The truth is, you don’t really have a choice in the matter. I don’t think it’s possible to force your baby to start sucking the thumb, or stop for that matter, but here are my thoughts after having one of each.
My daughter, from about the time she was 4 months old found her thumb. I remember how cute I thought it was. I remember still trying to give her a pacifier instead. But, she was over it. She wanted nothing to do with it after she found her thumb. Now, she is 4 and a half years old, and still sucking it. Yikes! But, I try not to worry too much. She only does it when she is sleeping. But, still. Her teeth have suffered a great deal from that little sweet thumb! However, when she was a baby, I loved it. She was a very good baby. Partially due to that thumb of hers. When she was sad, angry, tired, you could count on that thumb going in the mouth and her other hand going behind her ear. It was a great soothing method for her. She started sleeping through the night as soon as she found that thumb.
Now, fast forward to my son. He is two now, and loves his pacifier. He didn’t care for it much at first, but I was rooting for him to find his thumb. He did. Once. But, then he never put it back in his mouth again. For a while, he would copy big sis and stick his index finger in his mouth, but he wasn’t sucking. It was kind of cute how he wanted to be just like big sister!! But, the pacifier was a struggle to get him to like in the beginning. Maybe I pushed it a little too much. Maybe I got up at night a little too much to put it back in. Because, really, he wasn’t a big fan for probably about the first year. But, after that, something changed. All of a sudden I saw him putting it in his mouth more often. Now that he is more verbal, he asks for it during the day. I try to limit it, but at the same time, when your child is throwing a fit in a store screaming, “Paci!!” you are going to give it to them!
But, ideally, it would be great to have a child that didn’t have either, right? While we all know that sucking is a reflex when they are infants, if they continue to suck, then they will still use that reflex as their source of comfort. I think my kids have a very strong sucking reflex. This made them both great nursers too. It is a battle when they get older no matter what method you choose. If they thumb suck, it seems it’s harder to break that habit, but if they have a pacifier, it’s equally hard to take it away for good. Probably for the parent as well as for the child.
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