I believe mothers will find that the baby has a lovely little trick-sucking fingers. Some babies will suck their fingers, but also suck the back of their hands and arms. Some flexible babies will pick up their feet and chew them, sometimes even suck their fingers to sleep.
Why is the baby so fond of sucking his fingers?
Why does the baby love to suck his fingers?
In fact, finger sucking behavior has not only attracted the attention of parents, but also psychologists have shown great interest in this behavior of babies since they got up very early. Let’s see how psychologists explain this behavior.
Freud, Representative of Psychoanalysis:
In my opinion, the baby’s sucking fingers is related to his sexual psychological development.
Thumb sucking is an important manifestation of the sexual and psychological development of babies in the oral desire period (knocking on the blackboard). Babies indulge in thumb sucking in order to seek a pleasure that they experience and can remember.
The baby’s earliest happy experience comes from sucking breast milk. The happy experience brought by sucking breast milk is the most important for the baby. Therefore, when the baby cannot suck breast milk, the baby will look for an experience similar to sucking breast milk to regain the happy experience.
When the baby grows teeth and sucking is replaced by chewing, the baby will gradually give up sucking fingers, because the baby no longer needs to be self-sufficient at this time and can use food to satisfy the pleasure area of his lips.
When the baby grows up and kisses his lover in French style, it is actually the need of this pleasure area that urges him.
On behalf of Miller, Learning Theory:
The upstairs is too dirty. How can pure babies be linked with sex? Sucking fingers is actually a behavior acquired by babies.
Babies learn that sucking is related to the satisfaction of hunger, the security of being embraced and other pleasant experiences during feeding. Therefore, whenever the baby wants to continue to maintain, repeat or recall this pleasant state, it will perform the behavior closest to it-sucking the finger.
When the feeding time is reduced and the baby learns to use the cup, the baby’s finger sucking behavior will be reduced, because the correlation between sucking and the pleasure of being fed at this time has become weaker and weaker, and the baby’s interest in non-nutritious sucking habits will also be weakened.
Representative of Biopsychology:
What you think is too complicated. For the baby, Sucking fingers is actually a manifestation of sucking this instinct. The reason why babies have this instinct is that they have to rely on breast-feeding to survive. In fact, ultrasonic scanning has long found that sucking fingers has already occurred before the baby was born, and the baby has sucked fingers when it is about 15 weeks old.
Babies can also exercise their lower jaw, tongue and facial muscles by sucking their fingers, because the muscles related to the mouth are not fully developed at birth and have to be exercised by sucking their fingers.
I have experimental support. Electromyography (EMG) results show that the neuronal activity of orbicularis oris muscle and lateral pterygoid muscle will be improved when sucking fingers.
Consequences of Forcibly Preventing Babies from Sucking Their
In fact, the psychologists upstairs are all right, explaining the reasons for the baby’s finger sucking behavior from different aspects. Therefore, parents, for the baby at the beginning of development, finger sucking behavior is completely normal.
As long as parents pay attention to the cleanliness and hygiene of the baby’s fingers, they will not have a bad influence on the baby’s what.
On the contrary, if parents forcibly prevent their babies from sucking their fingers because they are too worried, it will bring many negative effects to the babies.
Negative Effects in the Near Future: Babies Will Be Unhappy
The baby will get pleasure and security when sucking his finger. If he forcibly pulls his finger out of his mouth, the baby may become anxious and insecure.
Long-term negative effects: psychological problems arising from adulthood
According to Mr. Fowler’s theory of oral desire, If we always don’t let the baby suck his finger when he wants to suck it, The baby’s psychological development may be affected. For example, the baby may be afraid of being criticized and dare not express his thoughts and wishes. It may also be insecure in later interpersonal relationships. In addition, the baby may also have bad habits such as nail biting, greedy eating, smoking and drinking when he grows up.
Do you want to indulge your baby’s finger sucking?
Parents should allow their babies to suck their fingers properly, but if the babies have nothing to do, they will suck their fingers, or the frequency of sucking their fingers has not decreased after one year old, which may attract the attention of parents.
Excessive finger sucking may be due to the baby’s lack of caress and attention. Parents should give the baby more company and play with toys so that he will no longer focus on sucking fingers.
In addition, babies will suck their fingers when they are not feeling well. Therefore, when we realize that the baby has been sucking his fingers, we should see if the baby may be sick or hungry.