7 Month Old Thumb Sucker

what do you think is the problem with thumb sucking? why is plastic better than his own thumb? sometimes ignoring what you think is a problem takes the energy away from it, and you can trust that your son will not be sucking his thumb when he goes to college, i promise you,

best to you mom.

I understand preferring the paci to the thumb. I can get rid of it when I'm ready! The thumb is always there. I have the same fear for our 17 month old. I fought the with the paci, but the thumb won out. My fear is his being old enough his friends make fun of him. If it's any encouragement, lately he has cut back on the use on his own. It is now used exclusively for going to sleep. Down from when he was bored or upset. He now goes to sleep in the car without sucking his thumb if he doesn't have his blanket, and he can self-calm without either. A big step for me! Bed is the only time the blanket and thumb seem to come into play. We travel a lot, so the blanket does go places with us, and he does suck his thumb more when it's around. I just want to encourgage you, that although I would rather be done with the thumb, he is self weaning from it! I'm told be others that it will happen. I know when they're older there's a product you can use called the thumb guard. I have friends that have used that for 3 and 4 year olds and it has worked well.

Hi K.,

My son is almost 2 and he sucks his thumb. We took the pacifier away when he was 4 months because we were told it was bad for the development of babies teeth. We too have tried everything to get him to stop sucking his thumb. My pediatrician said that we can break him of it by simply removing his thumb from his mouth. We don't tell him anything we just remove it. The key is consistency. It seems to really be working. He doesn't suck his thumb nearly as much as he used to and he doesn't cry as much when we take it out. He used to throw a fit when we would tell him to stop. We had considered putting something on his nail to make it taste bad (they sell something at walgreens) but his doctor said they don't work. Good Luck!
R.

My middle son would NEVER take the pacifier, and believe me, we tried. We found that he was much easier pacified, since his pacifier was always at his side. He naturally cut down his thumb sucking to bedtime only, and around the age of 4 we started speaking to him about the risks of his teeth sticking out, etc. It took some constant reminding at bedtime, but by the age of 5, he had completely quit sucking his thumb at bedtime too. Looking back, it was nice to have such different habits from each of our children. Its a great way to differentiate their baby stage. There are nasty flavored (but safe) liquids to assist in quitting thumbsucking if your child doesn't quit by the time YOU want them to!
Enjoy him while he's young. They grow up tooo fast!

My kids never sucked thumb or pacifier and I was so sad about it because we struggled with sleep issues because it was hard for all three of them to learn to self-sooth another way. Children inheritantly know what they need and go for it -- how beautiful is that? Both my pediatrician and my dentist have said to me that dental probelms are inherited and thumb sucking is no issue for teeth development. I also have friends who had heavy thumb suckers and they learn to suck their thumbs only a night and in private because they naturally figure out that it is not "cool" around the age of 5 or 6. I really won't worry, let go and enjoy. Children all over the world suck their thumbs!!!

Break the habit if you can now. It's much harder when they're older. Try pinning a sock onto his shirt sleeve so that he does not have access to the hand at all. A long sock that will go up his arm is best and then pin it to the shirt so that his arm and hand are in the sock.

I have a 6 year old that I've been trying to break of the finger sucking habit since she was 2. It's very difficult. The sock method seemed to work best until she learned to just take her arm out of the neck portion of the shirt (she was 3 at the time). It's much easier when they're smaller (which I've been told). I wish I had known that when mine was still a baby.

The bitter stuff for the thumbnail didn't help us either. We've tried just about everything - I even talked to the dentist and she said you can do much more harm if you install a metal bracket in their mouth so that route doesn't work either. Good luck - I think you'll have more success since your little boy is much younger.

I sucked my thumb until I was eight and never had dental problems. My 3 year old and 18 month old both suck their thumb and would much rather see their thumb than the pacifier> I've seen a 5 year old in the store with a pacifier and that looks tacky. My pediatrician said that their is no risk of dental problems. Its a myth and dental problems are inherited. all habits like thumb sucking are out grown. Like my 3 year old used to poke her nose while sucking her thumb. That lasted 6 months. It was gross. But we survived. Let you child be. . Please

K.,
Can you stand one more response on the thumbsucking?? I have four children and have dozens (literally) of nieces and nephews. My take on thumbsucking is that they are the BEST and most CONTENT babies in the world. Give me a thumbsucker anyday! They learn how to pacify themselves and you don't have to keep replacing their thumb! PLUS--I'd rather have them wear braces then see a therapist anyday! My daughter sucked her thumb and my well-meaning dentist kept encouraging to make her stop. I told him this and he just smiled. She wore braces--but who cares? So did one of my sons and he never sucked his thumb. There are much worse things in this world than a 7 month old (or 6 year old) sucking their thumb and buck teeth. From what I've observed, they are some of the happiest kids I know! Good luck!
K.

Hi K. -
Children suck on their thumb when they need more nurturing. My mother was very aloof and rarely held me...as a result I sucked my thumb for many years and had to have braces for over 5 years to correct the crooked teeth. I hold my little boy all of the time and he has never once sucked his thumb. Just a thought. Good luck, L.

My youngest was a thumb sucker and still would at nearly six if we didn't find a way to stop her. We tried the pacifer with her and she wanted nothing to do with it either. And, yes, is most certainly leads to dental problems. She probably would have needed braces anyway, but she will most certainly need braces now, and extra work to reshape her palet.
I used a product called "Stop the Bite!" that I got at WalMart (in the nail care section) for $2.74. Someone from this site told me about it and it was great.
The issue is whether to try do anything now or wait. My dentist said to let her suck her thumb until she was three, then stop the habit. His sister is a Child Psych. and said it can do more harm then good to force them so stop what comforts them before that age. I'm not sure how changing from the thumb to a pacifier plays into that. I guess you could try putting the stuff on his thumb and then give him the pacifer, but wipe out his mouth first, because the thumb stuff taste bad and you don't want him to think they both taste the same.
There really is no right or wrong answer for you, just follow your instincts and do what you think is best.