Finger Sucking - Waterville,KS

I was a finger sucker until I had to go on a camping trip with my school classmates and there was no way they were going to see me doing that and that was the end. My son was a thumb sucker until he was 8, but only when he was very tired or concentrating very hard. Picture a very cute little 2nd grader at Short Stop sucking his thumb. It allowed him to focus. A lot of my friends kids quit on their own by 1st or 2nd grade. There will be parents like me who just let it run it's natural course, but then you get all the nosy Mrs. Kravitz's telling you you're kid is too old to suck their finger/thumb while their 4 yo is running around with a binky and a bottle. And there will be parents/dentists that will tell you it's really bad for their teeth/mouth development, but try reasoning that with a 2 or 3 year old. If you really want her to stop you might try setting a date so that she becomes a "big" girl, like her 3rd birthday and that she can stop on that day. **shrug** I have also heard about taping oven mitts on their little hands. My son would have made me more miserable than him on that. This is a challenge and personally, with all the other challenges my son presented me with, sucking his thumb was the least of my worries. Just know that very few college freshmen suck their fingers/thumbs so they will stop naturally on their own (except for that one woman who was in her 30s and was on Dr. Phil, sucking her thumb while she was doing computer programming---YIKES!)
S.

Let her do it. I sucked my finger until I was 10. I don't have any problems because of it and have perfectly straight teeth, w/o ever needing braces. It's a security issue for her and she's too young to take away her security "blanket".

I was a middle finger sucker until I was in the third grade. My parents tried to get me to stop but it was my way of comforting myself. My parents also tried putting the gross fingernail polish stuff on me too and it didn't work, it made me so upset that I ended up in tears because, like I said, it was my way of comforting myself. I just stopped doing it on my own and I'm sure she will too. If you push her too hard, she might just do it because it is getting her extra attention. I would just ignore the habit for now and let nature take it's course. She will stop eventually. Just make sure she washes her hands a lot and make sure its not interfering with her teeth. That's just my opinion and other mom's will be on their way to give you more help.

i sucked my thumb until i was five, and i feel like it's just a normal thing, most kids out grow it, but if i want to try to get her to stop, try using hand sanitizer. it tastes horrible if u put ur fingers in ur mouth after using it.

It may be a 'battle' too early to fight right now. My daughter just turned 5 and we always said that as soon as she turned 5 she was too big to suck her thumb and that was that. I did wrap her thumb with first aid tape at night, as a reminder, and put 'thum' (you can get at Walgreens) on during the day for the first couple weeks or so. Her bday was the last day she sucked her thumb. You could try it for a few days but if it doesn't work, I would wait until she's a little older. Good luck!

My son sucked his middle 2 fingers also. And, I also was worried about it. However, I never did anything to stop it and he stopped on his own when he was 4. It got less and less.....and eventually he only did it at night. Then one night I didn't see him doing it so I asked him, "do you ever suck on your fingers anymore?" and he responded with a no. Yay! I was a thumb sucker until I was 5 and I quit on my own. I have no teeth issues and neither does my son. I'd say just wait it out. Seriously....like others of said, it's a comfort thing and she'll most likely grow out of it on her own. (My son is 5 1/2 now and still sleeps with his blankie, but that's nothing to me!:))

I know exactly how you feel. My son is 2 1/2 and we are in the same boat you are. He never took a pacifier as a baby. It was always those two fingers. We have tried the polish as well and he like spicy food so that didn't work. It didn't even work for us for 2 seconds. The doctor and he teachers at day care suggested putting band aids on the fingers and that works for a while but eventually he takes them off. I have tried that white medical tape as well and that has worked the best (that stuff is so hard to take off) but I won't put them on him at night because my fear is that he will pull them off with his mouth or something and choke on them. My son seems to do it when he is bored (nothing activly keeping his hands moving) or like you said at night. If you find a good solution I would love to hear what works for you. I know your frustration. Good Luck to you!!

We had good success when our daughter was 3 1/2. We ordered a finger guard from "One Step Ahead". It was about $75. It is made of soft plastic which fits over the fingers and is strapped on to the wrist with colorful disposable straps. She wore the finger guard for 5 weeks and it worked great. If she has a "finger episode" we will pull the guard out for a few days.

http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...

I saw this in my one step ahead catalog last night, it's designed to stop finger sucking. I know I stopped in kindergarden when other kids started making fun of me.