❓ Question: Must Children Avoid Touching Bodily Holes Before Morning Hand Washing?

Author: Rabbi Yaakov GoldsteinPublished: May 29, 2026
CategoriesAdditional Articles & Q&A

Until the age of Chinuch children do not have to be careful to avoid doing so. Advice for child above Chinuch who sucks his thumb: Explain to him the importance of weaning off the sucking and place a sock over his hand, or band aid over his finger, before he

Until the age of Chinuch children do not have to be careful to avoid doing so.

Advice for child above Chinuch who sucks his thumb: Explain to him the importance of weaning off the sucking and place a sock over his hand, or band aid over his finger, before he goes to sleep. It will only take a few days to break the habit.

  1. Piskeiy Teshuvos 4:8; See also Admur Basra 4:2; Divrei Yatziv 1:1; Tzitz Eliezer 21:20; Mishneh Halachos 7:1; See Ashel Avraham 4 that possibly until the age of Bar Mitzvah one does not have to be careful in the above. ↩
  2. Based on Ashel Avraham ibid one may be lenient to allow even children above Chinuch to suck their thumb during sleep. [Piskeiy Teshuvos 4 footnote 105] Nevertheless, as explained in the previous Q&A, it is best to try to wean the child off unless it is a case of need. ↩
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