My son is 2 yrs old and has never used a pacifier or sucked his thumb. He does have a lovey he calls Bebe. Recently he has been falling asleep without Bebe (he gives it to me, I don't know why) and when dropped off at daycare wants me to put Bebe in his cubby. He came home from daycare today sucking his thumb. He has done this before but it has never lasted more than a minute or two. Today he has been doing for a few hours, and I'm starting to wonder why he is suddenly sucking his thumb. I worries me a little. I've decided to ignore it for a while, but if it keeps up I want it to stop.
Please give any advice or thoughts.
Thanks to everyone who offered advice and comfort! I have not noticed him sucking his thumb in the last few days. I tried the ignore it approach, and I guess it worked (for right now anyway). I do think some other child at daycare sucks their thumb, so he was probably just copying that kid. But again thanks for everything! :)
I wouldn't worry too much about it. If he isn't doing it all the time. He is probably seeing someboby else at daycare doing it. He may be getting some comfort out of it, too. I don't have any advice though, sorry. I just write you to say not to worry. I know it's hard though.
A.
Hello, Just a thought here! Maybe he has seen another child at day care sucking their thumb and so he thought he was suppose to also. Also it could very well be what the other person said and someone has hurt him. {I pray that is not it} I would ckeck into that though or ask if any other children are thumb suckers! Good luck I know how hard it is to be a single mom!
Hello Kristen,
It does sound like either another child has made fun of his lovey or an adult may be trying to wean him out of having it and that may be why his giving it to you at bedtime and asking you to put it in his cubby at daycare, and the thumbsucking is a replacement to comfort himself without his lovey.
Hi K.,
It could be that your son has seen another kid at daycare sucking their thumb and he is just copying them. Try telling him that it's nasty and could make him sick from germs being on his hands. I hope this helps a little.
You need to find out if any of the other children at the daycare are doing the same. And kind of watch for other signs, don't be alarmed, but he could be being mistreated at the daycare as well. Hopefully not. But if another child is doing the thumb sucking then he has picked it up and finds it acceptable. As far as his "bebe" hopefully no one has belittled him about that. That could do alot of damage to a childs self asteem. Just try to be more observant to how he acts when you leave him and when you pick him up. Let me know what happens. Comfort him and offer him other things in place of his thumb. Maybe that will appease the need for it.
Huggs
S. B.
Bassett
Hi K.,
It almost sounds like someone at school teased him about his lovey and that child sucks his thumb. Talk to him and ask him why he doesn't love Bebe any more. He'll be able to tell you more than you think and you may find a bully in his class. Once you know what's really going on, it's easy to address it.
Dear K.,
I agree with the other moms, that he could be copying another child about the thumb sucking. I do know that thumb sucking is a way that children self sooth. I started sucking my thumb in the infant stage and my sister sucked her finger. I think that we started because our parents never came in to comfort us at night when we cried so we had to learn another why to get comfort. You should try to do a little investigating to see if something is bothering him. I also sucked my thumb until I was 13. WOW, I know that's what you must be thinking, but my parents ignored the doctors recommendation which was to ignore it. My parents feared it would cause a really bad over bite, which it didn't. The doctor assured them that if left alone I would eventually stop on my own. After my parents thought I stopped, and they left me alone. I quit with in the next few months. Hope I helped!
I would try to understand if something strange happened. Has he been shouted on by an adult? Did anybody (adults) hurt him in any way? Hopefully nothing like this happened but I would chek. It could be just a phase when he need to be reassured.
Good luck,
I would suggest that you take a few minutes when he starts sucking his thumb and give him some paper and a few crayons. See what emotions he expresses on paper. This will get his thumb out of his mouth while you get to see what he is trying to express. Replace a poor habit with a creative one. You get refrigerator art and he gets to be proactive. There is nothing inherently wrong with having a "lovey" so standup for your kid at the day care and INSTRUCT them to stop having him give it up at naptime. I have a feeling that this is not coming from another child but probably from another adult trying to "parent" your child. Good luck and relax, when you help them build confidence, they will eventually give up those carry-alongs on their own when they are ready.
