Need Help on How to Stop a Thumb-sucker

C.,

As a child I was a thumb sucker and I did for a long time until I was 10!! She is only doing it out night so it is comforting to her. You really do not have to be to concerned with it now its once she loses her baby teeth. I say ride it out as long as she is only doing it at night. I found it was like taking away a binky he have to do it slowly. Sorry I don't have any idea's of what to do but try and replace the thumb with something else. Maybe a soft blanket etc.... Or maybe try laying with her pulling her thumb out of her month until she realizes she doesn't need it. Sorry none of my kids sucked their thumbs or took a binky.

I hope I was a little bit of a help. Keep me posted.

Hi C.. My neice was a thumb-sucker until just recently. She just turned 10 and I will say she stopped probably a month or so before her birthday. My sister used a nail polish that is non toxic and has an odd flavor that makes it unfavorable to suck her thumb. Double check with your Dr to make sure your child will be ok to take it, but they sell it right in the pharmacy. It worked in just a week with my neice. And unlike your other responder Sharon, it did mess with my neice's teeth and horribly. It messed up her palate and everything. So going to the dentist is definetly a good thing! Hope that something works for you!!

i would try what Jamie had to say.

then have you ever tried the "home things?" like hot sauce? mustard ect.?

I know a mom that would have to put socks on her child hands at night becuase of the thumb sucking. It worked for her.

good luck

Dear C................ Tape a soda straw to the outside of her thumb fromjust above the tip to justbelow the bottom of the thumb. It will break the suction and that is what she enjoys. We called it our childs "whistle" and would not allow it to be removed for a few days (or longer ) it broke her in less than a week. She also sucked her thumb until she was four, only at bed time, and in hersleep. It will not hurt the child but it WORKS. Hug your little one for me....... Dare

I wasn't going to respond to this, but after I read that so many people wrote in and made it sound like it was okay to be sucking your thumb even at an older age?? Please. I was given the following advice: **Be sure that the baby has enough companionship, play, and affection. Thumb sucking can be caused by a disturbance in the parent-child relationship.**
My grandaugher went thru the phase of doing this at 3 yrs old. Her mom bought all kind of stuff to get her to stop. I had her for a week when her mom went on vacation and no more thumb sucking at all. You don't have to be mean or buy anything. Talk to them and ask them not to do it. Explain that it's bad. You can even give them a time-out for it. Then praise & let them know how proud you are of them like no tomorrow whenever they aren't doing it. Hey, it worked. And sorry, but older children look like insecure dorks when they suck their thumbs. Teach them to break the habit while they are young.

Hi C.--

Let me start by saying I totally feel your concern. My daughter is now 7, and she sucked her thumb until about a year ago. Like you, we tried several different tactics to get her to quit, but to no avail. I happened to find a nail polish at a local store. The polish is white and has a label on it that has the words "bite it" in a circle with a line through it (as if to say "don't bite it"). I tried it on my thumb first to see what it was like, and let me tell you, I only put that thumb into my mouth one time. The taste was so aweful, and it doesn't wash off. My daughter agreed to use it not knowing what it tasted like, and within three days, she was completely done sucking her thumb... even at night. Good luck with this one, I know by the end of our ordeal with it, I was ready to try anything to make her stop.

J.

Stay the course. I went through the exact same thing with my son. He sucked his thumb until he was 5. I did all the things you did and I finally bought the Thumb Guard. The idea of it is to break the habit. So they need to wear it for a minimum of 30 days. We ended up using it on him for almost 2 months. The first month, he resorted to chewing the plastic around the end of the thumb guard. It looked awful when we were done with it. He didn't suck his thumb for a couple months and then he got the flu. He started sucking it again. I ended up buying another Thumb Guard and this time he broke the habit much quicker. I would say if she stopped for awhile after wearing the shirt, maybe you can try the shirt again. Good luck, you are definately doing the right thing by working on it now (before she gets into school).

Have you checked with your dentist to make sure that it is a concern---moving the teeth? Our son also did this and so did I as a small child. My son also had a special blanket that he held when sucking his thumb. What we found that it didn't cause a problem after talking with the dentist and also now that he is a grown man, find him to be a very calm person with good wisdom, etc. He sucked his thumb until he was five years old. On the light side, so did I and neither of us have ever had problems with our teeth.

i sucked my thumb at night til i was 8. my parents got me to stop by having me suck on sugar free cough drops. it worked in a week i never sucked it again and i didnt use the drops either. its just a way to soothe her to sleep. u really dont have to push her to stop til her permanent teeth come in.

~M.

Hi...
I used the Thumb Guard that you mentioned that atttaches to the wrist with my daughter and swear by it. Granted, she was 5 when we used it, but she was a hard-core sucker. The directions recommend using it for 2 weeks and that should break the habit, but it comes with (I think) 72 bracelets. We used all of the bracelets just to be sure and we've had great success for 2 1/2+ years since. The first couple nights were very hard getting her to go to sleep...you would've thought we were breaking a drug habit. But after that she just found other ways to calm down. Good luck!

C.,
Two of my girls were thumb suckers. I can tell you not to waste your money on the plastic thumb guard that attaches to the wrist. It is expensive and did not work for us. I know you mentioned the stuff you paint on her nail and what I suggest with that is to be consistent. When she sucks it all off, put it on again. I found that that is what worked (and is still working) best for us. My daughter who was 2 at the time stopped after one week of using the nail stuff. My other daughter who was 4 at the time was a very different story...She is quite stubborn and still (she is 7 now) sucks at night if we don't have the stuff on her thumb. As long as I have it on her thumb she is fine. I would guess that evenutally you daughter will give up and get tired of the nasty taste....Good luck!

Not much advice here - as it took a very long time for me to enforce. My middle child (I have 3 children, 7, 9, and 10) sucked his thumb into first grade. I'd tried everything I knew of (1) the nasty polish ... he'd suck it off, (2) the socks...he'd pull them off after a bit, (3) asked Dentist about T4K trainer...Sonshine Dentistry in Noblesville...but he was missing teeth at the time, and they preferred to wait until the space was filled before using it...

Nevertheless, eventually he just plain outgrew it. He didn't do it all of the time, mostly when he was without something to do with his hands. So, for us, staying busy helped the most! I had to take the effort to make up little chores for him all of the time to make it stop. It worked by 7yrs old. Unfortunately, death of Grandpa brought back the sucking temporarily. I got back to keeping him busy ... it's stopped. Only thing was Grandma encouraged that it was "OK" to suck to go to sleep.

My poor guy had lost teeth #7 & 10 ... top teeth next to those that are front and center. Well, those teeth have now been out for 1 1/2 yrs...and after being advised by our regular dentist as well...we'd waited for 1 yr, then saw ortho ... placed on a waiting list to get in... now yesterday we had an exam & xrays (previous xrays showed the teeth up high...waiting to have room to erupt) ... well, the damage has been done. The new teeth are preparing to erupt BEHIND his front teeth. He was SHOCKED that his habit had that effect. I think he could encourage other kids not to suck....because at this age, he really cares what he looks like. Orthodontist said it's really not that uncommon, we're going to work on waiting for them to completely cut through, then work to space his palette (he'd pressed it upward, rather than it naturally spreading outward) ... so it'll be a 6-8 month treatment period, the orthodontist expects.

Don't lose heart...I just want you to know that it really can affect their teeth. Oh yes, and my 9 yr old told me yesterday that the real reason he stopped sucking his thumb was because the sucking hard started to cause pressure in his jaw area!

Blessings!

Best thing to do is not nag her about it, because whatever you try she will still instinctively do it. She needs it for comfort right now. I sucked my thumb until I was five, probably because I wasn't getting enough of my parents attention. I had three brothers younger than me that needed more of their time. I got to a point, and after that point, I stopped. And nothing my mother did to try to stop me helped. I stopped when I didn't need it for comfort any more.

My daughter sucked her thumb until three and my husband used to nag her endlessly. I asked him repeatedly to stop it and she would quit when she was ready. And she did at 3.5 yrs old.

I think most important thing to do is spend more time with her, building her up, making her confident in herself so she doesn't need it anymore. My mother put all manner of stuff on my thumb and it didn't stop me, it just showed me how much she disapproved of me.

I say do nothing, but love them and pay more attention to them and you'll see a difference. Might try to spend 20 quiet minutes praying and reading to them before bedtime and see what comes of that.

Good luck and don't worry!

I was a thumb sucker until I was 12...I only did it in my sleep, never when I was awake. I just eventually grew out of it. Keep trying all the suggestions you can, I was embarrassed to stay with friends because I was afraid I might start sucking my thumb in my sleep. It might take a while but keep trying. I had to wear appliances on my teeth because it affected my bite and my teeth. It is worth the effort.

I am an orthodontist (the specialty dentist that does braces and deals with results of thumb sucking). I know that you can see some changes in your daughter's baby teeth due to the thumbsucking. However, I would leave her alone about her thumbsucking until she gets her two front teeth. Or at least not make a big deal about. The changes she is making in her baby teeth most likely will not continue in the permanent teeth and/or will self correct once she give up her thumb. The thunb is a security blanket of sorts. Most children give up the thumbsucking well before they get their first two permanent teeth. So, unless she is having speech problems due to the thumb, I would not worry about her habit until she is about 5 years old. At that time, if she hasn't given it up, then you can seek help from either your dentist or an orthodontist.

I have a daughter, who is now 6, that was a thumb-sucker. She is our 4th child. My other 3 children are 15, 20, an 22. None of them were a thumb-suckers. My thumb-sucking daughter eventually grew out of this behavior/habit. My advice to you would be to not worry so much about it. You have already tried many things so now is the time to let it run it's natural course. I would ask - what is your primary motivation to get her to stop? Have you spoken to a dentist/orthodontist? Did they encourage you to have her break this habit? My 3 older children all had orthodontic work done even though they were not thumb-suckers. I imagine that #4 will also end up in braces! Since this is your oldest child, I am sure that you think that this is a very big deal. Trust me - in the grand scheme of things, it's not! If your daughter is comforted by sucking her thumb, then why not allow her this comfort? Does it help her to fall asleep at night? Isn't that what you want?? Some day, you will look back on this and likely say "Wow - why did I worry so much?" If your daughter is otherwise healthy and happy then just let her enjoy this childhood habit and have faith that it will eventually stop when she is ready.

Hi C.,
It is not unusual for your daughter to continue sucking her thumb at this age at bedtime. The more you make of it, the longer it will continue. Have you taken her to the dentist yet for a checkup? Obtain a children's book on going to the dentist to prepare her first. Our one son sucked his thumb till he was about 4. The dentist just praised him for how good he was caring for his teeth and told him he needed to try very hard to stop sucking his thumb at night to keep his teeth from growing crooked. The more praise we gave, as reinforcement, for brushing his teeth and gently reminding him to try not to suck his thumb, the better the situation became. Of my five kids, he is one of two that did not need any orthodontic work (3 sucked thumbs, one fingers, one his fist) and has beautiful teeth today!!