Question for Parents of Thumb Suckers

I fought my son on it until about 4 months, at which time he very effectively lost all his pacis one day. At almost 5 (next month), he still sucks his thumb. If I could have kept him on a paci I would have. We were done with pacis at 5 months for my oldest and 13 months for my youngest. I wish I could have won that battle. If you can avoid it, it's worth it, but it sounds like that is the route you're headed down. For my daughter we just snipped the end off her paci, just a bit, not even enough to see. She decided she didn't want it that way. It was pretty easy for her. My oldest never really cared. GL either way!

I had kids who used pacifiers and thumb and one or two who when I took the pacifier went to thumb so I would NOT worry about either. They will quit when you finally say it's time and I had some with braces who did one or the other and some who did neither. I would vote for the thumb as far as germs go with other kids getting the pacifier some places but on the other hand when you throw it out and they are old enough to know it's 'over' it is gone.

I think my son really had it down pat by three or four months. I love that he's a thumb sucker since he can self-soothe. The moment that thumb goes in he's out!

My son loved to suck his thumb from birth to about 5 months old and then totally stopped. H enever liked pacifiers either, although he still loves to nurse (he is 16 montsh old now). If you guide his thumb to his mouth when he loses it that helps to get the baby back to sleep sometimes.

Also, I think that when parents are grossed out by thumb sucking or it REALLY bothers them that their child sucks their thumb, it is much more the PARENT'S problem than the child's. People get WAY too upset over such a little thing, if he still sucks his thumb when he is 6 so what? Don't freak out and make him feel bad about it! Sometimes we all need a little self soothing, many adults would think nothing of smoking a cigarette or haivng an alcholic drink to soothe themsleves and those habits are far more discusting and harmful than thumb sucking.

Just wanted to reassure you that many children who suck their thumbs don't need braces. My siblings and I sucked our thumbs until we went to elementary school - or even longer. And none of us needed braces.

Here is a statement from Babycenter saying that attempting to stop a 2 year-old from sucking will just make it worse: http://www.babycenter.com/0_thumb-sucking-why-it-happens-...

What to do about thumb-sucking
Don't worry too much. Although you may fret that thumb-sucking is hurting your 2-year-old's teeth or jaw, children can safely suck their thumbs until age 3 or 4, according to the American Dental Association. Keep in mind, too, that not all thumb-sucking is equally damaging; experts say it's the intensity of the sucking and the tongue's thrust that deforms teeth and makes braces necessary later. Kids who rest their thumbs passively in their mouths are less likely to have difficulty than children who suck aggressively. So watch your child and analyze his technique. If he sucks vigorously, you may want to begin curbing his habit earlier, say when he turns 3.

My son stopped sucking on his own when he was still an infant, before 6 months. One way to stop it is to put the fold over sleeves on him, I know it's practically summer! But I didn't do anything to make him stop it just sort of disappeared.

Paci's are SO much easier to get rid of... find them all, throw them out, no more paci's!! Thumbs... not so easy to get rid of ;)

My middle child is 5 and I still catch her sucking her thumb... she started around 6 months. OVER the thumb sucking!!

Is it always his thumbs? maybe he is starting the early process of teething. My daughter gnawed on her knuckles some when she started teething. If he is drooling a lot I might guess that he is just teething a little

If it seems like a consistent habit is forming, I would try substituting a pacifier (myself). If weaning off the pacifier is hard, I think weaning him from thumb sucking would be MUCH harder. At least a pacifier can "go away" someday... but you can never take away his thumbs. I remember a friend of mine who still sucked her thumb at night when she was 7-8 years old! Since it was a sleep habit... she did get teased for it when we went to sleepovers and summer camp. At least a pacifier could have been left at home.

Of course, whatever you choose is up to you. My daughter was a "binky baby" and we had a very easy time weaning her around 9 months old off of the pacifier. My pediatrician said they are easiest to wean before 1 year of age.

So, there is my 2 cents...

-M.

I personally prefer the pacifier and encouraged it over the thumb with our second. Our first was a thumb sucker and boy was that miserable. You will get germs from both so I think they cancel each other out. I was so grossed out the many times I saw my daughter stick her thumb in her mouth after touching the grossest stuff.

It took us years to break the worst of the thumb sucking and she still does it occasionally at 8 years old. At one point she would suck her thumb so hard she sucked it raw and she created a concave in her mouth that will require a lot of dental work to correct when she is a little older. If I only knew then what I know now.

My youngest is 13 months and we just took away the binky this weekend. It has been a little rough at naptime and bedtime, but way easier than the thumb sucking and so far she has not reverted to thumb sucking. Will they suck their thumb forever? Who knows my 37 year old sister still sucks her thumb occasionally.

My son never liked his pacificer but LOVED his thumb! I always worried how I would break that habit.. But he stopped doing it on his own ared 1 1/2.

.

my kids started around 2 months I think. My daughter is now 6 and it is impossible to get her to stop now! I wish my kids were not thumb suckers and took the pacifier instead. My son who is 3 is having the same problem.

Mine was a late sucker she began after sissy was born she was 2 @ the time & now she is 4 still sucking her thumb only when she has a fuzzy object or feather so I tossed every feather from her play dress up shoes/clothes & now she is on to a koala bear,I have tried the Thumb sucker stuff from Walgreens she will stop till the nest day after she wakes up,it's not all day long only when she is tired or is upset so I try to comfort her still no help.My hubby tried to warp her hand in a sock with tape it did help for awhile (he only did this once but it soon returned back to thumb sucking)I have had that as a suggestion & many others but nothing has worked 100% so far so we are still battling the thumb sucker.She loved the paci I took it away from her after she was a year old that was hard on all of us but we survived & we will combat this aslo my 2 yr old sucks 2 fingers non stop i'm having to battle with her on that but she didn't start till she was sick @ 2 months & was in the hospital for 5 days.I DON"T WANT MY GIRLS TO SUCK ON THEIR FINGERS ANYMORE!!!

If he is sucking on his thumb, you have a thumb-sucker! None of my boys sucked any fingers but I did when I was young. My parents refused to get my braces until I quit sucking and I never did so I never got braces *sigh* I did stop sucking but it took me until the day I went to college! I didn't want my new roommate thinking I was pathetic so I quit, just like that. Odd. . .eh?

I would just keep trying to soothe without the paci and not feed his thumb to him. Good Luck!

Our oldest daughter sucked her thumb and she was the best baby we had. She could soothe herself and she slept thru the night at 8 weeks. Even if you take out their thumb in the day, they will find it in the night. I talked to our pediatrician mulitple times because you hear all the negative things about thumb sucking. He said that thumb sucking isn't a sure cause of braces. So many kids have braces these days but people always blame the thumb sucking as the cause of the braces. He said not to worry about it that the majority of kids stop on their own when they realize it isn't socially acceptable. Kids aren't going to suck their thumb and be embarrassed in school. My daughter sucked her thumb until she was 6; however, she didn't suck her thumb in public, she only did it to comfort herself when she was hurt or upset. She sucked her thumb less and less as she got older. She didn't need the sucking like she did when she was small. She did have braces but her teeth weren't pushed forward by her thumb sucking. I asked the orthodontist about it. She did have a tongue thrust, where she would rest her toungue on the back of her teeth. The orthodontist just had her practice swallowing and resting her tongue differently and she got over that too.

Our second daughter had a pacifier and it was very hard to ween her. We took it away when she was about 2 1/2. We had tried before then but it was tough. She was very attached. She is going to need braces too.

Good luck and do what you think is best. Everybody has an opinion.

Both my kids are thumb suckers. I worked for a dentist before I got pregnant, so I wanted to have a binky baby. With my daughter, we used a binky. Occasionally, I would see her sucking her thumb, so I would gently pull her thumb out & pop her binky in. Then, when she was almost 5 months old, I had just pulled her thumb out & popped her binky in, when she pulled the binky out & popped her thumb back in. She gave me this look like "I'm sick & tired of you doing that to me mom!" After that, she'd just suck harder on her thumb when she'd see me coming to take it out. She'd also refuse to open her mouth when I would try to give her the binky. From that moment on, she was a thumb sucker. She also sucks both thumbs (not at the same time). She doesn't care which one. She just turned 6 & we've been trying to get her to stop for 3 years now. Every time she decides that she wants to stop, something happens. Last time, she got the flu & was so miserable that I didn't have the heart to put that horribly yucky stuff on her thumbs. We're still working on getting her to stop, but it is a long, slow process. She'll stop when she's ready. We've even said that we'd go to Disneyland once she has stopped sucking her thumb. This so far has had the biggest influence, since she really wants to go! There may be hope yet! Although, I sucked mine until I was 7 & my husband sucked his until he was 8. I REALLY think there must be a yet-undiscovered thumb sucking gene out there!

My son was about 3 months when he had had enough of the binky & only wanted his thumb. He only sucks his left thumb, and now he usually only sucks his when he's tired, or when he has his lovey. He's 2 now, and I think that in the next year he'll stop. He's not as much as a zealous sucker as my daughter is.

My kids are very easy going, well-adjusted, well-mannered, smart, and kind. There are a LOT of worse things out there that they could be doing than sucking their thumbs! Besides, it is SO much easier when you don't have to get up 10x a night to put their binkies back in because they find their thumbs on their own!!

My brother used a binky until he was 18 months & had to have braces. (He's adopted so who knows about his genes!) Braces have more to do with the shape of your jaw & heredity than if you suck your thumb or use a binky. I had to have braces BUT it was not because I sucked my thumb. It was because my jaw & mouth were too small for the amount of teeth that I had. It was the same thing BOTH my parents had. They didn't have braces, but have had problems with their jaws and teeth being too crowded.

Good luck & don't worry!

Shellie

I give my daughter ( 6 months old ) a pacifier because I know that later I can help her break the habit and the pacifier will be no more.
BUT, if your child sucks his or hers thumb then you will not be able to take that way.
Plus, think about germs on the hands. Maybe not so much now but in the future.

I wish you the best with this.

I have to agree with everyone - breaking the thumb sucking habit is soooooo hard!! My daughter will be 10 this summer and I still catch her sucking her thumb when she is tired or watching a movie. She started sucking her thumb at 9 months when she spent the weekend with my MIL. Apparently MIL lost the pacifier and it didn't occur to her to buy a new one. At the time, I was actually excited that the paci was gone! Yay! Now I don't need to break that habit down the road! HA!! Little did I know the harder habit to break was forming. My second daughter is 7 and she was addicted to her pacifier. Finally at age 3 I took it away (it was getting a little embarrassing) She wasn't happy about it, but at that age she sort of understood that it was time to let go. We talked about being a "big girl" and all that. She has never sucked her thumb. So, in my opinion (if I were you) I would get that little one some pacifiers and encourage that type of soothing! I'm still not sure how I'm going to get my oldest to stop the thumb sucking. Maybe when she gets her braces - yes, she needs them....

s.

My son was a thumb sucker in the womb. He just turned 11 and quit sucking about 6 months ago. He did just get an expander and will have a retainer (possible braces) The orthodontist did tell us that most the damage in his mouth is just from the way it is formed, and really isnt from sucking his thimb. Im glad he was able to self soothe. It was a never ending battle trying to get him to quit. It happens when they are ready.

dont suck his thumb! my almost 6 year old still does all the time! nothing and i mean nothing ive tried helps! ive bribed, yelled, pleaded, threatned, put nail polish in thinking she wouldnt suck the pretty stuff off, ive tried hot sauce, pepper, the incredibly spicy and hot nail polish to stop sucking! nothing works! at her next dental appt the dr is going to put something in to stop her! i didnt want to do it but he said if she was still doing it for her 6 month cleaning he had to put it in! ugh..........on another note id say he may really be neither. my oldest would suck her thumb now and then or take a pacifier now and then but by 6 months she wasnt interested in either! my thumb sucker got the hang of it pretty well by a few months, but as soon as she was big enough inside me to tell what she was doing she always had her thumb in her mouth! i had a ton of ultrasounds cause i was highrisk and i always had the same nurse doing em and she said she had never seen a baby suck their thumb so much!