How to break the thumb sucking habit in your baby - How to stop Thumb sucking in babies in Hindi

Infants have an innate urge to suck. When they get an excessive urge to suck and there is an absence of breastfeeding or bottle-feeding, the baby will end up sucking his or her thumb. The learned behaviour theory stipulates that competent mothers usually make sure that the baby’s nutritive needs are immediately and quickly satisfied by breastfeeding or bottle feeding. Even though the nutritive needs are satiated, it does not mean that the need for non-nutritive sucking is also gratified - and this leads to thumb-sucking as a response to the absence of a bottle or breast to suckle on.

Based on Freudian psychoanalytic concepts, the emotional theory stipulates that thumb sucking is related to the oral stage of child development. Freud believed that during the oral stage, the infant derives pleasure or gratification through the mouth. The mouth is the all-absorbing organ of pleasure during the first 18 months of life, and thumb sucking is a way to enhance this pleasure. But if thumb sucking continues beyond the first 18 months or the oral stage, then it has turned into an oral fixation and is considered to be a sign of regression. This fixation and regression is a sign of emotional disturbance, which means the child needs emotional support to let go of the habit.

According to a study published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis in 1974, contingent reading therapy has also shown results in conditioning children during early childhood against thumb sucking. This therapy can be done at bedtime when children like to listen to stories to fall asleep. Since thumb sucking is associated with sleep in early infancy, especially below 3 years, this method can be used to teach the child not to suck the thumb (thereby nipping the habit at its budding stage).  

All you have to do is stop reading or telling the story every time your child sucks their thumb, remind them about this bad habit, and continue the story once the thumb sucking is stopped. Repeat this cycle every time the child tries to suck the thumb during bedtime, until it reinforces this habit as a bad one in their head.

A type of appliance therapy, the three-alarm system needs special mention here because it has a tried-and-tested approval rate among therapists for severe cases of thumb sucking. This system involves three sets of alarms that are triggered in the child’s mind by placing three devices. Originally, a bandage was placed on the thumb, which the child tasted first and was revulsed. An elbow brace with a small needle then poked the child, which was a painful alarm. The elbow brace then tightened to stop the arm’s movement, which was the third alarm.

This system was devised by dentists Norton and Gellin in 1968 and has since been revised to suit children better. The needle has now been removed, and a more complicated elbow guard has been created to issue all three alarms without injuring the child in any way. If your child’s thumb sucking is severe and continuing way beyond the age of 5 years, then you should talk to a dentist about using the three-alarm system for therapy.

This form of therapy is usually done when the positive reinforcement and preventive therapy don’t show enough results and with the help of a dentist or doctor. Fixed or removable habit-breaking appliances, like braces with rollers or rakes, elbow-guards, etc are used to make the act of thumb sucking uncomfortable or impossible. This style of therapy also includes the three-alarm system created by dentists LA Norton and ME Gellin.

Thumb sucking starts out as a normal habit that relaxes or soothes a baby in early infancy, but continuing it until after 3 years of age is a sign that there are elements in the environment that are making the child insecure, stressed, anxious or sad. If you identify those triggers and prevent or modulate them, then your child will not feel agitated and, in turn, will not need to suck on the thumb. Separation from one or both parents as they go back to work after maternity or other leaves, spending a night away from home while travelling, a disruptive or violent home environment, verbal or physical abuse, etc can be triggers for thumb sucking and need to be dealt with to break the habit.

During the early stage of life, especially up to the age of 5 years, your child is likely to learn behavioural cues from the parents, relatives, family friends and kindergarten. If the child is sucking their thumb then people within this circle can use positive reinforcements to stop the habit. This means constantly reminding the child that thumb sucking is bad, explaining all the problems it can lead to, and rewarding them when they stop or for quitting the habit.

Because the thumb constantly presses against the palate or the roof of the mouth while thumb sucking, the roof will gradually become high-arched and lead to other complications. A high-arched palate means that your child’s tongue will not normally touch the palate, and this can lead to a narrowed airway and breathing problems like sleep apnea. A high-arched palate can also lead to speech and taste issues in your child.

As your child grows up, his or her hands will be exposed to all sorts of surfaces and the germs latched onto them. If your child sucks his or her thumb, then chances are that these germs will easily be transferred to the mouth and then ingested, leading to bacterial infections, fungal infections and viral infections.

The thumb is constantly in touch with moisture in the mouth in the case of children who suck their thumb. This continuous exposure can lead to problems in the skin of the thumb, apart from making it look narrow. The thumb can begin to look calloused, and the skin can crack and bleed. Because of the constant pressure and moisture, the thumbnail can become warped and cause ingrowth or peeling.

If the shape and alignment of the teeth and palate are changed due to continued thumb sucking, it can lead to many types of speech impediments. Your child can find it difficult to pronounce hard consonant sounds like D and T. Lisping is another speech impediment that usually occurs in children who suck their thumb. You might get speech therapy for your child in these cases, but they won’t be completely effective until the deformities in the mouth and palate are corrected.

In this type of dental malocclusion of tooth misalignment, both the upper and lower front teeth are directed outwards. This means that your child’s upper front teeth will not touch the lower front teeth, even when the mouth is completely closed. Because of this gap in the teeth, your child’s jawline will be long and it will affect his or her face and smile. An open bite can be treated with orthodontic treatments, but in severe cases, orthognathic surgery might also be needed to correct this.

This type of dental malocclusion or tooth misalignment refers to the jutting out of the upper front teeth. Due to thumb sucking the upper front teeth are directed outward, and instead of the baby’s upper and lower front teeth touching normally, the upper teeth will overlap and hide the lower ones completely. This misalignment will affect the shape of your baby’s face and smile, and he or she will need orthodontic treatments like braces to correct this.