Thumb sucking in children is completely normal and natural child behavior. But that does not mean that it is a good thing, in fact, parents should be careful about this. It is a reflex act that almost all babies do and that, on occasions, will accompany them years later. The problem with this habit is that it entails a series of serious consequences for your health that should not be underestimated.
But why do children suck their thumb? The main reason for this action has to do with the feeling of relaxation and well-being that it transmits to them. Children feel safe and, in many cases, it helps them to fall asleep. The drawback of this is that, if this custom is not ended in due time, it can cause certain damages to the minor's oral health.
One of the main consequences of thumb sucking in children is linked to the appearance of deformities in their mouths. This so-called “finger sucking” causes problems to develop during facial training. Among the most frequent is the deformity of the palate. That is, the action of thumb sucking affects the natural shape of the mouth and makes the palate acquire a convex shape.
Another type of malformation is that the upper jaw does not grow enough. This does not only mean that the child will suffer from a disproportion from the aesthetic point of view. But they will also suffer from functional problems, such as inflammations, cysts or various alterations that will affect their day to day.
Dental malocclusion is also a risk to consider. The act of thumb sucking distorts the bone growth of the jaw and teeth. The result will be that the child will have problems chewing.
To all these possible consequences we must add the speech difficulties that children who suck their thumb sometimes present, which affect their language and phonation ability.
Mothers and fathers can use certain strategies to get children to stop thumb sucking. One of the most efficient is distraction, that is, attracting his attention with games or another series of activities so that he does not pay attention and stays busy. To this it is convenient to add positive reinforcement, which implies replacing scolding with praise when their behavior deserves it.
And, in the most complicated cases, you can resort to certain specific products that are applied to the finger so that it acquires an unpleasant taste that causes immediate rejection by the child.
