I generally trust my DS to know what he needs in terms of self soothing. I keep in mind that the process of growing up is a challenging one in and of itself. That just because there haven't been any changes, or other upset, it doesn't mean that our kids don't need to self-soothe now and again, or go through periods where self-soothing behaviors are more prevalent. My DS tends to cycle with them periodically and I find the less attention I bring to them, the better. Unless it's damaging in some way, I wouldn't attempt to change, eliminate or channel it otherwise. The sucking need in self-soothing is very common. My DS goes through periods of "chewing" which can be--in truth--annoying to me personally, but it's clear that he is getting something out of it. And because it's not really destructive in any way, I can't find a valid reason reason to try and change it. In fact, I tend to believe to attempt to do so could possibly create anxiety in a child who was only doing what came natural to them, betray their sense of trust in themselves.
The skill of learning to self-soothe is an important one. One I feel that children are well equipped to process in their own way so long as they are not being hurt, or infringing on someone's else's rights in some way.
Just my .02 for whatever that's worth. I'm OCD so I can completely understand how watching some self-soothing behaviors can really grate. When DS has to change his shirt twice a day because he's chewed the sleeve and it's soaked, I admit I'm a little wigged, but it's not a problem for him so... I let it go.
Hope this helps, mama.
The best,
Em
