Many people talk about the consequences of thumb-sucking but not many talk about the benefits. Fortunately, you can learn everything you need to know about thumb sucking and its potential benefits with a search online.
Thumb sucking is a perfectly natural thing for little ones to do. The medical community is a little split over this issue. However, there are some benefits to thumb-sucking – or at least, there are reasons why it might not be such a terrible thing.
It teaches how to eat from an early age
Thumb sucking is something that a fetus does in the womb. It’s completely natural and it comes as a result of human instinct. While the intention is obviously not to eat the thumb, the act of sucking on the thumb allows a baby to discover how their mouth and tongue work. At a stage when they aren’t eating solid food, this gives them important practice and teaches them the function of the tongue, teeth, and lips from an early age.
Thumb sucking as a toddler serves this same purpose, as a baby moves on from milk to solid food.
It’s comforting
Just like adults like to curl up in the fetal position in bed, babies like to suck their thumbs. These actions that we perform in the womb are solidified in our minds as something comforting and they become a habit.
Sure, it’s important that a toddler learns to comfort himself or herself without doing this one day, but at this age, it’s not really the biggest thing to worry about. Most people quickly begin finding other ways to comfort themselves.
It’s a sucking reflex for breastfeeding
For young children, sucking the thumb helps them stay capable of breastfeeding. The sucking motion is necessary in order to drink from a bottle, too, making this an essential part of learning for a baby. This is the reason why a baby does this in the womb. So, don’t worry too much about thumb-sucking. It’s merely a habit formed in the womb and designed as a survival mechanism.
It can help organize their biorhythm
One surprising effect that thumb sucking has is its ability to organize a disorganized biorhythm. If you haven’t heard of the term, a biorhythm is a recurring cycle in the body, relating to mental, emotional, and physical activity. Specifically, thumb sucking can help organize a toddler’s sleeping schedule, as well as other emotional biorhythms, making it actually quite an important thing for them to do.
It lowers their risk of developing allergies
Recent studies have suggested that thumb-sucking could actually reduce a child’s likelihood of developing certain allergies. A new study published in the journal Pediatrics discusses a study done at the University of Otago’s Dunedin School of Medicine in New Zealand by Bob Hancox.
Hancox explains that the study suggests that a reduced exposure to bacteria, by not sucking the thumb, could mean that a child is more likely to develop certain allergies in older age. The study suggests they could be up to 30% more likely to develop allergies.
Exposure to bacteria is good for the immune system
Following the same line of logic, it’s thought that early exposure to bacteria by thumb sucking could actually help a child develop an immune system. It’s for this reason that many parents will discuss the merit of letting their children play in the mud.
Allowing a toddler to come into contact with bacteria will help them build up immunity and become healthier over time. By stopping your child from sucking their thumb from an early age, you can be limiting their immune system early on.
It may help in social situations
Toddlers can be notoriously tricky when they’re unhappy about something in a social situation. If you’re out in public and you’re having difficulty with your toddler, sometimes there is no reasoning with them. Letting a child suck their thumb in this kind of situation is often the best way to keep them calm and collected while you leave the public space to try and solve the problem privately.
It improves emotional stability
Obviously sucking a thumb is calming and relaxing for a child, but this impact goes beyond simply keeping a toddler happy. In fact, thumb-sucking can be a good thing for a child’s emotional stability.
Babies and toddlers who suck their thumbs when they feel sad or worried are showing an amazing ability to form a habit that helps them cope with their emotions. This is an early coping mechanism that can help them form different habits with the same effect in later life. It’s pretty amazing, really!
It teaches toddlers to de-stress
When you take away a pacifier from a toddler, you are taking away their ability to make a choice. You obviously can’t take away a toddler’s thumb, and so by letting them suck their thumb and come to their own decision about stopping sucking it, you are helping your child learn to de-stress on their own terms.
Eventually, your toddler will realize that other things have the same effect as thumb sucking and their habits will change, and it will be all their own doing.
It makes night times easier
Let’s face it – trying to get a toddler to fall asleep is not an easy task unless they’ve had a super busy day of running around and playing. For this reason, it’s important to let a toddler relax on their own terms, and that might mean letting them suck their thumb. If it helps your child feel comfortable and relaxed, then that’s not something to turn your nose up at. It makes nighttime much easier!
It has the potential to increase nervous activity in the orbicular oris (smile) muscle
Studies have also shown that thumb sucking in young children helps increase the amount of nervous activity in the orbicular oris muscle. This muscle is basically responsible for smiling and the movement of the cheeks and lips, meaning it can have an effect on a child’s ability to speak and communicate.
By stopping a child from thumb-sucking, you could be damaging the progress and development of these muscles, so remember not to be too harsh over it!
It improves the flexibility of pterygoid muscles
The pterygoid muscles are the muscles that control the jaw. The development of these muscles is reliant partly on suckling at birth and even the sucking of the thumb at early age. Much like how thumb sucking can affect the development of the orbicular oris muscle, it can do the same for the pterygoid muscles. For this reason, it’s important to let children do what they feel is natural and right to help ensure that their jaw muscles function properly in older age.
It reduces their chance of developing jaw tension
As per the previous point, a child could in fact develop jaw tension as they get older. Jaw tension is a result of an underdeveloped or damaged muscle which makes it difficult to use the jaw as efficiently as normal. This not only affects eating, but it can actually affect the way a child talks, causing speech impediments and slow speech development.
It helps teach self-control
Learning to stop sucking a thumb can be better than being forced to stop. From an early age, a child may want to do things that their parents tell them not to, making some things a challenge for their ‘rebellious’ side. Letting a toddler come to their own decision about stopping sucking their thumb – even with a little gentle push from mom or dad – can help them learn self-control from an early age, so it’s well worth giving it a try.
Consider talking to your toddler about how only babies suck their thumbs. They may come to the conclusion that if they want to be a ‘big’ boy or girl, then they have to stop sucking their thumb.
It’ll save you money!
Okay so this probably isn’t the reason you would want to let your child keep sucking their thumb, but let’s face it – it’s cheaper than buying new pacifiers all the time!
In all seriousness, it’s worth considering these potential benefits of thumb-sucking for your toddler. Just make sure they’re not doing it into their later childhood!
Learn More About Thumb-Sucking Today
While thumb-sucking does have its advantages there are some risks to be aware of. Fortunately, you can learn more about thumb-sucking with a quick search online. Consulting your child’s pediatrician can also be helpful.