How your baby uses his mouth

Your baby doesn’t just use his mouth for feeding and crying. It’s also a vital tool of discovery – and as long as anything he puts into his mouth is safe and clean, you can sit back and watch him learn.

Your newborn baby comes complete with a crucial survival skill – his sucking reflex. The very first time you feed him he’ll know exactly what to do in order to get the milk into his stomach. But how does he know? After all, when he was in the uterus he didn’t need to suckle – all the nourishment he needed passed to him from you, via the placenta.

The answer can be seen on many ultrasound scan pictures – unborn babies sucking their thumbs or swallowing the amniotic fluid that surrounds them. Sucking his thumb while he’s in the uterus is your baby’s first experience of texture, weight, and how it feels to hold something in his mouth. So when your baby is born, mouthing makes perfect sense to him. At this early stage, his hands and fingers are still clumsy but his tongue is incredibly sensitive, with a vast number of nerve endings. They register much more than his fingers, making his mouth the perfect starting point for exploring.

Hand to mouth…

By around three months, your baby’s fists and fingers will be in his mouth practically every second that he isn’t feeding or sleeping! When he learns to grasp objects, such as a rattle or a teether, they will go straight in there as well. By the middle of his first year, mouthing anything and everything will be his favourite pastime.

It can be nerve-racking to watch your baby mouthing an object, sometimes pushing it so far back into his mouth that it may well make him gag. But don’t be tempted to try to stop him – it’s crucial to his development. And using his mouth to find out about the new things around him isn’t just something your baby learns after he’s born – it’s instinct.

He’ll continue to use this method to find out about things until he’s older and can use his hands with more skill. But even then, mouthing and sucking his hands or various objects will remain a major source of comfort to him, especially when he starts to cut his first molars. Thumbsucking can often persist for several years and even when your child seems to have outgrown it he may still rely on it to comfort himself if he’s upset. Or he may focus on a particular object – a toy or a favorite ‘blankie’ – and suck this instead. It will provide real comfort, bringing back memories of being held close to you while he fed. Don’t stop him from chewing his comforter and don’t ‘confiscate’ it – he will outgrow it in time.

Safety precautions

Given that everything will go straight into your baby’s mouth for most of his first two years, it makes sense to take precautions in regard to what he plays with. You can’t – and shouldn’t – stop him from chewing and mouthing objects. However, you can take steps to ensure that anything he does chew is safe.

Make sure that all his toys and chews are designed for his age group. Don’t disregard the age range on any toys you buy or are given – if an item is not suitable for babies under three years it is usually because it has small parts that could be a choking hazard. Stick to rattles and teethers, and soft, chewable toys made from safe materials. Always have something to hand to distract your baby from chewing or mouthing household objects and the furniture!

Don’t give him second-hand toys bought at car boot sales or jumble sales, as these might not meet safety standards. Check toys for sharp edges that might harm his delicate tongue and lips, and avoid fragile rubber toys that he might be able to chew shreds and pieces from. And when Grandma turns up with a boxful of toys you played with as a child, be aware that they may not be safe if they’re old – they could be damaged or could be painted with lead paint. Play it safe and stow them in the attic. You should also avoid giving your baby furry toys or anything, such as a doll, that he could chew the hair from, or which could fray in his mouth.

Try as you might, you won’t be able to ensure that everything your baby puts in his mouth is spotlessly clean…but hygiene does pay.

Regularly wash your baby’s toys in hot, soapy water, thoroughly rinsing off any soapy residue.
Keep a close eye on bath toys, especially soft bath books, which can become covered in mildew. Dry them after every bath.
If you’re disinfecting toys, use a mild antiseptic solution and rinse them thoroughly before giving them back to your baby.
If a toy that your baby chews on gets soiled during a nappy change, always sterilise it before giving it back to your baby.
Wash all new chews and teethers in hot water and detergent before you give them to your baby.

The information in this feature is intended for educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your health, the health of your child or the health of someone you know, please consult with a doctor or other healthcare professional.

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Last Modified: 01/10/2008

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