We have never made a big deal out of our daugther sucking her thumb (because people said it would make her do it more) but now she is asking me for help to stop. She asked me to try to help her stop last year when school started too and we tried putting "no bite" on her nails. That slowed her down a little but she got to where she would chip it off and finally to where she would just suck her thumb anyway in spite of the bad taste (especially at night). After a few months, we just gave up and went back to the theory that she would stop when she was ready. She only does it at night or when she is tired. I really want to help her but I don't know what else to do.
The orthodentist can insert a device that has sharp prongs into the roof of her mouth. But a child will find a way around that device! maybe tape her thumbs or sucking fingers with a big hunk of silver freezer tape.... good luck.
No help here - my 3 1/2 year old still sucks hers quite a bit. And with the stress of moving I'm not going to work at breaking the habit for now.
My son sucked his thumb and what we did for him was put a glove on his had at night and he stopped. Nothing fancy but it really worked.
Our son just couldn't quit the habit either. My husband tried everything and I just kept quiet knowing that one day he would be ready. When he lost his two top teeth I decided it was time to take action. I explained to my son that if he sucked his thumb with no top teeth, or even his new ones, it could change the shape of his top pallet(sp?). Which I said would lead to wearing braces for a long time. After that conversation he began to sit on his hand when he felt the urge. Before we knew it he had stopped!.
I think they just have to make the decision to stop themselves!
All that said, there is a device the dentist can install in their mouth so they don't suck their thumb. Most dentists from what I've heard will only put one in if the child really wants to quit!
Hope that helps! Good Luck!
My oldest stopped on his own, but my middle child had to have some help... including the involvement of her orthodontist to help her understand the importance of breaking the habit. It sounds like your daughter has the desire, which is a good start. My only thought from our experience is that if you can identify a "trigger", you might be able to remove the trigger. For my daughter, she only sucked her thumb in bed, or when watching T.V. with her blanket. We discovered it was the blanket that went with the thumb sucking. She never sucked her thumb, unless she had that blanket... and as soon as it was in her hand, the thumb went in the mouth! So, blanket went "bye bye" and she was no longer able to have it in bed, either. We had a chart that we marked off each day/night she was successful. The orthodontist also recommended socks to her pajama shirt, if she needed extra help breaking the habit... but that was suggested only as "plan B" if she was unable to kick the habit without that. For us, the simple act of removing the blanket did the trick. Don't know if that helps at all. I think it's okay to point out when she is sucking her thumb. It may be so much a habit that she doesn't even realize when she's doing it. Awareness is key. Good luck!
I'm looking for ideas to stop our almost 4yr from sucking her thumbs. She does it when she is watching tv or going to sleep at naptime/night. We also tried the bitter nail stuff and that didn't work. She will suck either thumb. Maybe I will give the tape a try.
We have been weaning our daughter onto the pacifier to get her off her thumb. With the idea that we can get her to decide she doesn't need a pacifier later on. To wean her off the pacifier we tell her that it is broken and slowly cut back the tip until there is nothing left.
We used the cut back paci method with my son and it worked pretty well. I like it because he has the option of keeping it but he doesn't want it because it is broken...it is more of a decision that he made.
Other people have suggested using sour apple stuff on her thumb.
All kids are different so may this will help or maybe not. Good luck!
My two older daughters (now 13 and 9) both sucked their thumbs for years. My eldest was still doing at night when she was 10 years old. But she really wanted to stop so we would tape her thumb each night -- just use first aid tape or masking tape. When she slept, she would put her thumb near her mouth because it gave her comfort, but the tape really did the trick. Within a few weeks the habit was broken. My 9 year old just had better willpower -- when she decided to stop (I think she was in 1st grade), she just did it!
I know you posted this a few days ago but noone mentioned this solution so I thought I's send you the info about the method I'm using with my almost 5 year old.
When we were at the dentist about a month ago they mentioned thumb guards to me. I have never really cared whether my daughter sucked her thumb so I said I didn't want it. But my daugher ended up seeing it and said she wanted it. So we got it. Tonight will be 3 weeks and I think it's working. I haven't seen her even try to such her thumb in over a week. They said to use them for 30 days to completely break the habit. They are just plastic devices that you put over each thumb and close them with a hospital type bracelet. They are not uncomfortable at all and after a few days my daughter forgot to come into my room for me to cut them off her. We just use them at night and I believe it's working. I feel alot better about this than the device that you have inserted into her mouth. I think once they get too old for the thumb guards that's the only other option.
good luck.
