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August 24, 2005 10:23 AM

Is thumb sucking by young children consistant across cultures?
posted by R. Mutt to society & culture (6 comments total)

I have no proof, but I suspect so. I've certainly seen it around Europe. I suspect that the root cause is primal (comfort, reminder of suckling mother's breast) rather than cultural.

Possibly related question: What's with older and older kids with pacifiers? Just this past weekend, I saw, on two separate occasions, two kids with them who must have been at least 5 or 6. Is this meant to be some "more sanitary than your thumb" nonsense?
posted by mkultra at 10:51 AM on August 24, 2005

Seems to be. I've noticed it in North American, Chinese, and East Indian communities.

As well, I seem to remember some photo of an unborn fetus sucking its thumb. Or appearing to, anyhow.
posted by Kickstart70 at 11:00 AM on August 24, 2005

Yeah foetuses do suck their thumbs in the womb - it's a kind of instinctive working out what bits are/comfort reaction from what I understand - nothing to do with culture.
posted by Lotto at 11:04 AM on August 24, 2005

There are indications that thumb-sucking occurs even in the womb. (Uncredited photograph is by Swedish microimagery expert Lennart Nilsson.) According to this article:

Fetal thumb sucking has been observed in utero at as early as 18 weeks of gestation, and evidence of lip protrusion, lip puckering and true sucking movements has been observed at 24 weeks of gestation. [7] Bullae have been found on the hands and arms of neonates, indicating that intrauterine sucking probably occurred.

posted by gentle at 11:05 AM on August 24, 2005

two kids with them who must have been at least 5 or 6

Probably going to a rave. Did they water bottles?

On topic..I tried searching in google images for 'africa + babies' because I seem to remember lots of pictures of impoverished children in africa sucking their thumbs, but I couldn't find any. If it happens in the womb, it must be instinctual, I'd say.
posted by spicynuts at 12:10 PM on August 24, 2005

According to this NYT article a fetus reaches back and forth from the mother, touching her in order to be able to focus on her after birth. So, I would suspect that a thumb is an intermediary for the mother, and thus would be universal. Any biological anthropologists out there?
posted by scazza at 12:17 PM on August 24, 2005