Harmful habits are at all - at children and adults. And no one will deny that adult habits, unlike children's, are not so harmless. Therefore, do not judge strictly if you see that the baby is sucking a finger, and do not rush to scold him, most likely you are also not perfect.
Habit - means the established way of behavior, which acquires the character of the need. The habit arises from the ability and skills. That is, first a person must learn a certain action, then acquire a skill, and only then it can become a habit. A habit is considered harmful if it can harm the health, development and social adaptation of a person.
And now we will try to disassemble the main types of harmful childhood habits, the causes and ways to eliminate them.
The habit is consolation. Such habits include sucking a thumb, sucking objects, biting (nibbling) nails, masturbation, pulling out hair, as well as swinging your head or trunk. At the heart of the emergence of such habits is the unmet need. Most often this is a lack of parental attention, a heavy adaptation to the kindergarten, moving, parental divorce, or other stressful situation. A bad habit for a baby becomes a way of appeasement. And if sucking a finger and nibbling of the nails speaks, rather, about a lack of attention, then masturbation testifies to a more serious problem - it becomes a kind of substitute for parental affection and love.
I would like to dwell on the habit of sucking a finger. In babies up to a year this is quite a frequent phenomenon, do not worry about it, sucking a finger is a manifestation of the sucking reflex, closer to the year when the baby finds more interesting activities, this habit disappears by itself. But if a child begins to suck a finger closer to three years, this indicates his emotional dissatisfaction.
What to do?
- Try to understand what caused the bad habit;
- Distract the child with more interesting and vivid activities, as well as communication with peers;
- Putting the baby to sleep, stay with him until he falls asleep, tell a story or sing a lullaby, gently holding his hands;
- Spend as much time as possible with the child. The attention of parents is one of the most important children's needs.
What can not be done?
- To accentuate the child's attention on a bad habit. Children often do the usual actions unconsciously, at this level, the habit is likely to pass by itself. If a child is constantly reminded of how badly he does, sucks his finger or chews his nails, this habit can gain a foothold in his mind, and then get rid of it will be much more difficult;
- Scold, shame and punish the child;
- Try to get rid of the habit of "grandmother" methods - to spread fingers with pepper, to bandage, etc. The habit is a consequence, and you need to get rid of the cause, otherwise you drive the problem inside, getting rid of one habit, you risk getting another;
- Leave the child to sleep alone.
The habit is the result of education. Such habits are typical for aunts aged 3-4 years. And blame for all bad manners. Yes, namely, bad manners. If your child is used to loudly champing, publicly picking at the nose, talking with a full mouth, grabbing a cutlet, etc., maybe you missed something when you planted good manners. And also pay attention to those who surround it, and of course, to yourself, because children take the example from the elders.
What to do?
- Bring up the "right habits" in the child, teach good manners, - do not talk while eating, clean your nose in the washbasin, silently chew your food, do not focus on his bad habits;
- If the child behaves uncivilized, tell him about it in a soft form and inaudible to others.
What can not be done?
- Shame the child with other people. This will not save him from the habit, but you risk losing your child's trust;
- To abuse a child, use the words "pig" or something like that. Insults only reduce parental authority, try to find more cultural methods.
Remember that the child, like you, has his own opinion, his desires and needs. Want to see your baby happy and free from bad habits, treat a small person with respect, attention and love.