ÿþ<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd"> <html> <head> <title>THUMB-SUCKING</title> <meta name="description" content = "THUMB-SUCKING on Pediatric Oncall "> <meta name="keywords" content="thumb sucking,babies,angry,breastfeeding,problems,treatment "> <META NAME="robots" CONTENT="index, follow"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <script language="javascript" src="../../menu.js"></script> <style> a{text-decoration:none} .style1 { font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-size: 16px; color: #800000; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="#ffffe3" vlink="brown"> <table border="0" width="100%" align="center"> <form> </form></table> <table bgcolor="#ffddbb" width="100%"> <tr> <td valign="top"> <table bgcolor="#d3d3e9" width="100%" height="100%"> <tbody> <tr bgcolor="#ececff" bordercolor="#ececff"> <td align="middle" colspan="3" height="63"> <div align="left"><img src="../../parenting_img/common_childhood_problems_inner/ban-2.jpg" width="180" height="60"></div></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" width="100%" align="center"> <TR valign="top"> <TD> <!-- <div align="center"> --> <p><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><b><br> </b></font></p> <p align="CENTER" class="style1"><font size="4" color="#800000">THUMB-SUCKING IN CHILDREN </font></p> <p align="justify"> <font face=" Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> Most babies suck their thumbs sometime or the other. Thumb sucking occurs when the baby is hungry, seeking comfort, or teething. Parents should remember that thumb sucking is a habit that disappears on its own gradually between 3-6 years of age. </font> </p> <p align="justify"> <font face=" Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> One has often seen babies thumb-sucking when the baby is hungry. Infact is has been found that babies who feed more frequently do not suck their thumb as avidly as those who are fed at larger intervals. However, if the baby reaches for her thumb immediately after feeding it is a sign that you need to distract her from thumb sucking. It is important to control thumb-sucking right in the beginning to prevent it from becoming a habit. </font> </p> <p align="justify"> <font face=" Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> Breastfed babies are less likely to suck their thumbs. This is because breastfeeding usually satisfies the baby s need to suck. Babies who are teething have a habit of chewing on their thumbs, fingers or hands. This probably helps them relieve the itching on their gums. Parents should try not to confuse this with a thumb-sucking habit. </font> </p> <div align="justify"><br> <font face=" Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="navy"> <b>PROBLEMS WITH THUMB-SUCKING: </b> </font> <font face=" Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> Thumb-sucking can displace the baby s upper front teeth forward and the lower teeth backwards. The extent to which the teeth are displaced will depend on how long the baby sucks her thumb and how she positions her thumb. This displacement of teeth affects the baby s milk teeth and not the permanent teeth if the habit is curtailed in time. </font> <br> <br> <font face=" Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="navy"> <b>How to treat thumb sucking ? </b> </font> <br> <font face=" Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> Children usually outgrow thumb sucking between the ages of three and six. Persistent thumb sucking may indicate emotional deprivation in the child. Parents should try to identify what is bothering the child and then set it right if possible. Habitual thumb sucking can be treated with corrective measures such as restraints, elbow mitts, bad-tasting substances painted on the fingers, etc. However it may not always work. Distraction with a toy as soon as the child begins to suck the thumb may also work. Encourage the child to give up the habit without punishing or making the child too conscious of it. <br /><br /> First Created on 05-11-2004 <br /> Last Updated on 01-11-2006 <br /><br /> Note:- The appearance of advertisement or product information in the various section in the website does not constitue an endorsement or approval by pediatric oncall of the quality or value of the said product or of claims made by its manufacturer. Pediatric oncall cannot be held responsible for any consequences arising from the use of the information contained in this supplement. <br/><br/> </font> </p> <script language="javascript" src="../../Base/disclaim.js"></script> </div> </table> <p align="center">&nbsp;</p> <p align="center"><a href="thumb_sucking.asp">Back</a></p> <p><!--#include file="../bottominclude.htm" --></p> </body> </html>