Question
The child is 9 months old and during the day eats their hands, and at night or in the morning wakes up wanting to breastfeed. The parents haven’t seen a doctor and don’t know what to do.
Answer
It is normal for a child at this age to eat their hands, and it’s not unusual for them to want to breastfeed. Parents can try to distract the child with other activities or apply something on the breast to discourage the desire to breastfeed. They should also be patient in comforting the child but must avoid allowing the child to become too capricious (arbitrary).