Okay Ladies,
I am in dire need of some help with this one. She has been sucking her finger since she was in the womb. We even have the 3-d pictures with her finger in her mouth so needless to say it is her comforter. I have tried offering her other things to put in her hand now she want to hold something while she sucks her finger.
I tried making things to put on her hand, they got so nasty so fast I couldn't keep the demand up.
I have tried talking to her about it and she is not feeling giving up her finger.
I have tried putting nasty things on her finger she sucks her finger until it comes off.
She is determined to keep it. I want it to go. It is messing with her teeth and I don't want her to be sucking her finger when she starts school.
ANY suggestions will help! Has anybody had success?
Thank you all so much! U guys are the greatest!
Our son needed braces but was still sucking his thumb in his sleep and wasn't even aware. Our orthodontist suggested putting band aids on his thumb (or fingers in your case) they taste bad,, that has seemed to help
Plus little ones love cartoon bandaids.. so maybe she will leave them on!
Good luck
Hi Tarin, well here's a totally different perspective... I'd just let it go for awhile (I have three girls, two of which had oral fixations... paci and thumb). Age 3 is so between baby and kid. At her very young age, the more you try to fix it the more she may cling to the habit. A paci you can take away (which I did at age 3). A thumb or finger is rough. My daughter decided at age 5 that she was not going to suck her thumb anymore, but it did progress from quite often down to only at night then on to nothing. She will grow out of this as she matures, but trying to stop it could just prolong the natural. Just a thought.... :o)
Your daughter might need the oral stimulation. My son has this problem and he is 4 1/2. There are apparently some vibrating brushes (and others that don't vibrate) that you can use a few times per day to help eliminate that habit.
http://shoponline.pfot.com/oralmotor.htm#910
They are not expensive and you can ask a therapist online when you order. My son goes to private OT and they recommended this to us yesterday.
Mel
i cant remember for sure the catalog, but it may be one step ahead, that carries a soft plastic/rubber guard that you Velcro over the hand. they have one for thumb suckers and one for finger suckers. i think that you replace the finger cover portion every so often. you could give it a try.
Hi Tarin...
What does your pedodontist say? Has he/she talked to your daughter? Sometimes hearing it from someone else can do the trick because they've been "caught." Not family, or extended family, but familiar faces. My 4 yr old daughter sucks her two fingers and the dentist says her bite is ok now and most out-grow on their own by age 5, they don't go to school usually doing it! If so, at bedtimes and then you can use a mouth guard. My sister used one for a long time, she was stubborn! Your dentist should be able to give you a guard for her, or recommend something else.
Good luck!
Kim
My 5 yr old still sucks his thumb. When he was about 3 1/2 we made a deal that he can only suck his thumb in OUR car, and at OUR home. He still sucks his thumb, but it isn't all the time. He tends to forget about it until he is really tired or upset. I hope that helps a little bit.
My daughter was a thumb sucker in the womb. I had no clue how to break her of it. Then she started asking to wear nail polish like Grandma (I don't wear it). I put some on her and told her if she waqnted to keep it pretty to show Grandma this weekend she couldn't suck her thumb. It worked!! I only had to remind her a few times the first day or so and then she was fine. She is 4 now. Every once in a while I catch her sucking it in her sleep but that is all. Good luck.
