He is turning 3 in April and has been for the past 2 weeks putting his fingers in his mouth constantly! He has been to the dentist and has no cavities. He even has his fingers in his mouth when he talks to people. We will tell him to take them out and he will, but they go right back in. He doesn't seem to be sucking on the fingers, just resting them on his teeth. If he was going to develop and finger sucking habit I would think it would have happened before now? Any advice?
My son is 3 1/2 and went through the same thing. It's just a phase. He also went through the nail biting phase for a few months. He has now entered the nose picking phase.....love that one!! ughh!
Anyway, try not to worry. It will pass very quickly. :)
Hes probably teething getting his second molars they call them second molars but most kids don't have them come in till 3 years old. Just ask him when he around people no to do it when hes at home he can put them in. He'll stop once they all come in.
Hi M.,
Does your son have bis 2cd year molars? My daughter is 17 months and started doing the same thing... out of the blue. For a week I kept telling her to take her fingers out of her mouth ... and then she started with her runny nose. She ALWAYS gets a runny nose when she cuts teeth. So, I put my finger back there and sure enough I felt some ridges. 2cd year molars. (I know it can be early for her to get them, but she had her entire 1st year set of teeth by her 1st birthday.)
If it is not that, the only thing I can think of is he is mimicking someone elses behavior. We all have our little quirks... I twirl my hair, my sister chews on a pencil. Is there anyone he is exposed to that will put a finger to their mouth or something similar when they are thinking?
Have you tried putting tape on his finger? It might deter him from wanting it in there.
My son is 2 1/2 and has started a similar behavior, except it's fingers in the nose instead of the mouth!! (consider yourself lucky!)
My best guess is that these are nervous habits. I've noticed that my son does it even more when he's in situations that make him feel a little bit anxious.
Show him a picture of nasty yellow teeth and tell him his teeth will turn that color if he puts his dirty fingers in his mouth. It might work. I just got my 5 yr. old son to stop sucking his thumb by showing him a picture of a deformed mouth. It worked!!! This was our dentists idea, she said her neice stopped sucking her thumb that way. It's kinda weird, but hey, it's worth a try.
Good luck.
My son started doing that for no apparent reason around age 3. We just kept telling him to take his fingers out whenever he did it and eventually it stopped. Never got to the bottom of it though. Just keep telling him to take them out. It will stop.
M. it's a phase - ignore it - gradually it will stop. Kids have odd phases all the time and they just have to pass on their own - from an experienced mom-of-three - good luck - Alison
