Feb
05
2009
Thumb or Pacifier?
It is amazing to see how each child can be so different although being produced by the same set of parents:p
Kor-kor sucks his thumb so frequently and vigorously nowadays. He loves to put everything into his mouth and the same goes with Di-di as well.
Reasons why I let him suck his thumb:
- thumbs are always there so Kor-kor can comfort himself easily
- it does not fall on the floor and catches dirt
- aren’t tied to
children’s clothing by potentially dangerous strings that can get
caught on thing
However many said that pacifier is always a better choice for babies for easier weaning purpose. I read that both thumb sucking and pacifier would eventually lead to orthodontic problem if not wean early.
My only concern is that I do not want my sons to be “sau nga” (jaws out of alignment) in future. I do not have such problem with QQ previously. Would love to hear how other mums handle kids with thumb sucking behavior.
i personally prefer pacifier because u can wean kids anytime they want. the most is they cry for 2 wks asking for pacifier.
as for thumb, its always there, u wanna wean oso not easy. my cousin’s son sucked his thumb till there was a bump on his finger, and one day i told him cannot suck coz his thumb very ugly, wah, he stopped immediately liao even my cousins told him many times. perhaps from someone else…
a friend’s friend’s kid sucked the thumb till its deformed.
sau nga is a small problem, there is always braces. my ian sucked pacifier till 1+ and oso no sau nga. and i believe it is individual or born with it.
here it goes my opinion!
My boy sucked his thumb until near to 2 years old, but his teeth are ok. We tried to wean him, but to no avail. When he’s about 2, he understood better, and my mom tried the reward method. If he didn’t suck for a day, mostly just for sleep and nap, he would get a gift. This continue for like a week and he’s totally weaned off.
But my boy tended to bite his thumb when he’s teething, and we had to bring him to the paed because the cut was pretty bad.
my lil missy is on pacifier, i personally thinks that pacifier is better than thumb. but tats my opinion lah. hmmm… either one also not good la! but apa nak buat
JS used pacifier, coz my MIL asked me to give her. She had that until way past 2 years old, hard to wean.
Never offer pacifier to WH or JL and surprisingly they do not suck thumb either, maybe I’m their walking pacifier.
Hmm….I had a horrible experience with Bryan with the pacifier. He had to have it the entire day. So I cold turkey and weaned him off at 6 months. With Brandon, he sucks his fist until the surface smooth already……but I think I rather the thumb lor. No need to find in the middle of the night hahaha
my colleague’s daughter used to suck her thumb but weaned off when her thumb got infection and need to be wound with rag. Doctor said the infection maybe caused by too hard suction or her tumb was in wet condition for too long until germ can easily grow when not sucking time..
But I’m not sure how it happened.
I prefer giving the child the thumb, I’d seen kids who speak slower because constantly there’s the pacifier in the mouth.. but when you use the thumb, the child has to stop sucking if he/she wants to participate in activities using the hands (unlike pacifier, your hands are still free with the pacifier in the mouth), and hence more interaction will happen.
Zara was psychoed into quiting the thumb… e.g, thumb sucking made her hands so rough and ugly etc. She stopped totally before she turned 21 month.
My daughter Jasmine used pacifier, wean off just before she turn 3 years old. My son Edmund dont want pacifier, so he sucked his finger - 3rd & 4th finger, not thumb. Now there is a small bump on his 3rd finger. And so far, his teeth is quite nice, no ’sau nga’.
my 4yo Clarissa still sucks her index finger! got a hard bump there already. she only sucks when she sleeps now. i think i will only wean her off the moment her milk teeth starts dropping. no heart to “torture” her. oh ya…be prepared to visit the clinic due to mouth infection once they start crawling!
my elder son’s paed recommends thumb but my twin’s paed recommends pacifier. even between paeds there is difference of opinion. i guess the choice is yours, let ur baby decide which is better for them. as for weaning off, i just rubbed a little bit of bonjela on my son’s thumb and he didn’t suck his thumb after the bitter taste in his mouth. i am planning to use the same trick for the twin’s pacifier soon.
i prefer thumb sucking too, but sad that my Eli prefers pacifier! Thumb at least doesn’t need any cents…LOL
Happy Chinese New Year to you and your family!
I think both also no good. Lynn has this comfort sucking to sleep when I was breastfeeding her last time. So when I was not around, she sucks her thumb to sleep. The nanny tried to give her pacifier but to no avail. Now no more breastfeeding, but still sucks her thumb to sleep. Until now got bump on her thumb, still sucking even though we tell her very ugly. Sigh… so difficult to wean off. Had tried with ginger, ubat angin, chilli also no use. Well, maybe i should try shoppingmum’s reward method.
As for Hao, thank god the teether can satisfy him. So i don’t have to worry about weaning off thumb or pacifier.
i would prefer pacifier, thumb might not b cleaned as the bb tend to touch tis nad tat moreover too much sucking on the thumb will cause infection…. i think on weaning part no need to worry, it actually depends alot on the kid itself, i wean samuel wen he was 1 but he usually onli takes it during sleep and as for jesse she doesnt like pacifier since born but we keep on forcing her to take hahahah coz she makes alot of noise at nite, but she still refuse altho once in a while she suck for fun wen she was a baby
i think it is common..Ariel also love to suck thumb..but we will slowly remove because if she suck too hard, sometimes ppl said will injure the thumb..not sure how far it is true…
so, we usually dont let her suck too long…also she is not on pacifier…
i think different baby different lor…but sucking thumb is common to almost all babies…
Hi Chin Nee,
Happy “Niu” Year to you and your family….Hope you enjoy the long holiday like I do…
I can’t resist to see your twins boy….so cute!….and well done to you as I see you like a superwoman can look after the kid and babies with baking at the same time….salute you!
It’s been sometimes i nvr drop comment at your blog but I did hop to ur blog everyday to update your twins picture (if any)…lol….but when I see your title today it’s attract me so as a friend I would want to share some info with you…
My Leon boy used to sucks his thumb when he was at the age like your twins now….according to article it’s to comfort and soothing them but my sil advise me as she read an article before saying that there is several cases happen before whereby some babies sucks their thumb till turn into infection and like almost get “rotten”….it’s really scared me out I dun want my baby become liddat..
At first, I really struggling while wean him off the thumb sucking..I will beat him lightly and say no! or else I put him paci…after sometimes it’s just go off liddat…and I’m lucky also as he is OK when I give him the paci during his nap so i think he will cause the jaw problem…but every babies is diff as this may apply to me but not to others…that I agree so we cannot compare with others lor….but you may give it a try
hmm…didn’t know about the sau nga part. won’t drinking from milk bottle do that? anyway, ashley sucks her thumb too and when she was younger, she sucks it a lot. Now, she only sucks it when she wants to go to sleep. It is harder to wean though but I let her wean it off herself. No point forcing her
oh, the skin on her thumb is quite rough now because of the sucking but then, i’m not too worried about it.
Luckily i dont have a problem with either, but my son does love to bite me instead!
wish i can help u but i also need help!
rye li is three already and still sucking her left thumb. i’m praying no. 2 doesnt suck her thumb but i find she’s sucking on her mittens at times…i did introduce 2 her the pacifier in the 1st month but she didnt like it so now i’m jst praying she doesn’t find her thumb eventually.
but good 2 c the other responses u got from this post. i’m also learning!
Hahahah..both my first 2 boys suck their thumbs. Then No.1 lost first tooth and stopped sucking thumb. I was hoping No.3 also suck thumb…for comfort-sleep la..but no la…stubborn fler just wouldn’t do it. He prefer to rub his ears instead! HAHAHAHAHAH..good la for me.
Now…only No.2 suck his thumb..but i see no problem la… coz he oni do when he go to zzzz…
So far only Twin Preston doing it. but occasionally only. For yours, I think its ok. Still young.