My daughter is six years old and still sucks her thumb. I have tried everything and she still does it. She does not suck her thumb in school, cause she does not want her friends to know. At home it is constant and her front teeth are starting to grow back in and I do not want her to have problems with teeth being pushed out. Any Advice?????
Well still working on the thumb sucking but I think it will be awhile til my daughter stops. She feels so secure when she is doing that. Thank you to everyone who responded and gave their advice!!!!
I worked in a after school program for 3 years and we had a 7 year old that would suck his thumb. Every time one of the caregivers would see him with his thumb in his mouth we would have him to go and wash his hands. His mother started doing the same at home after we talked with her and in about two weeks he wasnt sucking his thumb anymore.
I remember sucking my fingers still when I was in 1st grade. (I did have braces for a few years, too, because of it.) My mom had a clever way of motivating me. She set up some kind of chart or calendar - I don't know how many days, but I'd guess at least a month. She took a Polaroid picture of me sucking my fingers so I could see what I looked like, and taped that to the top of the chart. At the bottom was a picture of a bed that I wanted. With those good old foil star stickers (and let's assume honesty) I worked my way from a finger sucking baby to a much more grown up girl with a really cool bed :) I found out later that I was going to get that bed anyway, but hey, I fell for it! Fortunately for me, neither my 6 year old or my twins have been finger or thumb suckers, but there's an idea!
K.,
I totally understand your concern. The fact that she can stop while she is at school is a good sign. My nearly 8 year old still sucks his thumb in the minutes before falling off to sleep. This has been cut back from all the time, to only at home, to only in the evening, to only in bed. Now, he sucks his thumb after we read a book and I rub his back. He does it for comfort (I think it is a self stimulating thing from infancy that some children carry throughout their days). He has a teddy bear with a bow and a blanket with one of those satin tops to snuggle or rub his thumb on instead, so we are now working on that. Sometimes he just prefers to hold my hand as he dozes off. He wants to stop, but says it is so hard becasue it just feels so nice.
Hopefully you can find a way to keep cutting back with your daughter. I know my son will need to see an orthodontist, but likely he would have needed to anyway (mom had braces for a long time and never sucked her thumb or took a pacifier).
Good luck.
I agree with Lili B. Our dentist showed my then 4 year old xrays of what would happen if he continued to suck his thumb. He was shown a regular set of xrays and thumb sucking xrays. he came home that night and decided to quit. It was not overnight but he did it and the Dentist gave him a spacial light up tooth brush at his next check up because he had quit....so get your dentist involved!
Take her to the dentist so they can show her pictures of what youre trying to prevent.
Of course there are no guarantees. None of my children were thumbsuckers & they all had braces. Its unusual for someone not to need them.
K., I have a daughter that still sucks her thumb and she is 14. I don't think she will ever quit. Anyway, the dentist says that her teeth are fine. I also sucked my thumb until I was around 8 and never needed braces, so I do not think that it is a real cause for concern. R.
Not too much advice - our dentist talked with my 9yo and 6yo about sucking their thumbs.....our kid-sitter has braces and talks to the boys about the topic ("I have braces because I sucked my thumb"...."you can stop"....that sort of stuff).
I've given up the power struggle regarding this issue - because in many ways it is a power struggle. I've noticed my 9yo ds now only leaves the thumb in his mouth, it's not actively being sucked. And I've started hunting for an orthodontist!
Not much help - just support.
J.
Dear K.,
My name is S.. I am 21years old tomorrow on the 11th. I still suck my thumb. i've had braces and i still havnt stopped. I've annalyzed myself forever trying to figure it out. I think that fo rme its a comfort issue, similar to a security blanket or a favorite toy. it makes her calm and feel secure possibly. also i've read many articles about thumbsucking and it says that sucking ones fingers can release certain endorphins that help to calm.
Does she ever cry while she's sucking her thumb? I always found when i was upset and crying that if I sucked my thumb, i would almost imediatly stop crying.
Good Luck. Let me know!
S. (21) and Xander (6week)
