6 Month & Thumb Sucking

When my little boy started sucking his thumb, I had the same thinking as you. I thought that a pacifier would be easy to take away and I didn't want him to be a thumb sucker either. I tried to just keep taking his hands out of his mouth, but I couldn't do that all of the time. When he was sleeping and tired, he would always end up with his thumb in his mouth. I just decided that it wasn't worth the fight. In the end, I actually enjoyed having a kid who was satisfied with his thumb. I never had to worry about losing a pacifier or forgetting to take one with me. He always had his thumbs with him and he could soothe himself to sleep at night instead of me having to go searching for a pacifier in the middle of the night like I did with my first child. I was worried about how long he would suck his thumb, but when my little boy started crawling and eating solid foods and was able to put things like cherrios and fruit puffs in his mouth , he forgot all about his thumbs! He found better things to do with his hands by the time he was 9 or 10 months old. So, I learned that a thumb-sucking kid wasn't such a bad thing. I was also worried about the germs that he would be sticking in his mouth, but he didn't have any more illnesses than my child who used a pacifier! Good luck with whatever you decide!

I would say that that is just his natural way of comforting and soothing hisself. In my experience the more you try to get your children NOT to do something the more they resist. I would say not to worry about it, let him ride it out and don't put too much focus on it.

I have three boys and have never let them have a pacifier nor their thumbs. Every time they started sucking their thumbs I pulled them out. You just have to distract them with something else. Give them a toy to hold to keep their hands busy. Don't start using a pacifier now when they should be going off that as well. If you don't start then you don't have to take it away.

With my son every time he put his thumbs in his mouth I would take them right back out again and say " No Thumbs" if he tried it again I would give him his pacifier instead. He has ever since preferred his pacifier than his thumb.

I have a 10 month old, thumb sucker... at first I was concerned as well. However, after speaking with his pediatrician and nurses, I learned that it is nothing to worry about, at least not until age 3 or 4. I was told that I could cause more damage (mentally) by trying to prevent him from sucking his thumb because there is a reason he is sucking it now (probably for comfort). So, I wouldn't stress about it for now.

A.,

I wouldn't make it a big deal -- I remember when my son was this age and discovered his thumbs also and it really is just a phase for some kids. At one point my son figured out how to get his big toes in his mouth while I would change his diaper!! :) He is now almost 13 months old and he doesn't such his thumb at all. It could be a number of reasons why your son has started to such his thumb -- simply discovered it (hmmm...what is this? what does it taste like?), teething (great to chew on), or just using it like a toy. I don't think parents in general should worry about thumb-sucking until after the child is one, then the child is intentionally using it for comfort, but at this age I don't think its a big deal.
Hope this helps!!