How to Break Thumbsucking Habit

My 3.5 always has her thumb in her mouth...I was worried about but decided that she will give it up when she is ready. Good luck.

Hi M.:

I am a pediatric dentist and thumbsucking is a very difficult habit to break b/c unfortunately it ultimately is your child's decision. Your son is 3 and only sucks his thumb when he is tired (this is the most common time for this to occur). However at those times he is too tired to care and reason as to why he should not be doing it. The most important thing is to make sure he stops before the permanent teeth come in. But that is not to say to wait until that time. You can gently remind him or take his thumb out of his mouth after he falls asleep. You can definitely try the band-aids like a few of the responders. If he does end up having an injury to the thumb that requires a band-aid then continue with the band-aids until he stops if the band-aid does indeed deter him from sucking. This habit will take time to wean and the longer he does it the harder it is to wean (if he does not end up weaning himself). Perhaps at 4, you can start a calendar that charts his progress, similar to a diet calendar. Set weekly attainable goals w/ a reward at the end. The goal can include taking 1 nap w/o sucking his thumb... The reward should not be anything monetary or a toy. The reward may be he gets to go to the park or pick what to have for dinner...

Good luck. It is good that you have identified this so you can SLOWLY start the process of weaning. But until he really understands or cares about its cause and effect, there will not be much you can do at this point.

C.

My eight year old sucks her thumb. Not as much as she used to but when she is relaxing or tired or cranky or upset she will pop it into her mouth. We used to try and get her to stop but we really cant control her thumb so we stopped trying. I figure she will give it up when she is ready.

Hi M.,

I am in the same boat! My son is 3 1/2 and had his first dentist appointment this week. They said the same thing his Ped. said though - not to try and force him to quit or it will make it worse. The thumbsucking is driving my husband crazy and he wants me to keep at him to get him to quit. He also has a favoirte stuffed toy that he uses to omfort him along with the thumb. If you have any success with any method I would love to hear about it.

L.

HI M.,
My daughter is 5 and Im having the same problem. My husband is a dentist. The teeth shifting IS from the thumb sucking, but he says with baby teeth it is not critical - your son is a little young to worry about it, but like I said, ours is 5... he should be done sucking his thumb by then (sounds good in theory! HA!) Anyway, when he is old enough to talk to about it, talk about being a big boy and that it is hurting his teeth, etc and that he should try to stop. We talked to our daughter about ways to help her remember to not do it (it is a habit) and she suggested putting band aids (which she loves) on her thumbs to remind her. This has been working really well so far. If there is no desire to try to stop, like he is sucking even when he is reminded, then my husband says the best thing to do is wait it out and try again - dont force it or it will backfire. Anyway, hope this is helpful - good luck! J.

It is fine that the s sound is not clear at 3. Relax. If in doubt, contact your local school system for a free screening of speech. But don't stress over a child who knows how to self-calm.

I, too, was a thumb sucker. I only sucked my thumb with a particular blanket as well. On my 4th birthday - Mum took a picture - we wrapped up the blanket and put it away for good, I think it ended p in a trunk in the basement. I was distracted by the birthday activities and Mum tells me that she had been preparing me for months about what she was going to do, and how the blanket was going away forever.
Once the blanket was gone, the thumb didn't taste the same, and I quit. My speech is fine, but I did need 5 years of orthodontic work to fix my jaw line. And I'm an emotionally fit, psychologically intact woman... as far as I can tell. Good luck!

Hi M. - First of all, don't worry too much - he won't graduate high school with his thumb in his mouth!

The problem is not the thumb, it's the blanket. We had the same problem. It took a long time to prepare our daughter to put the blanket down, but when she did, the thumb sucking was done.

Here's what we eventually did - and it worked like a charm. (However, again, it took a lot of preparation and she HAD to be ready - this is not a time to lord control over your child.)

So - when she was ready, she helped us find a shoe box. She took some stuff and made a bed in it. When she went to bed, she'd put her lovie blanket in bed too. Then she said good night to it and we put it next to her pillow.

We had some fits and starts with it, but eventually it worked. All very easy and natural.

At the same time, we had dicussions about being grown-up (may be complicated by your son's birth order... but that's another story) We did promise to get her something that only a grown up child can have (hermit crab, turtle, new baseball glove, whatever he's coveting at the moment), because this new thing has responsiblity, so only a big boy can have one.

So when the blanket slept in it's own bed for a while and she was done with it, she put the top on it and we put it in the attic in her "special box" with the baby shoes, etc.

She was 5 then and she is now 10. Last year, when she was sick, she asked me to go get it. No thumb sucking occurred, only love and comfort. Next day, it was tossed with the other stuff on the bed...

And don't worry about the teeth - there's always something, and most likely the thumb isn't causing the damage. If it is, he'll probably need braces anyway, so the thumb sucking is minor to the whole structure of his mouth.

Hey - don't fret the small stuff! Have fun with those boys. If nothing else, eventually he'll see that thumb sucking is a little boy thing and he'll want to give it up himself - with your help.

All I can tell you is to watch for the signs (and the opportunities). Don't push it. My son was 3 1/2. I had heard the same thing from the dentist and his pediatrician, but also was told that I still had time. What worked for my son was bandaids. He had a little scrape on "the thumb". He was so freaked out by the bandaid on his thumb that he forgot about sucking it. Of course, we also had to wrap the entire hand in an orange towel so he couldn't see the thumb anymore, but it worked the first night. The second night, he was ok without the orange towel, but now we had to put bandaids on all of his fingers..........and mine.....and Dads. My husband was a little concerned about the bandaids we were wasting, but the difference was dental bills or bandaids. That's what worked for Ben. I still have one more to work on, but she is only two. Good luck with yours.

Let him suck it. The teeth are not the result of the thumb. This is a myth. He will give it up when he is ready....maybe later, then you think he should...but at twenty, he will not still be doing it. At three, they do not have all their sounds down pat yet, that will come in time as well. Let him grow and change at his pace, not someone else's timetable.

Hi M.,
I have a 3.5 year old thumb sucker/blankie boy. I, too, am trying to break the habit. The dentist is particularly concerned and wants him to stop. My pediatrican suggested telling him he can only such his thumb in front of me and Daddy. Then eventually, only by himself, then only at bedtime, etc. You get the picture. My son didn't; but it might work for you. My son did get a cut on his thumb and quit sucking (and the blankie) for two straight weeks, but as soon as the thumb healed...plop it went back in his mouth.

Good luck and if you receive some great advice, I sure would appreciate hearing it, too.
Thanks,
B. G.

My daughter is 5 yrs old and a thumb sucker. I too was concerned about her teeth being pushed forward(and they are)but since everyone in our families have needed braces anyway, I've decided that her being able to comfort herself is more important than crooked teeth.