my son is 5 months old he sucks his thumb when he is hungry or when he is sleepy.?

Question

he gets very irritated when i stop him. i want to stop it before he gets habituated. what should i do? is it ok if he continues with it?

Answer 1

I would try and get him to take a pacifier for a short while. Sucking his thumb will be a lot harder to break and can cause problems with his teeth in the future and it's a dirtier habit. Your hands take on all kinds of germs. Good luck.

Answer 2

This is very normal with newborns. It is not bad unless he continues it in his toddler age. A pacifier is a great way for him to suck on something until you can feed him or come to his attentions. When you stop him from sucking on something it takes the comfort out of him , and he gets irritated. So just give him his pacifier most of the time and he should stop in about 3 weeks. I hope this helps.

Answer 3

I wouldn't worry about it right now, my daughter is the same age and she will occasionally suck on her thumb while half asleep, it's just a comfort thing for them; you could ask your pediatrician at his 6 month checkup what is a good age to stop it but for now I wouldn't worry about it. My daughter, a couple months ago used a pacifier and now she hates it, I'm thinking she will also grow out of the sucking thumb thing too as she grows and perhaps your son will also.

Answer 4

A thumb is far better than a dummy (pacifier) particularly in terms of the teeth.

Personally, I think its cruel to stop him - sorry. He won't do it forever, and at 5 months, its a major comfort to him

Answer 5

I think you should let him suck his thumb till he is 1 year old but past that I think you need to make him stop.

Answer 6

let him do it for now. when hes a little older(after 7 or 8 months) if he is still doing it, try to limit it to when he is at home. at this age he needs it to self sooth....its really a good thing that he can sooth himself.