Once A Thumb-sucker Always a Thumb-sucker?
My baby is a thumb-sucker. She is the only one of my three kids to have this habit. Strangely, she only sucks her left thumb. She sucks her thumb when she is tired or cranky.
I will be honest, I have always found the baby's thumb sucking habit to be very endearing. It's uniquely her. Then again she is only 10 months old and I find everything about her to be fantastic. You know what they say about a Mother's love.
I have never stressed about thumb sucking. I have often told amused family and friends that I was sure by the time she went to college she would no longer be sucking her thumb. Even the dental implications of the habit have never fazed me. Given my husband's and my genetic backgrounds she is likely to need braces anyway. See, I have always assumed that one day she would just grow out of thumb-sucking. That is until now.
A few weeks ago I came across a funny little piece by Betsy Shaw. Betsy sucked her thumb as a baby and toddler.
You see, Betsy is a well adjusted and happy Mother of 2, wife, writer, and thumb-sucker. According to Betsy this pacifying habit that I find so sweet is something the baby may do forever. At first I was shocked. This news goes against everything I have ever been told about the habit. Do some people really never outgrow thumb sucking?
Some time has passed and I have had a chance for this new information to sink in. Will I eventually try to place the baby in thumb sucking rehab? Maybe. I'm guilty of letting peer pressure get the better of me from time to time. For now though, I think I am OK with the fact that I have a little thumb-sucker even if the habit is here to stay.
What are your feelings on thumb sucking?
Link
I will be honest, I have always found the baby's thumb sucking habit to be very endearing. It's uniquely her. Then again she is only 10 months old and I find everything about her to be fantastic. You know what they say about a Mother's love.
I have never stressed about thumb sucking. I have often told amused family and friends that I was sure by the time she went to college she would no longer be sucking her thumb. Even the dental implications of the habit have never fazed me. Given my husband's and my genetic backgrounds she is likely to need braces anyway. See, I have always assumed that one day she would just grow out of thumb-sucking. That is until now.
A few weeks ago I came across a funny little piece by Betsy Shaw. Betsy sucked her thumb as a baby and toddler.
I continued to suck my thumb all through Kindergarten, grade school, high school and college…..
You see, Betsy is a well adjusted and happy Mother of 2, wife, writer, and thumb-sucker. According to Betsy this pacifying habit that I find so sweet is something the baby may do forever. At first I was shocked. This news goes against everything I have ever been told about the habit. Do some people really never outgrow thumb sucking?
Some time has passed and I have had a chance for this new information to sink in. Will I eventually try to place the baby in thumb sucking rehab? Maybe. I'm guilty of letting peer pressure get the better of me from time to time. For now though, I think I am OK with the fact that I have a little thumb-sucker even if the habit is here to stay.
What are your feelings on thumb sucking?
Link
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