A child, like an adult, can have their own bad habits, which is quite difficult to cope with. Someone wraps hair on a finger, someone bites his nails, someone cannot fall asleep without a specific toy, and someone sucks a finger. Many mothers are wondering how to wean a child to suck a finger.
Why does the child suck a finger?
To wean a child to suck a finger, you need to first determine the reason why he does it.
Children’s psychologists argue that sucking a finger is an action that arises in addition to the will of the child in response to certain situations. For example, in this way the baby can cope with a sense of anxiety.
The most common reasons why the child sucks a finger is:
Lack of attention from parents.
Lack of emotional contact with the mother.
A feeling of dissatisfaction.
Stress, nervous tension, strong emotional experience.
Unsatisfactory emotional climate in the family.
To wean a child from this habit, take a closer look at him and determine the reason for its appearance. Try to remember when this habit appeared for the first time and how it could be fixed.
How to wean a child to suck a finger
Children’s psychologists say that all attempts to wean a child from this habit will come to naught if you constantly forbid your child to do this. You can’t also shame the child, punish him – all this can seriously aggravate the situation and you will get the opposite effect. Of course, in some cases, these methods bring the desired result, but, as a rule, this habit can manifest itself at a later age as a habit of gnawing nails.
After determining the reason for the appearance of a habit, you can try to wean a child to suck a finger. First of all, try to establish a trusting relationship with the baby, if possible protect him from emotional overloads, reassure the baby in time to relieve anxiety and anxiety.
Praise the baby more, especially for his independent actions – this will help to relieve the feeling of anxiety in the child.
An attempt to occupy a child is considered to be a fairly effective way: play with him more. Role games will help your baby try on various behavior methods, he will learn to interact with other people and this will help him gain self -confidence. Games in which fingers are busy are also perfect: modeling of clay, plasticine or salty dough, pouring cereals, pebbles, sand, various games with you. Try to give the baby as many tactile sensations as possible – this will help you wean him from a bad habit.
Let your child draw and sculpt as much as possible – in this way he will be able to throw out his anxiety and fears.
Be sure to devote time to your child before going to bed: talk to him, read his fairy tales.
Remember that getting rid of a bad habit is not so simple, sometimes it can take more than one month of hard work.
If you wean a child to suck a finger, does not come out
To wean a child to suck a finger – the task is not easy, the tips listed above do not always help. If you have already desperate, pay your attention to the “grandmother” methods.
1) Light the child’s fingers with something tasteless, such as aloe, levomicitin, horseradish or mustard. To wean to suck tasteless fingers is easier, though?
2) Wash your finger bandage. Suck a bandage not only tasteless, but also unpleasant. True, a child can learn to shoot or peak a hole in the bandage, so this method does not always act.
3) put a glove or sock on your hands. It is advisable to fix them with a bandage. Since no finger will not be available, the child will stop sucking them. Over time, the habit will pass by itself.