Dad and mom report quite a lot of methods to interrupt the habits. Credit score: Sara Schultz, College of Michigan Well being C.S. Mott Kids’s Hospital Nationwide Ballot on Kids’s Well being,
Pacifiers and thumb-sucking may also help soothe infants and ease them to sleep, however some dad and mom battle with realizing when and the right way to cease these habits, a brand new nationwide ballot suggests.
About half of oldsters say their baby at present or beforehand used a pacifier, whereas 1 / 4 say their baby sucked their thumb or fingers, based on the College of Michigan Well being C.S. Mott Kids’s Hospital Nationwide Ballot on Kids’s Well being.
Specialists level to many advantages of pacifier use and thumb-sucking, with the American Academy of Pediatrics recommending providing pacifiers throughout sleep to assist scale back the chance of sudden toddler dying syndrome, or SIDS.
However some dad and mom polled really feel they waited too lengthy to cease the behaviors.
“For newborns, sucking is a natural reflex that they use for feeding and can help them calm themselves as they adjust to stressors in their environment,” stated Susan Woolford, M.D., a pediatrician at U-M Well being C.S. Mott Kids’s Hospital and co-director of the Mott Ballot.
“Pacifiers and thumb-sucking can be lifesaving by reducing the risk of SIDS but their use should be short-lived, as the benefits of these self-soothing techniques decrease as babies get older. Prolonged thumb-sucking or pacifier use may impact dental health and possibly speech development.”
To scale back potential long-term results—comparable to misalignment of tooth or modifications to the form of the mouth—some consultants advocate phasing out these habits as early as six months of age.
When and the right way to finish pacifier use or thumb-sucking
Dad and mom say their kids mostly turned to pacifiers or thumb-sucking at bedtime, naptime, or when harassed or fussy. But the habits prolonged into different moments as properly: one in 10 pacifier customers and almost 1 / 4 of thumb-suckers relied on the behavior whereas watching TV or movies. About 18% of oldsters say their baby used the pacifier nearly consistently.
“These self-soothing behaviors are a natural part of early development,” Woolford stated. “But when they persist beyond the toddler years or start interfering with daily routines, it can signal a child is seeking comfort in the absence of other coping tools.”
Greater than half of oldsters consider the perfect age to cease thumb-sucking or pacifier use is earlier than two years outdated. Whereas many kids stop these behaviors on their very own, dad and mom might typically must intervene, Woolford says.
Dad and mom report quite a lot of methods to interrupt the habits. Widespread strategies to cut back pacifier use embrace limiting it to bedtime, hiding or “losing” the pacifier, telling the kid they’re too outdated for one, or eradicating it when the kid is distracted. One in 10 dad and mom say they even minimize a gap within the pacifier’s nipple to make it much less interesting.
Amongst dad and mom of thumb-suckers, 18% gave their baby a stuffed animal to carry as a substitute, whereas one in 11 utilized deterrents like scorching sauce, Vaseline, or mittens to discourage the habits.
Woolford recommends dad and mom regulate methods to cease pacifier use or thumb-sucking based mostly on the kid’s age, temperament, and the way and after they use the pacifier. Some kids will be satisfied that they’re getting too massive for the pacifier, maybe by studying a ebook or watching a video in regards to the matter, she says, whereas different kids could also be motivated by stickers or different small rewards.
She provides that some kids might have to be phased out of pacifiers, beginning with limiting their use to sure conditions. However others could possibly make a clear break, maybe by having the “pacifier fairy” take it away, so the kid is aware of it is now not there.
Substituting a stuffed animal or comfortable doll may additionally present an alternate self-soothing possibility for the kid, she says.
“As children get older, parents should encourage them to rely less on pacifiers and thumb-sucking for comfort and develop other strategies to self-soothe,” Woolford stated.
“Parents should recognize that this may be an emotional transition for their child, and approach it with kindness and patience.”
Extra data:
Ballot: mottpoll.org/studies/helpful-o … rs-and-thumb-sucking
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College of Michigan
Quotation:
Ballot reveals some dad and mom say they waited too lengthy to cease pacifier use or thumb-sucking in kids (2025, Might 19)
retrieved 19 Might 2025
from https://medicalxpress.com/information/2025-05-poll-reveals-parents-pacifier-thumb.html
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