Why do babies put everything in their mouth?
Babies are extremely curious and try to put everything in their mouth. They try putting their hands, legs, toys or anything that they can put their hands on.
This is a pretty common habit for every baby and it will only increase when they learn how to crawl around the house.
Baby mouthing is normal for every baby and important for their health and development.
There are several reasons why this can happen and we have listed down some of these reasons below:
1- As a baby their chubby, little hands aren’t developed enough to grab or hold everything and they like putting it inside their mouth.
While they grow up, they can touch things to get a feel of it but as a baby the only way for them to get a feel is through their lips or mouth.
They can know if the thing is soft, squishy, hard, cool or warm.
2- The baby’s taste buds develop early and they seem to always want to chew on things.
In fact they prefer sweet things over sour and they will already have a sweet tooth before they are born. They like to check things by putting it in their mouth to see if it is sweet or edible.
They are also gifted with gag reflexes that will make them spit out something when they don’t like the taste.
3- Teething can be another reason for babies to put everything in their mouth.
Their teeth and gums are developing at the same time and this might cause them a little pain. This makes them out things in their mouth and bite down on it to feel better.
4- Babies sometimes suck their thumb to soothe themselves. This is true even when they put things in their mouth.
When they are trying to self soothe, it mostly means they might be hungry, sleepy, cranky or uncomfortable.
Sucking or biting down on things help a baby self-soothe themselves.
5- This is how they build their immune system slowly.
By putting things in their mouth, this is how their immune system learns to protect their body.
Their immune system recognises and learns to fight against bacterias, infections, viruses and other germs that can affect them.
Is baby mouthing safe?
As parents, it’s normal for you to be worried if putting things in their mouth is safe or not.
Baby mouthing is helpful but at the same time it might prove to be a problem sometimes.
1- Babies can sometimes choke over things that they put in their mouth.
Some toys can get stuck in their throat and prove as a choking hazard.
Things to look out for to ensure that your baby doesn’t put it in their mouth- grapes, popcorn, corn kernels, gum, marshmallows, vegetables, fruits, hard candy or meat.
Make sure small toys should be out of reach from them.
2- Sand and dirt can be stuck on things and if babies put it in their mouth it will cause their stomach to ache later.
Ensure that your baby doesn’t eat stale food or dirty food.
Look out for expired food or forgotten sandwiches or biscuits that your baby can get their hands on by mistake.
3- Some household items can prove really dangerous for your baby.
Ensure your baby doesn’t put household items in their mouth, like- soap, shampoo, nail polish, nail polish remover, alcohol, medicines, vitamins, oil, cigarettes, household cleaners or ink.
4- Sometimes your baby can grab and try to hold your warm cup of coffee or tea.
Even if it isn’t that hot for you it may burn your baby and cause them harm.
Babies are unpredictable and if you leave them unsupervised they can burn themselves.
5- Some household items can prove to be a strangulation and suffocation hazard for babies like- strings, yarns, plastic bags, rubber bands or jump ropes so make sure they are out of reach from your baby.
Conclusion
We hope that this article has helped you understand more about why babies put everything in their mouth.
You can gift them good teething toys like natural rubber, teething mitts or teething toothbrushes to keep them distracted from putting other things in their mouth.
Do visit https://lilamigosnest.com/ if you want to buy these teething toys for your new-born.
