More Information on Sucking Habits...
What Sucking Habits can do
Sucking is normal for babies and is natural way for them to self-soothe. Pacifier use up to around 1 year of age and limited to sleeping times typically does not have a lasting effect.
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However, constant sucking throughout the day or above the age of two can affect the position of the tongue, lips, teeth, and jaw.
If these habits continue, over time it can lead to open bite or other malocclusion.
What Sucking Habits Can Do to Breathing?
They can cause open mouth breathing which can increase chance of airway infections, ear infections, and colds.
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Our Nose has tiny hairs filtering the air we breathe, when we mouth breath we lose the filtered protected air our nose hairs provide.
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Because the jaw is held in an open fixture, mouth breathing can also SIGNIFICANTLY alter normal facial growth.
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What Else Can Sucking Habits Can Do?
They can also affect speech development.
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When a thumb, finger, or pacifier is in the mouth it changes the natural way the tongue, jaw, and lips rest.
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Because of this pattern the tongue learns to rest in the wrong place and that is where the wrong speech sounds are produced.
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This can lead to articulation disorders, voice disorders, mumbling speech, and lisping.
We can provide help for your child's sucking habits using methods from Unplugging the Thumb created by Sandra R. Holtzman, MS, CCC/SLP
Note that we are not saying pacifiers and thumbs are necessarily bad! We are in no way
shaming mothers who are using these.
We all need a break and they are great ways to soothe our children!
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Sucking while babies is natural and great for naps and soothing situations, when it becomes a problem is when the child is walking around all day sucking. They go into a trance-like state and are more concerned with their sucking which in turn results in them communicating less with others and their surroundings. We want to cut these habits out as soon as possible so the children can interact and communicate more rather than occupy their attention with sucking.
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For more info call us at 336.350.9263
