Why does a 2-month-old baby suck his fingers?

Babies begin to develop after they are born. The standards for baby development include not only height and weight, but also language and ability to move. Two-month-old babies have begun to suck their fingers, but many parents worry about whether the bacteria on their hands are unhygienic and whether their babies are teething. Let us now understand why a two-month-old baby sucks his fingers.

Sucking your thumb indicates that the baby's psychological development has entered a new stage - the differentiation of finger functions and the initial stage of hand-eye coordination. It is a signal of intellectual development. The brain of a newborn is not yet fully developed and cannot control its own hands. 2 to 3 months after birth, as the brain develops, the baby begins to show hand movements. At this time, the baby sees hands as a very interesting toy.

Putting fingers in mouth may seem simple to adults, but for babies, it means that their motor muscles and muscle control ability work together to achieve great success. This requires the coordination of four reflex behaviors: bending the arm into a small arc, relaxing the motor muscles and extending the fingers, searching and putting the hand into the mouth, and starting to suck. What a complex and amazing skill this is for a baby! Parents should not blame the baby, but be happy for him!

Parents often mistakenly believe that sucking fists or fingers means the baby is hungry or not full, but this is not true! This is a healthy way for babies to comfort themselves. The famous psychologist Freud believed that eating is the best and most important way to obtain satisfaction in infancy. Babies aged 2 to 3 months are in the oral pleasure period. If their sucking needs are not met, it will affect their physical and mental development and lead to negative emotions such as irritability and depression. If parents observe carefully, they will find that when the baby feels uneasy, irritable, or nervous, sucking his fingers will calm the baby's emotions. Some babies, when in a light sleep, will suck their fingers to seek self-comfort and fall asleep again. In short, thumb sucking is a psychological need and a transient behavior during the baby's growth process. Under normal development, babies will not develop the habit of sucking their thumbs, and parents do not need to worry or try to stop it.

The above is an explanation of 2-month-old babies sucking their fingers. In fact, sucking fingers is a normal sign for babies. They like to put everything in their mouths. This means that they have a certain curiosity about things in the outside world. However, if the baby's hands are not clean, do not let the baby suck his fingers to avoid symptoms such as indigestion.