3 month old baby sucking his fingers

We all know that babies like to suck their fingers when they are young, but this habit is very bad, so many mothers will take their babies' hands out of their mouths when they find that their babies are sucking their fingers. In fact, babies sucking their fingers may be due to a lack of certain trace elements in their bodies. Mothers can take their babies to the hospital to check for trace elements. So what should you do if your three-month-old baby sucks his fingers?

Why do babies eat their fingers?

1. Physiological needs

The act of sucking fingers has different meanings for babies before and after 6 months. Babies under 6 months old suck their fingers purely to satisfy their sucking needs.

Babies under 6 months old suck their thumbs purely to satisfy their sucking needs, so this is particularly obvious when they are bottle-fed or hungry.

The sucking reflex is an innate and unconditional reflex. When the lips of babies under three months old are touched, it will cause their sucking reflex. This reflex is an instinct to maintain survival and is particularly excitable. Therefore, babies, especially those under three months old, like to suck their fingers in order to satisfy their sucking needs.

Breastfed babies can suck milk to their heart's content and have more time to satisfy their sucking instinct, so thumb sucking is less common. >>Why do babies love to suck their fingers?

2. Emotional Needs

Generally, when the baby is 6-7 months old, the phenomenon of sucking his fingers will naturally disappear.

If the baby continues to suck his fingers after 6 months, it is no longer to satisfy the need for sucking, but a manifestation of masturbation needs.

Babies after 6 months are emotionally fragile. They are afraid of leaving their parents and familiar people around them, and are particularly attached to their relatives. At this time, they have their own initial demands for independence, so they often suck their fingers when they are tired, nervous, depressed, or separated from their closest people. They use sucking their fingers to comfort themselves.

After 8 months, babies suck their thumbs much less than before. But if you always suck the fingers of one hand, long-term sucking of fingers is a signal and we need to intervene early. Other normal ones do not require much intervention.

Always sucking one finger is a signal. When playing games, the child plays with one hand while eating with the other hand. This habit may be delayed until the child is three or four years old.

<<: Why does an 8-year-old boy sweat when sleeping at night?

>>: Why does a six-year-old child sweat while sleeping at night?