If your kids will not stop biting or sucking his or her thumb and nails, do not get upset because it is more likely like a pill for an allergy. It may not seem to be a pleasant healthy habit but it has an underlying advantage that you will surely like.
US News reported that the "hygiene hypothesis" is the reason why a child who habitually sucks the nail and thumb has less allergies. Dr. Robert Hancox, of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, said that such hypothesis is possible because of the exposure to bacteria and other microbes early in life. That way, the immune system is positively impacted through having good infection-fighting mode and therefore lesser tendency toward allergic reactions.
A study published in the Pediatrics AAP says that "The effects of thumb-sucking and nail-biting habits are likely to increase microbial exposure, but their effects on allergic diseases are unknown." There can also be other factors that affect allergies on kids and these include: how breast-feeding was done, level of exposure to secondhand smoke and pets, hereditary, and so forth.
Some parents do not want to see their babies sucking their thumb. It appears that the baby is always hungry when he or she does so. Also, the formation of the teeth is affected when sucking becomes a habit, as theorized by dentists. This is more like the sucking of the pacifier. Nonetheless, some kids get pacified through sucking their thumb and they just cannot help it. The more exposure to bacteria through thumb-sucking, the less the body is going to react with allergens.
Babies usually stop sucking the thumb between two and four years of age. It is your choice then whether you want your child to have fewer tendencies to allergies or to have nice teeth on the other hand.
