• Question: Why do some people suck their thumbs when they're young but some people dont?

    Asked by charlottebeale123 to David, Helen, Ian, rhysphillips on 23 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: David Corne

      David Corne answered on 22 Jun 2011:

      Some people have nicer tasting thumbs. But another reason could be to do with breastfeeding. Sucking things is instinctive for babies, since the built-in way for them to get nutrition in the first few weeks and months is by sucking at their mother’s breast. I’v heard that continued thumb-sucking (and also smoking in later life) has been connected with a lack of breastfeeding. I.e. if not breastfed much, or at all, maybe you have some kind of gap to fill, and you go through life sucking whatever you can :-/ Really not sure how true that is though.

    • Photo: Rhys Phillips

      Rhys Phillips answered on 22 Jun 2011:

      I think it’s a fairly natural thing to do – babies like to suck things. That’s why they’re given dummies.

    • Photo: Ian van der Linde

      Ian van der Linde answered on 22 Jun 2011:

      Babies get comfort from suckling their mother, so sucking a thumb or a dummy provides a soothing substitute when mother is busy making a cup of tea.

    • Photo: Helen Fletcher

      Helen Fletcher answered on 23 Jun 2011:

      I think David’s right- babies have a built-in instinct to suck, because that’s how they get their food. If there isn’t a nipple around, a thumb seems like a pretty handy substitute, and for some babies this becomes a habit or comfort, and they continue to do it even when the breast-feeding instinct is gone. Did you know that some babies start sucking their thumb when they’re still in the womb? And chimps do it too!

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