The moment your child first discovers their fingers and toes, many babies do build a habit of having a fascination with sucking their thumbs. Well, this wasn’t the very first instance for many of us since an ultrasound appointment during pregnancy with a grainy photo of your kid happily soothing in the mother’s womb. It would have been good to watch when your kid was just born but now things have changed and your child is probably growing with age. Hence as a parent, it becomes your duty in getting them to stop sucking their thumb. It might seem easy but that’s not the same with the issue. A lot of pediatric dentists in different parts of the world have been studying the particular issue, for example, the center for observation of kids dental care at Pediatric Dentist in Roanoke, indicated that for some the habit might go away while monitoring them, but for some, it can become a clear headache. Your kid is not going to get away from anything particular by sucking their thumb, so there is no need to worry but it is also true that now is the time to implement a good idea to help your kid with kicking out the habit at a certain point of time. Although your kid may stop their thumb sucking when they reach kindergarten (which happens normally with a lot of kids ), there are strategies and products that can help with the process.
1. Ask Them How They feel:
You obviously know your kid better and the first question that you should intervene with on the issue of their thumb-sucking should be about how they feel while doing it. The real motive behind the question is to make them aware of the thing that they have developed as a habit and don’t know that it should be outgrown at some point in time. Asking them a direct question would help both of you. It will let them realize why they do it and their answer to the question will most likely impact your sense of treating them with smoothness.
2. Learn About Thumb Sucking Together:
Kids are fascinated by TV series and cartoons. Through this medium, broadcasters have made a way out to teach them about the consequences of thumb sucking. We can also take part while watching the show and learning important aspects of the issue. You can also schedule an appointment with a local dentist who would help you by giving relevant information on the subject also indicating the possible outcomes, also if you are somewhere near Roanoke, do recommend Children’s Pediatric Dentistry Roanoke for further details and guidance on the subject. Thus there are various ways by which you as a parent can learn as well as get your kid acknowledged about the subject. This is surely going to help as they will learn about the worst-case scenarios and maybe they can give up on thumb sucking.
3. Offer Rewards In Return:
Children do love surprises and gifts and if you will offer them rewards in return for not sucking their thumb, there is a possibility that they may slowly and gradually kick side their habit. Although this would be a slow process and in return, you have to monitor your kid closely who cares if it is bringing you the desired results.
4. Using a Finger Guard:
A finger guard is something that covers all the areas of the thumb and thus resists your kid’s urge to suck the thumb. Since they are made of plastic or other materials, therefore they won’t allow your kid to chew or suck the guard. These guards are available at your nearby medical stores and if you are someone who works all day long, a finger guard can be the most preferred choice as you won’t have to look after your kid every now and then to keep a check on their thumb sucking.
5. Building Rules and Regulations:
Your kids follow your activities to learn new things or you as a parent guide them in doing various activities of life. Since you can devise a set of instructions, therefore setting a new rule about not sucking the thumb can be included in their schedule. Also, try to remind them every now and then that this activity needs to be stopped, and slowly you will observe the change in their habits. Hopefully, they will outgrow this habit soon to avoid any further complications.Â
Conclusion
While you cannot force your child to follow a certain habit, you can for sure impart good habits when following a process that is both rewarding as well as easy to grapes for your child. Apart from these tips that we gathered after talking to some of the experts at kids dental clinics in Roanoke you can always visit your pediatric dentists and learn more about the same.