A baby sticking tongue out is a cute gesture but may sometimes indicate certain conditions or the baby’s requirements. The act is also called tongue thrusting and is when the baby sticks tongue out between the rows of teeth while swallowing or at rest (1). Tongue thrusting is often a benign action but may indicate underlying problems in some cases. This post tells you about the causes of a baby sticking their tongue out and when to be concerned about it.
Baby Sticking Tongue Out: Is This Normal?
Babies usually explore the world by using their mouths. Therefore, it is mostly natural and normal for babies to stick out their tongues.The common reason for babies to stick out their tongues is innate infant reflexes. This is known as the tongue thrust reflex. Babies are born with these reflexes. A reflex is a muscle reaction that happens automatically in response to stimulation (2). Sticking out the tongue due to reflexes is common and seen in every healthy infant. There could be other reasons as well behind sticking out the tongue. According to Po-Chang Hsu, MD, a medical content expert at SleepingOcean.com, “Children have a high sucking instinct and are quite active with their tongues and fingers. If your baby is sticking out his tongue, this is nothing to worry about. There are a number of possible explanations for this behavior; for example, babies are often trying to use their tongues to relieve the itching of swollen gums while they are teething, or they are discovering new parts of their body that need to be explored in a playful way.”
Reasons Your Baby Sticks Their Tongue Out
Sticking the tongue out is not always a cause for concern since it is often due to infant reflexes. The tongue thrust reflex helps the baby in sucking and latching on the nipple. Most babies outgrow these reflexes by the age of five to seven months. Remember, if you have any concerns about your baby sticking out their tongue, then do not hesitate to consult your pediatrician. The following are other common reasons other than reflexes for babies to stick their tongues out. The following are other common reasons other than reflexes for babies to stick their tongues out.
1. Imitation
Many elders playfully pull their tongues out to play with babies. Many pieces of research have proved that babies pull their tongues out to imitate their elders and have fun (3). Dr. Hsu observes, “Imitation plays a big part in your child’s development and is important for building relationships.”
2. Expressing their needs
The babies might pull their tongues out to convey to the mothers that they are hungry. At times, if they are full, they might put their tongues out to signal their mothers to stop feeding them.
3. Normal reflex
It might happen due to the normal sucking reflex in babies. Examples of infant reflexes that could cause a baby to stick out their tongue are the sucking reflex and gag reflex. The sucking reflex occurs when the area around the mouth is stroked. It causes the baby to move their lips and tongue in anticipation of suckling. The gag reflex happens when the back of the mouth or throat senses a solid object. It prevents the baby from gagging. It causes the tongue to stick out to expel the probable foreign body.
4. Conveying that they are not ready for solids yet
Babies tend to stick their tongues when they are being fed semi-solids by a spoon. If your baby does it, then it means they still have the gag reflex and are not yet ready for semi-solids and solids. They stop doing this once their tongues are able to push on top of the palate and able to swallow the food (4).
5. Mouth breathing
Mouth breathing can cause a baby to protrude their tongue out. A baby could breathe through the mouth due to a variety of reasons ranging from simple cough, cold, clogged sinuses, allergies, inflamed tonsils, or adenoids (5).
6. Gas
Some babies might stick their tongue out while passing gas due to the discomfort and pain caused by excessive gas.
7. Macroglossia
Macroglossia is an abnormal enlargement of the tongue. Some babies might develop a large tongue due to conditions, such as Down’s Syndrome hypothyroidism, or Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome. At times, the large tongue might be a result of tumors or due to an injury. It might be genetically inherited, too (6). When babies have very large tongues, they are unable to keep them within the mouth, and hence it protrudes out.
8. Micrognathia
Some babies have congenitally small jaws and chins and they cannot contain the tongue in their small mouths. This condition is known as micrognathia. In some infants, this condition resolves on its own by growth in the size of the mouth and development of muscles, by the age of five to seven months (5). The other reasons for micrognathia are cleft palate, and babies with syndromes like Marfan’s disease, Trisomy 13, Trisomy 18, Pierre Robin syndrome, etc. (7). In this the size of the tongue is normal but the chin is small.
9. Hypotonia
Hypotonia is a low muscle tone, which can affect several muscles of the body, including those of the tongue. In such cases, the tongue hangs out of a baby’s mouth. It might happen due to various health conditions like Down’s syndrome, Prader-Willi, Rett syndrome, etc. (5).
10. Masses or abnormal growth in the mouth
Any abnormal growth of tissue in the oral cavity or on the tongue might take up room in the mouth. It could lead to sticking out of the tongue. A few conditions that can be responsible for it are a tumor or an infection of a salivary gland or cysts, such as thyroglossal duct cyst (5).
11. Orofacialmyofunctional disorder
It is a group of disorders of the face and oral cavity. Tongue thrust is the most common type of orofacialmyofunctional disorder (OMD) (8). Sticking tongue out due to an OMD is often due to the abnormal position of the tongue while at rest. The disorder could develop due to a variety of reasons, such as congenital problems, family history, and even prolonged thumb sucking. There are several reasons why babies could stick their tongue out, ranging from normal reflexes to indicators of a problem. In the next section, we address a few more queries related to sticking out of the tongue by babies.
