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| |    Why Children Suck Their Thumbs by Dr. Benjamin Spock reviewed by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. Infants have an inborn need to suck. Up to age 6 months, thumb-sucking is a way to satisfy this need. After that age, children suck their thumbs out of habit or because they find it soothing. They may suck more when tired, bored or tense. Parents also worry about why their children suck their thumbs. Is it a sign of unhappiness or insecurity? The paragraphs below go into more detail about the significance of thumb-sucking, and how you can be most helpful. The meaning of thumb-sucking The main reason that young babies suck their thumbs seems to be that they haven't had enough sucking at the breast or bottle to satisfy their sucking need. Sucking also helps babies relieve physical and emotional tension. Most babies who suck their thumbs start before they are 3 months old. Babies who are fed every 3 hours don't suck their thumbs as much as babies fed every 4 hours. Babies who have cut down on bottle-feeding time from 20 minutes to 10 minutes because the bottle's nipples have become old and soft are more likely to suck their thumbs than babies who still have to work for 20 minutes. Babies suck by instinct. It's an instinct that is shared with other animals that depend on mother's milk. For example, in one experiment, puppies were fed with a medicine dropper so that they had no chance to suck during their feedings. They acted just the same as babies who don't get enough chance to suck at feeding time. They sucked their own and each other's paws and skin so hard that the fur came off. Thumb-sucking should not be confused with the thumb, finger, and hand chewing that almost all babies do from the time they begin to teethe (commonly at around 3 or 4 months). Naturally, the baby who is a thumb-sucker is sucking at one minute and chewing at another during her teething periods. The thumb-sucking that persists after 6 months is a comforting device, not an expression of sucking need. See: Thumb-sucking: When to be concerned? Most children give up thumb-sucking on their own. By age 3 or 4 years, they are aware that other children are not sucking their thumbs. They want to be grown up. After age 4, most children are highly motivated to stop, unless thumb-sucking has become the focus of a power struggle with their parents.
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