. Let's learn how to deal with a baby eating their fingers.
What should babies do if they eat their fingers
1. Accompany your baby more to give them a sense of security, happiness, and satisfaction. This way, the child will not comfort themselves by sucking their fingers and providing them with suitable toys. Gradually, the child will reduce the movement of putting their hands into the mouth.
2. When encountering a situation of cannibalism, quietly intervene while providing interaction and response. Help the child distract and continue with the various contents of the bedtime ritual.
3. Enhance babies' cognitive abilities and encourage them to participate in various types of activities. Encourage children to have more exposure to the stimuli of their surroundings, increase their interest in other things, and provide them with new and healthier ways and support through a variety of activities.
What are the signals for babies eating fingers at different ages
1. It's normal for babies aged 2-3 months to eat their hands
2-3 month old babies do not know that their hands are their own. By chance, they notice their hands and put them in their mouths, eating sweetly and contentedly. This is a child's exploratory behavior that does not need to be stopped.
2. Eating hands in infants aged 4-6 months is a development of perceptual ability
After 4-6 months, babies can grasp toys with hand eye coordination. They not only eat with their hands, but also put any objects they catch into their mouths. Parents don't need to be nervous or stop them, and oral exploration is beneficial for the development of babies' perceptual abilities.
3. Babies aged 7-12 months can relieve toothache by eating their hands
After 6 months, most children have teething, and the baby will feel uncomfortable when teething. The child comforts themselves by biting their fingers, fists, or other objects.
4. 1-2 year old children need guidance when eating their hands
After the age of one, babies eat their hands mainly to seek a sense of security. A relaxed and warm family atmosphere will increase children's sense of security, and parents should avoid excessive criticism and blame. If a child focuses on eating their hands for a long time, parents need to guide the child to shift their attention from their fingers to brightly colored things such as toys and picture books.
For babies who love to eat their fingers, it is important to have a correct understanding. The signals transmitted by babies eating their fingers vary greatly at different stages. During infancy and early childhood, it is a normal phenomenon for babies to eat their fingers, especially before June. It is also considered a sign of their intellectual development. However, if babies still love to eat their fingers after the age of one, special attention should be paid.
