Handling Bad Habits
My son has developed a habit of sucking his thumb and touching his eyebrows. He is just 3 years old and I noticed this when I got home from the office. At first it was really disturbing because he may be sucking a lot of germs that may cause diseases. So what I did was I asked the help of my trusted pediatrician for an advice. He gave me a particularly great advice. He told me to ignore the habit and told me that in, time it will pass. He told me not to shout or scold my kid every time I see him suck his thumb, instead, he told me to offer something that would hinder him from sucking his thumb. Activities such as blowing bubbles or enjoying a nice father and son game will be enough and in due time, he will eventually get over the said problem. If in any case that it does not help, then it is about time that I try to make the habit less pleasurable. If he is sucking on his thumb then I might as well buy him a thumb ring which will associate his sucking with dirt and germs.
In summary, we do not actually need to be scared if our kids are into a habit because they will eventually outgrow this habit in due time. However, look for signs of retardation or mental disorder if the habit continuous to be present until he or she is already in grade school.