I am skeptical that the child did it strictly because his hands were dry. It sounds more like an infantile behavior, like thumb-sucking, that persists in some

I am skeptical that the child did it strictly because his hands were dry. It sounds more like an infantile behavior, like thumb-sucking, that persists in some children well into school age much to the disappointment of their parents. That said, the correct way to handle thumb-sucking is not to make it into a daily battle, just like the author discovered. It goes away by itself with little-to-no intervention required.