Baby sucking tongue: reasons, advice to parents

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Baby sucking tongue: reasons, advice to parents
Baby sucking tongue: reasons, advice to parents

Video: Baby sucking tongue: reasons, advice to parents

Video: Baby sucking tongue: reasons, advice to parents
Video: Pediatrician Shares: How Much Your Baby Needs to Eat and How to Know They're Getting Enough - YouTube 2024, November
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Caring for a baby, young mothers often face difficulties and troubles: they establish breastfeeding, fight colic, teach and wean from the pacifier, teach them to fall asleep without motion sickness, fight various bad habits of babies. Babies have them too. In addition to pacifiers, the child sucks the tongue or thumb, and many mothers are very concerned about this fact.

Dummy to help

Parents at first try to make friends with the baby dummy. The pacifier has a calming effect on the baby and satisfies the sucking instinct. Thanks to the rubber little thing, the child falls asleep faster, has fun, does not pull any unnecessary objects into his mouth, and does not cry after eating. For mothers, a nipple is a great help in caring for a baby. But many babies completely refuse the charms of this attribute. One child sucks his tongue, the other prefers to keep a finger or a piece of sheet in his mouth.

When a baby sucks on a finger, pacifier or other thing, parents are not particularly worried, as they can take away a foreign object from a child or stick it outfinger from the mouth during sleep. But when a child sucks his tongue, mothers are lost, they don’t know what to do: how to wean their own child from the habit?

baby and tongue
baby and tongue

Bad habits

Sucking on a finger, lip, tongue or any object can be both a harmless habit and a serious cause for concern. You should consider in detail the causes of occurrence, observe the child in order to understand why the child sucks the tongue.

sucks tongue
sucks tongue

Reasons for tongue sucking

There are several common reasons why a baby uses their own tongue as a pacifier.

  1. Sucking reflex. Sucking is an important skill in the first months of a baby's life. Thanks to him, the child receives food. In addition, the process itself gives the child great pleasure.
  2. Calm down. Sucking on a pacifier, finger, tongue and lip has a calming effect on the baby. Many babies rock themselves by sucking on their tongue, fingers, or a corner of the blanket.
  3. Entertainment. Babies spend the first days, weeks of their lives monotonously. They spend most of their time sleeping or feeding. They still do not know how to play, and the growing organism requires a variety of actions, so the child sucks his tongue. This way he gets pleasure and entertainment at the same time.
  4. Development of the brain. The sucking instinct encourages the baby to put objects and hands into his mouth. The baby learns the world by licking and sucking. At the moment when the child sucks his tongue or finger, the maximum number of muscles of his face are involved, whichbeneficial effect on brain development.
  5. Lack of care and attention. One of the negative reasons why a child constantly sucks his tongue may be a lack of parental love and attention. If the mother is cold to the child or holds strict views on parenting, this can adversely affect the psychological perception of the world by the baby. The child feels lonely, unnecessary. He is uncomfortable, lacks hugs and maternal affection. In such cases, he constantly sucks his tongue - this action calms him and makes up for the feeling of uselessness.
  6. Hunger. In some cases, the child sucks the tongue due to malnutrition. Usually the baby starves in dysfunctional families or in those who adhere to a strict diet.
  7. No pacifier. Parents must understand: the sucking instinct in babies must be satisfied. Babies just need it. If the baby quickly gorges on breast milk or is on artificial feeding, then the sucking instinct will not be sufficiently satisfied. In this case, the pacifier will be useful, since its absence provokes sucking of the tongue or fingers.
baby sucks tongue
baby sucks tongue

Attention to the baby

Some parents do not pay attention to the fact that the baby sucks the tongue. They consider this phenomenon transient, which after a while will pass by itself. In many cases this is what happens. But do not ignore thumb sucking, you need to watch the baby and analyze his behavior.

kid laughing
kid laughing

Helpful tips

If mothers decide to fight the addiction, then before weaning the child from sucking the tongue, you need to determine the reasons.

A few simple tips to help parents.

  • Spend a lot of time with your little one. Don't be afraid to spoil him. Carry on your arms, sing lullabies, caress and kiss him, talk softly to him.
  • Take care of the calm atmosphere at home. Loud unexpected sounds and screams can cause fear and nervous breakdown in the baby.
  • Pay attention to the child's diet: is he getting enough food and liquid. Many mothers tend to believe that when breastfeeding, the baby does not need water - this is not true, especially if the milk is fatty. After eating, provide the baby with clean boiled water. Drink it from a spoon or bottle.
  • Play with an older baby. Read books to him. Display rattles and clean rubber toys. Entertainment available for the age category will help you get distracted and not get hung up on addictions.
  • Don't neglect the pacifier. Do not force a pacifier on your baby, but do not shy away from it either. Most people spent the first years of life inseparably with a pacifier, but did not spoil the bite and have good teeth. Do not listen to superstition, do what is best for your baby.
restful sleep
restful sleep

Calm, only calm

It happens that a kindergarten child sucks his tongue in his sleep. It comes from excitement, frustration or overexcitement. In this case, calm the baby, spend time with him before bedtime,pat on the head, sing a song. In no case do not scold the baby and do not shame him!

With a wise approach, attention, patience and unconditional love, every baby will safely say goodbye to the habit of sucking the tongue.

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