Thumbsucking Thumbsucking is a common habit of children. Many infants suck their thumbs during the first year of life, and over thirty percent of children continue to suck their thumb during the pre-school years. In addition, five to twenty percent continue this habit after age six. Thumbsucking is considered normal in young children, and often is connected to some other attachment, like fondness for a favorite blanket or toy. Thumbsucking is soothing and helps children to cope with different situations and emotions.
Many parents worry about a child's prolonged thumbsucking.
It may help to know that children do eventually grow out of the habit, most by the time they turn 5. Sometimes, parents' worrying about their child's thumbsucking can be damaging to the child. Since thumbsucking is usually harmless, any measures a parent uses to stop the habit should be positive and emotionally supportive. Negative treatments, like applying a bitter-tasting substance to the thumb or restricting privileges for children who continue to suck their thumb, are often unsuccessful. Nagging and scolding are likely to reinforce the habit, and may even lead to the thumbsucking being substituted by worse behaviors.