My almost 5 year old sucks his thumb constantly. I have taken the approach that if he needs it at this point in his life for self stimulation and getting himself calm...I am ok with it. Last year his teachers were quite disturbed with it. This year his teachers were fine. The students this year learning about germs were down on him for a bit and that passed. Then a couple of students called him a baby and that passed. He had a lot of childhood illnesses that he outgrew. I helped him get through each. But he has been getting a lot of colds (not sure if it is seasonal allergies or colds) so I told him I was wondering if he was getting sick a lot because of all the germs one collects on the hands and then he puts his thumb in his mouth. He asked me to help him stop and maybe he would just suck it at night. He asked me to help. So when I see him thumb in his mouth I give him a thumbs up and he takes it out, but he puts hit back in. I asked him if he wants me to put a bandage on it and we did. But it came right off with the sucking.
He is asking for help. Any ideas? Thanks. E.
I know several people who have used the thumb lady and really like her and the program. www.thumblady.com She has a great website with lots of information.
Good luck.
K.
Hi E.. I definately think there is a link between thumb sucking & quanity of colds, ets. I was a thumb sucker and caught every virus that went around. My daughter was a thumb sucker (she's quit) and did the same. My son (now 16) never sucked his thumb and has had 1 cold in his whole life!
Now, my father used hot sauce on my thumb and it worked. I didn't want to go that route with my daughter so we used bandages, tape, gauze - anything that would keep it out of her mouth. Once she got out of the habit she wasn't interested anymore. She was a big night time thubm sucker so that was our biggest challange. Cover the thumb with whatever you can and your son will get out of the habit of sucking.
Good luck!
I think there is a bitter tasting thing you can buy specifically for this purpose. It is painted on the thumb and doesn't wash off easily. I think "bitter aloes" rings a bell but not for sure.
Hi E. - the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends kids stop sucking thumbs, pacifiers, etc by age 3. My daughter is 3 1/2 and still sucking so I plan on asking my pediatric dentist for some guidance at her next visit next month. Here is a link to the AAPD web site and what they recommend. You may want to get your son's dentist involved as it could start becomming harmful to his teeth and jaw development. Good luck!
http://www.aapd.org/publications/brochures/tfphabits.asp
Check it out-it really works! Good luck.
For what it is worth: I sucked my thumb at night until jr high or somehting like that. I probably stopped sucking during the day due to peer (and family) pressure - which is what I hear takes care of it for most kids, but do not remember. To stop at night I had to make my mind up and stuck my hand under my pillow and eventually stopped. I had a nasty callus on my thumb because of it for years after. But - never needed braces and the callus is long gone.
Good Luck.
My son is 6 and still struggling to remember to keep his thumb out of his mouth. His teachers have been supportive of our requests to help him when he forgets. My son says he really doesn't realize that he is sucking it until he snaps out of his daydream or whatever. Most of the time he sucks it when he is tired, bored, or upset.
I think we're going to try the bitter "nail polish" type stuff next. Maybe it will help him catch himself...??? We hope so. Kids can be so mean.
Good luck and let me know if you get a suggestion that really works!
A.
I also have a 6 year old still sucking her thumb, but only at night. The dentist was not much help. He said it was ok until her permanant teeth come in, which is now! the mouth appliances were very expensive and insurance will only cover it if it is chronic and lasts a very long time and is doing permanant damage. I did buy the "thumb guard" and it never worked. We put that on her tight enough that it would be uncomfortable on her wrist, yet she was still able to pull her thumb out at night. We did bandaids, but worried about chocking. The yucky nail polish didn't work at all. It tasted bad for a day or so and then she got used to it or it didn't bother her at all. Her front teeth are pushed way forward, so I need to stop it now. What I am trying now is a pair of my socks on her hands like mittens. I put a plastic band around her wrist. Those bands that you get at fairs and such. I could not find them in any store, so bought 50 of them online for about $10. She cannot get out of that at ngiht, and the sock protects her wrist, so the band does not irritate her. I have been doing it for about a month and so far so good! I think it will take a few months until the habit is broken. Good luck!
Hi E.,
It's so great that your son wants help stopping his thumb sucking. I would use the same liquid you put on kids fingers to stop nail biting. It's called "no bite" it doesn't wash off and tastes really bad. He probably won't be able to suck his thumb at night either, which maybe a good thing, unless he wants to have braces later in life.
Good luck! Hope it works.
B.
My daughter is also a thumb sucker. She is just 2 so we are not worried yet, but I saw something that I was going to keep in mind for when it is time. The link to the product is here:
http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...
The reviews are promising!! 4 out of 5 stars with 79 reviews!! I was reading the reviews and I am excited to try it if she doesn't stop sucking on her own. It seems that doctors, pediatricians and dentists are recommending this. It isn't the cheapest thing in the world (about $80) but if it works.... Hope this gives you another option.
H. L.
You need to try anything you can to get him to stop. the "no bite" should work well, especially if he does it in his sleep. my daughter (now 15) used to suck her thumb until she got braces at age 12. i tried everything to get her to stop & she refused! when she realized that kids were making fun of her buck teeth she started to feel really bad. when we went for braces, we found that she damaged the roof of her mouth from the thumb sucking. not only did she have to wear a small hardware store in her mouth to correct the damage she caused, but she has some permanent damage too. it's been 3 years with of braces and they are still on. please, take the hard line & get him to stop. it will only benefit him in the future!
good luck
E.,
I apologize, but didn't read the other responses, so I apologize if I repeat. My mom told me I sucked my thumb until about 5 or 6 years old. She tried everything. She even tried wrapping rubber bands around my thumb I sucked. Try it - at least it should stay on better than a band-aid. = )
We are going through the same thing with my son who turned 5 last month. He too wants reminders to help stop. Says he wants to stop, but his body wants him to suck his thumb, and that he's getting all the thumb sucking in before kindergarten so he doesn't suck his thumb in front of new friends. He too has a specially hard time with it when tired, bored, shy...
We use the "Thum" here and there, but he got used to the taste and said it's really not that bad after a while. works so temporarily. It's tough either way because sometimes when you try to stop it, the child naturally clings to it more.
But anyway, that Thum nail polish stuff is over $6 at Walgreens, but found it at Target behind the pharmacy counter for $2.79 so significantly cheaper there.
My son sucked his thumb until 10 - then just quit. No problem with teeth or bite. He's 28 now.
