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Fast Fact
Children who suck their thumbs are able to begin at an early age to meet their own need for sucking. These children fall asleep more easily, are able to put themselves back to sleep at night more easily, and sleep through the night much earlier than infants who do not suck their thumbs.
A study by Dr. T. Berry Brazelton indicates that as many as 94% have finished with sucking their thumbs by their first birthdays.
According to the American Dental Association, thumb sucking does not cause permanent problems with the teeth or jaw line, unless it is continued beyond four to five years of age.
Many studies have looked at the number of children who continue to suck their thumbs at this time. As it turns out, somewhere between 85% to 99% of children have finished thumb sucking spontaneously before this period (the numbers vary depending on the study).
When investigators looked at this group of late thumb-suckers for common traits, they found that they had one thing in common that distinguished them from other children -- a prolonged history of a strong battle with thumb sucking at an earlier age. It is striking that many well-meaning parents have actually encouraged this behavior by trying to forcibly take the thumb out of their children's mouths.
Our 6-month-old loves to be carried in one of those front infant/toddler carriers. He averages at least three hours a day in the carrier. Can this harm him in any way?
What a wonderful experience for both of you for him to be carried so close! I am delighted to hear of babies who get lots of time each day in carriers as long as they also get time each day down on their own where they struggle to sit, roll, and then move across the floor. This exercise is important for development. If he is getting this, then the treat of getting to be in the carrier with you when he wants to helps in bonding and development.
Enjoy the days ahead. As he starts to get more and more mobile all the time, standing will be the activity that captures his interest with delight.
Most of the treatments for poison ivy, oak and sumac are aimed at reducing the itching, until the self-limited rash runs its course, which takes about two weeks. Click here for Dr. Greene’s tips on treating these allergic reactions.
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