Last week something new happened to me as a mother. Something that has never happened before despite my having 3 babies already. Anna started to suck her thumb! Now Anna is only 14 weeks old, so it is extremely cute at the moment. I will be completely horrified though if she is still doing it once she is in a school uniform. I have just spent the last hour googling it like mad to see how easy it is to break your child's habit if it goes on too long and checking its possible orthodontic and phonetic implications - and whether you need to saw off their thumb at some stage if you can't crack it. Surprisingly the consensus seems to be that between 70 and 90% of babies do this - why didn't the other 3? Are they freaks? And no one seems to be suggesting amputation as a necessity further down the line. This is a relief as I was beginning to wonder if a dreaded dummy would need to be substituted as it could at least be withdrawn at some point in the future. And as you know dummies are about as far up my popularity list as infant formula - and that isn't a compliment.
So it looks like she's going to be allowed the thumb, for now...
Jeg vil forslå, at I giver hende en (narre)sut i stedet. Den kan man nemlig nemmere vænne hende fra.
ReplyDeleteDummy = sut.
ReplyDeleteyes I know
ReplyDeleteSelvom du ikke synes godt om sutter, så er de altså meget nemmere at tage fra barnet end hendes hånd er - du vil blive anklaget for børnemishandling, hvis du tager hendes hånd, ikke hvis du tager hendes sut, så ... ,-=)
ReplyDeleteTrue - I'm sure the problem won't arise - I have no problem with her sucking her thumb as a baby and when I want her to stop she'll be old enough to be bribed, so I think i'll just take my chances with the natural course of things rather than sticking an unhygienic piece of silicone and plastic in her mouth for the next 3 years. And if I am wrong, I guess I will need to saw off her arm before she starts school ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'd blame it on the father! :) Ellen doesn't suck her thumb, but her entire hand.
ReplyDelete