My oldest daughter is 6 yrs old and in the first grade. She has sucked her thumb since is was 3 when my sister was playing with her and stuck it in her mouth and ever since its a habbit we cant break. She doesnt do it when she is at school only when she is at home, riding in the car, or sleeping. Peditrican says not to worry she will grow out of it but I see her teeth already being effect by this. We have tried everything from nail biters polish to socks on her hands and gloves. She some how manages to always get her thumb out. I need advice. PLEASE HELP
My dentist recommended scotch tape around the preferred thumb and after about 3 weeks it worked for us!! She was 7 and wanted to quit, but kept waking up with her thumb in her mouth in the night.........good luck!
Tell her you are going to take a picture of her sucking her thumb and let her teacher show her friends at school.
Make her wash her hands every time she puts her thumbs in her mouth, because there are nasty germs on her hands that she is putting in her mouth.
Or tell her you can't paint her nails until she stops sucking her thumb. Make it a girl thing every friday with your older daughter. She will feel left out and eventually will stop. Mind over matter!
She will quit in her own time - I sucked my thumb until about that age and my lil sister was a 8 or 9 by the time she quit. We turned out fine and it didn't damage our teeth or anything crazy like that. My older sister's son was a thumb sucker and when he was about 4 or 5 (he's 18 now) she had the dentist put a roller in his mouth. Basically it looks like a little paint roller that attaches onto the teeth and is placed in the roof of the mouth. when he tried to suck his thumb it just rolled right out. seemed kind of cruel to me, but it worked. within a month or so he quit trying to suck and never did it again.
Hi,
If it makes you feel any better, I too sucked my thumb forever, and I have perfect teeth. I didn't stop until I started spending the night for sleepovers with my friends. I agree with her doctor.
Try EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) which is a tapping technique on acupressure points while making statements. www.emofree.com has a free manual and www.tapping.com has a free diagram.
Here is a success story for an 8 year old that quit sucking his thumb:
My son was a big thumb sucker at bedtime or in the car. My dentist put a retainer in the top of his mouth that prevented him from be able to suck his thumb. It had a little spinning thing on it. It was painless and inexpensive and worked great! Within two weeks he wasn't even trying. We kept it on for a couple months to make sure he didn't go right back to the habit. It affected his speech for a couple days until he got used to it, but that's the only challenge we had.
I'm with your pediatrician. Let it go. If she doesn't do it at school, then don't fight over it. It must be her way of comforting herself. You can try teaching her other ways to do that (cuddle up with blanket or stuffed animal or pillow, have a cold drink, get her a kid's relaxation CD and teach her to use it), and hope she switches out sooner rather than later, but don't get into a power struggle over this. You won't win.
My advice here is to just back off. Dont' worry about it, let her be. My daughter did the same thing, I saw friends try all the things you've tried and everyone was stressed about it. I just let her do it until she didnt' need it anymore. I mentioned it to her occasionally, said she should think about stopping, pointed out that kids in her class and her friends weren't doing that, but really put no pressure on her at all. One day in the first grade she came to me and said 'Mama, I get it now, I'm too old to suck my thumb, I dont' need to do that anymore' and she quit, just like that. Never looked back.
I think all the attention and worry can make them feel even more stressed so they turn to the thumb for comfort. She'll stop when she's ready. Best of luck!
Hi Michelle,
My daughter, now almost 32 years old, was sucking her finger even while I carried her. I also was told not to worry about it and that she would grow out of it. Truth is, she did. It was almost overnight. She decided on her own to stop and really did do it, cold turkey, so to speak. Now the bad news, she was in the fourth grade! Like your daughter she didn't suck her finger in school, only when asleep, cranky, stressed, etc. Your little girl really will stop, perhaps not as quickly as you want her to, but she will. Be patient, the harder she is pushed to stop the more she will resist stopping. Good luck with whatever you decide to do about your little girl. Just thought you might like to hear from a mom who has been there, done that, who wasn't trying to give you a miracle cure.
A little about me, I am a licensed massage therapist, re-married after 14 years of being single. I have 2 children, son almost 34 and daughter almost 32, 5 stepchildren, ages 15 - 40, 4 stepgrandchildren, ages 2 - 11. I think my stepchildren are wonderful too, just wished they felt the same way about me. How are you handling that situation?
sounds like a thumb gaurd is the only way left to go.... my 5 year old is a thumb sucker and we too are at our whits end.... good luck!
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.thumbus...
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://i.ehow.com/...
Ps dont listen to people who will say let it go i too paid the price for using a paci for way too long and was in braces for 5 years i finally made the orthodontist take them off a week before my 16th bday. if you can already see her teeth changing it has to stop
You can't break a habit, only she can. It will go away one of these days, and teeth that can be straightened out, are the least of your problems. A well rounded, happy, relaxed child is the most important. So, leave her a lone, don't say a word. Let her grow and blossom where it counts. And, start saving for braces.
And, I can't believe the women who have responded with some of the cruel ideas, I didn't think this site was like this.
Hi Michelle, I to was a finger sucker for the longest time. My parents tried everything to get me to stop. Duct tape, telling me how gross it was etc. My bf actually had a nephew who sucked his thumb. They got him to stop by telling him if he didnt quit his thumb would turn green. Well he continued so one night when he was asleep they put I believe green koolaid on his finger to give it a green stain. I think that got him to stop pretty quickly. Good luck! And hth!!
I agree that she will stop when she is ready, but at what age?...I have a friend whose son is 9 and still sucks his thumb. I had a friend growing up that was 12 and sucked her thumb. I think you will have to stay on her. Everytime that thumb goes in, take it out. Maybe put hot sauce on it....not crazy hot but enough to keep it out of her mouth. maybe even Bitters...something that tastes gross. I would also give her a HUGE reward to look forward to. Literally ask her what she would want if she stops and let that be a goal for her. She is old enough to NOT take the gloves off, subconsciously she would do it but she is old enough to not take a glove off if you tell her not to. There are little rubber finger tips too that you can put on, they use them at the doc's office...maybe put that on her thumb. Also, they have retainer's now at the dentist that prevents her from sucking b/c she can't do it. She literally can't suck it b/c the retainer is on the roof of her mouth. Ask her dentist or google it.
Hello Michelle,
I got the same answers from the doctors and tried everything. As she got older, we would show her pictures of protruding teeth and would tell her how her teeth would look like the picture and no one would want to kiss her, etc. Eventually, she stopped sucking her thumb and got her braces. Relax!
I hope this helps. Happy Valentine's Day!
D. Friday
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