Need to Break a Thumb Sucker- in Missouri

My daughter is almost 3 and is a thumbsucker. She has developed quite an overbite b/c of it. She was just at the dentist last week and the dentist told us we should plan on trying to get rid of the thumb-sucking before her permanent teeth come in. She said by around 4 1/2 or 5 yrs, we would like her to no longer suck her thumb. She said don't worry about her teeth, typically they will shift back once she stops sucking, and that since it is a soothing thing for her right now, there's no need to worry about it. Usually they will wean themselves off of the thumb. Remember that it is soothing to her. I wouldn't put anything on her thumb that is nasty tasting or try to fool her with anything. If you still want her to stop, use gentle reminders but still let her suck her thumb at bedtime or when she is tired, then gradually weaning that out. Good luck.

I'm going through a similar situation with my son who is 2 1/2 except he sucks 2 fingers. We've tried taking his fingers out of his mouth and telling him no but he just sucked on them more to prove a point! My doctor said not to try to break him of it until he is 4 since it would probably not work before then. The doctor said we should talk to him about it and ask him to try to stop. She didn't recommend the nasty tasting stuff since kids usually just suck it off. Sucking is a comfort thing so you could try giving her something else in it's place. We have been trying to give my son two small toys to hold in each hand when he sleeps and that seems to be helping some. I wouldn't push too hard though because it might make it worse. Good luck!

A., thumb sucking is soothing. I was a thumb sucker until I was 12. The reason was for comfort and security. I had many siblings ahead of me and only two parents and not enough time spent with them. I eventually grew out of it, but I remember my parents desperately trying to break my habit. My father finally gave up. I told them that when I was ready I would. I thumb sucked when I was tired and going to bed. The doctor informed my parents that time is all I needed and that was it. As far as teeth, mine are inward because I used my fore finger to suck which did not result in buck teeth as many believed. I have nephews that did not suck and have buck teeth, only to have major dental braces to retrack the teeth. She is only 3. Spend more time with her and please don't threaten her with taking away her blanky or other stuff. She will only suffer from stress and become a worry wart. Keep it light and simple, life is too short to freak out over a thumb sucker. Keep her confident and love her to pieces, the results may surprise you.
M. in MO (Grandmother today)

When I was younger I sucked my thumb as well and when my mom took me to the dentist he said he was going to put something in my mouth that would prick my thumb when I started sucking it and that broke me of the habit.

A. - Hi. I have a thumb sucker also. I actually have utero pictures of my son sucking his thumb! My son just turned nine. I think he rarely, if ever, sucks his thumb now. I never see him do it anymore. AFTER age 2 or 3 he did it mainly at night right as he drifted off to sleep or if he was sick/hurt. I have asked his pediatrician AND my daughter's orthodontist multiple times and both assured me it is NOT a big deal at all. They said it is only a big deal if the child does it all day long everyday (think excessive here, lol). From your post she is no where near that. I think some of the other posters are absolutely right...don't make it an issue. She WILL stop on her own. Don't resort to pasting her thumb with stuff and threats and losses of privileges. It isn't worth it. She really will stop on her own. Her teeth would not look perfect anyways at her age. My son is 9 and his are far from looking perfect but the orthodontist said they would look like that no matter what as it has to do with a lot of growing in there NOT because of any thumb sucking. My daughters were the same and she never sucked her thumb. Just be patient. I made a comment to my son a about 4 years ago telling him I noticed he rarely sucks his thumb anymore and told him I was impressed he was getting to be such a big kid. Positive works. He began to do it less and less almost immediately. I know you are upset about it, and all us parents worry about things, but I think three is young for you to be overly concerned about it. I would give her more time and I really believe it will improve. Good Luck! By the way, she has a beautiful name! :)

I have a daughter now 10 that sucked her thumb until she was about 8. Start with the polish that you put on her nails that tastes bad. Also try the gloves, we use old mismatched socks, on her hands at night. Cover both hands, as my daughter just started sucking the other one when the one she usually sucked was covered. We used tape around the botton of the sock to hold it on or she would just take them off. Don't let the tape touch her skin as it may irritate the skin over night. After all this we still ended up at the dentist with a mouth guard. Finally had to have the prongs put on it to stop her. Then we had to pay the dentist to fix her teeth. Stay with it now. Start with the easy. Good luck and be patient

Hi A.
I did suck my thumb till I was 6.I always had a blanket with me also, so I can hold on to it.Finally I just stoped sucking on my own but till today (I'm 34) I have to hold the corner of the blanket at night to fall asleep. I have no good advise, be patient, she will get over it.

Good luck

My 4 yr. old was a thumb sucker too. We bought this stuff at walmart called Hoof. It's a no bite stuff. you can get it in the finger nail polish isle. It's safe to use, but has the worst taste ever so your child won't stick that finger in her mouth. We put it on all of our sons fingers just in case he decided to start sucking on a different one. It worked great. He would only suck his thumb pretty much during the day. Mostly when he got nervous or scared, or wanted to sooth himself. As soon as he started preschool he completely stopped sucking his thumb. I guess seeing other kids his age not suck their thumbs helped him too. He'll probably have to have some work done on his teeth from sucking on his thumb. But only time will tell once he loses his baby teeth.

Hi I have an idea for you that worked for a friend of mine. They told thier little girl that if she did not quit sucking her thumb it would rot off. They then caught her asleep and colored the tip of her thumb black. She has not sucked her thumb to date and was about the same age as yor daughterwhen it happened. She is now in 1st grade.. I hope this is of some help to you.

I have seen this liquid at Walgreen's in baby care section where all the toiletries are it is called THUMB it is in a small package.I guess it is to help stop sucking on the thumb.Have you tried to talk to her about sucking her thumb and the reason's why you don't want her to do this anymore.

A.,
This subject has been discussed before on this forum, so I won't take a long time to write. But, first thing, thumb sucking is not going to ruin her teeth. At this point she only has baby teeth and unless your daughter has some kind of soft tissue problem in her mouth, I can't imagine she is going to ruin any permanent teeth that are a long ways away from coming in. Many people grew up sucking thumbs and are very well adjusted adults. She will grow out of it eventually. I don't advise making it a battle. We adults like our coffee and tea, kids like thumbs.

D. D. - a former thumb sucker with a daughter who is 9 and just gave up thumb sucking a year ago on her own.

A friend of mine had success soaking her daughters hand in vinegar...it seems kinda strange but she saw results!

A friend of mine used the it takes 21 days to break a habit & bribery for her daughter. Her daughter wanted fish really bad so they made a deal, if she quite sucking her thumb for 21 days they would get a fish. During this time she would wait for her daughter to make mile stones like 2 days & they went & bought the fish bowl, another couple of days & they bought the rocks, etc. on the 21st day they go the fish. This worked for them & seemed like such a fun creative way to make it happen. Really put the responsibility on the child to control her own results.

get a fitted glove (white kid gloves)have her wear it for 30 minutes each time she sticks her thumb in her mouth.at night she wears it to bed.worked for my brother and myself

Try putting tabasco sauce on her thumb. Sometimes that works, especially if she's a 1 thumb girl and doesn't switch off thumbs. I tried everything for my son, but it didn't work, he would suck either thumb and at least kept it in his mouth until he was a teenager, so some will do it no matter what you do. And it is NOT your fault! I am a grandmother of teens now and practically raised them after raising my own 2 kids. Good luck!

I sucked my thumb until the second grade. My parents tried everything from putting tobasco sauce on my thumb to some really awful tasting stuff. I would just suck it off. The dentist suggested mittens when I went to bed and it worked. Surprisely I did'nt take them off when I slept. Good Luck!

I wouldn't worry. I sucked my thumb ever since I was a baby up to 11 years old. My mom tried many ways to stop me from sucking my thumb, but her efforts failed. One day I decided no more and stopped, my mom was baffled. Sucking didn't affect my teeth at all. If I were you, I would just let it go because it's her security. Just relax and go with the flow. She will eventually quit on her own.

This probably isn't the expert way to do this, but it worked for my daughter who, I believe, sucked her thumb in utero. I didn't get concerned about her thumb sucking and teeth until she was getting her permanent teeth. So, I didn't deal with this until she was about 6 years old. She only sucked her thumb at night. Before bed, probably after dinner, we talked a bit about it and she agreed she needed to stop. In my mind, that was a big key. We started by lying in her bed together and I asked her keep her thumb out of her mouth for as long as she could and I would count to myself. The next night, I told her she kept it out for so many counts. I told her I would hold her hand for the first count, plus 10 counts. Then she could put her thumb in her mouth if she wanted. We made it longer and longer until she fell asleep before I let go of her hand. DONE! No trauma, she had control.

They have stuff that you can put on their fingernails to keep them from biting their nails. It has a bad taste that stays in their mouth for a short time. If it will stop you from biting your nails, I would think it would have the same effect on thumbsucking. You can get it at Wal-mart or another store like it. Just ask someone that works their. It does work for nail biting. Good luck.

There is a spice called alum, very safe but very disgusting. My sister had to use it on my nephew, who sucked his thumb in his sleep til he was 12, after using the alum, he broke the habit. Dip each thumb in the alum right before going to bed. You may not need to completely cover it, just the tip. The taste will discourage the thumb sucking, because the taste buds do not sleep! HTH

I am a firm believer in talking with your kids about what your doing to them, not sneaking anything up on them and letting them know what's going on, especially when it comes to behavior issues. Instead of sneaking a fluid like alum or tabassco onto her fingers, talk to her about it first, tell her why you're doing this, tell her your concerns about her teeth. Talk to her as though she is a big girl. Treating our children older helps them to feel older and want to act older. Not that I'm rushing my children to grow up but sometimes when it comes to behavior that is harmful to them or others, it's important that they know. (such as arched pallet of front teeth)Good luck in whatever you decide to do...

A.-
I too live in Missouri and my thumbsucker is now 6 almost 7. She quit when she went to kindergarten and also only sucked her thumb at night. We tried everything and it is difficult to break. She did not suck her thumb when she had a band-aid on it, because it got dry and had a little crack/sore. I was a little worried about her trying to suck her thumb and the band-aid becoming a choking hazard. She soon returned to the habit when her thumb was better. We also tried painting her nails and not wanting to mess her pretty thumb up, pulling it out when we went to bed. We also had the pediatric dentist talk to her, offered bribes... Sorry not alot of help, but maybe one of those will work for you. Every kid is different. Chances are she will stop on her own and we can both save for orthondicts!

You are going to laugh - I am now 52 years old and can vividly remember what my mother did to me! I was about 4 and she was becoming exasperated with my thumb sucking. She said I was even becoming embarrassed by it, but one day she walked in and caught me sucking my thumb, and instead of being embarrassed, I popped it back in my mouth very defiantly. So that did it - she told me she was going to put some "bad stuff" on my thumbs and proceeded to put rubbing alcohol on them (of course I didn't know what she was using) and I ran around the house waving my thumbs in the air for about a half hour. I also never sucked my thumb again, unless I was extremely tired. It is worth a try!