Thumbing occurs mainly in young children and has a function. When children are bigger, thumbing also offers many disadvantages, we will discuss that in this article.

Why do young children keep their fingers crossed?

For infants, thumb sucking can be a natural and instinctive way to calm and comfort themselves. Sucking is a reflex for babies, and it can help to relax and calm them down. It can also help satisfy their sucking needs if they are not hungry or not ready for a feeding.

Some research suggests that babies who learn thumbs earlier and can calm themselves down faster than babies who don’t thumb. It can also help with the development of the mouth and jaw muscles, which can later contribute to speech and chewing skills.

Why unlearn the thumbs?

It’s important to note that thumbing can have long-term negative consequences, such as dental problems, such as crooked teeth or a wrong bite. If a child is still thumb sucking after 4 years, it may be wise to look at ways to help the child stop thumbing.

Tips to stop thumbing

Thumbing is a common habit in children and can be difficult to stop. Here are a few suggestions that might help:

1. Be positive: Encourage and praise your child when they don’t cross their fingers. Give them compliments for their efforts and remind them that stopping thumbing takes time.
2. Identify the triggers: Pay attention when your child thumbs and identify the triggers. This can be when they are bored, tired, anxious or insecure. Understanding these triggers can help you find ways to reduce or eliminate them.
3. Talk to your child: Discuss with your child why it’s important to stop thumbing. Explain how it can lead to dental problems and infections and help them understand why it’s a good habit to break.
4. Find alternatives: Help your child find an alternative habit to do if they feel the urge to thumb. This could be something like a stress ball or a fidget spinner to keep their hands busy. Or a bite chain to meet the chewing need. After all, this chewing need does have a function for your child (as comfort, relaxation or focus)
5. Reward your child: Create a reward system where your child is rewarded for not keeping their fingers crossed. For example, this could be a sticker card where they get stickers for every day they don’t thumb and if the card is full, they get a reward.

The most important thing is to be patient and support your child throughout the process. It may take a while for your child to stop thumbing, but by staying consistent and rewarding for positive changes, they will eventually succeed.