THUMBSUCKING — Beyond the Toddler Years

When thumbsucking is no longer a mere reflex, breaking the habit will take patience and understanding to eliminate the prolonged habit.

Dr. Barbara Payne of Hyde Park, N.Y., instinctively knew something was not quite right with her infant son, Jacob, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was. She believes that it was her motherly instincts more than her experience as a pediatrician that made her suspicious. “In retrospect, things are much clearer,” she says, “but back then, I used to think — I just don’t get this kid.”

Moving is as hard for kids as it is for adults — maybe even more so. A move can be unsettling for infants as well as teenagers. It’s not so much the particulars which accompany Moving Day, but the fear of the unknown once you’ve gotten where you’re going. Many parents find that unpacking and finding a new pediatrician is the least of their worries. The best you can do is to make things as comfortable and familiar as possible for each family member.

I wouldn’t consider myself a frequent flyer, but I’ve flown enough times to have occupied a seat across from an infant, precariously perched atop his mother’s lap. When others are asked to fasten their seatbelts due to take-off, landing or turbulence, these tiny travelers are not required to oblige. Currently, parents traveling with children under two are not required to purchase a seat for their child in order to strap him into a child restraint system (CRS). The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recommends the use of a CRS, but does not require it.