Thumb Sucking - Greenwood,AR

Hi J.! My oldest daughter was a thumb-sucker and we ordered the thumb guard system when she was five. She knew it was a habit and she didn't even realize she was doing it. She didn't want someone to see her doing it once she started kindergarten, so she was very determined to quit. She wore them all the time for about a month. She is seven now and has never looked back. She was so proud of herself for giving something up that she did so often for the first five years of her live. This worked for us only because she made the decision to quit, otherwise I don't believe anything would have been effective. Hope this helps...good luck!!

Hey J., no worries, she'll quit when she is ready, it's not like you can take her thumb away from her. my youngest sucked his fingers all the time untill he was 5ish, he didn't suck them at school once he started but still would in the evening and during sleep. We tried all that stuff too, but it didn't work. About 6 1/2 we realized that he had quit even during the night. i was afraid his fingernails would be forever flat or that he'd mess up his teeth. Well, his fingernails are fine and his teeth are beautiful, he's almost 22 now. No left over effects that we can see. good luck. R.

I have a 5 year old who is also a thumb-sucker and if I can put in my two cents here...let's change gears and just view this in a different light...Think of something that comforts you, when you are nervous, scared, uneasy, uncomfortable - we all have something! Is it a warm bath a hot shower? A cup of hot coffee or tea? Calling someone on the phone? A song you blast on the radio? Exercise? Think about it...now picture someone you love taking that away from you and telling you "NO" you cannot have that or you cannot do that! Would you be upset? Would you fight it and do it anyway because you know that you need that comfort? That is what we do to our children when we make them give up the very thing that offers them comfort and security - like thumb-sucking, a blanket, a favorite stuffed animal, etc..do you see where I am going with this? I know, many may not agree with me, but IF the thumb-sucking is not causing dental problems, let it go. It is not worth the battle. She will outgrow it...like someone else said in their post 'have you ever seen a bride walking down the aisle sucking her thumb!?!' No, she will let it go when she is ready. Now, if it is causing dental damage, you have to work with your dentist to help your daughter find another source of comfort. If it is not hurting her or anyone else, quit worrying about trying to make her stop. It is common for many children to suck their thumbs up 8 and 10 years old.

Well, John Rosemond says that you shouldn't do anything about it! I don't know the details, because I'm reading these short essays taken from all of his books. I know that may not be an answer to your question, but I just read it yesterday, so it popped in my head immediately. If you can copy and paste this website, it has the excerpt on it. Good luck.

http://books.google.com/books?id=8dgX2hObsawC&pg=PA49...

Is there a particular time she sucks her thumb more? If she does it more going to sleep or when she's tired, it may be soothing to her. If she's feeling anxious, she may also do it more.

STOP!!!! the more you make her try to stop the more she will do it my mother tried everything for 5 years or so and it didn't work my first son was born sucking him thumb doctor said don't try to stop him he will grow out of it and he almost starved to death cause he didn't want to give up the thumb for the bottle even tried to do both at the same time just don't pay attention to her doing it but keep her hand clean the one she sucks the thumb no matter what you do she will find a way to get around it if she wants to suck it my mother tried hot sauce I sucked with tears in my eyes just give up and let her suck her thumb she will give it up on her time good luck

hey there..I understand :) My 9 year old still does and my cousin did untill we was like 14...they do grow out of it..its like a security blanket or fave dolly...she should grow out of it...my daughter is starting to and now only does it when shes asleep ou of habit. :)

Here's what Dr. Sears says in The Discipline Book:

Motivators-Distractors
Point out sore thumb. Compare sore with other thumb. Show 'buck' teeth in mirror. Run fingers over protruding teeth. Busy bored hands.

Relaxers
Play soothing music, have cuddle time, read together (child holds book)

Subs
[Teach your child to] 'Hide thumb' by making a fist, squeeze thumb, suck tongue.

Special Help
Dental appliance, distasteful reminders - paint-on products, Band-Aid, tape, tongue-blade splint, wear mittens.

I think that while these might seem less effective at first because they are less severe than things like hot sauce and slapping her hand, they might actually be more effective because thumb-sucking is, besides a habit, a comfort thing. So adding stress around it will only make it harder for her to stop.

I really like the "hide thumb in fist, suck on tongue" trick because that way she can start to do it around her friends when she feels stressed or would otherwise want to suck her thumb, but doesn't want to because she fears teasing. Teaching her this trick puts you on her side. She will be more willing to work with you on ending the habit. It also gives her a transition technique.

I think the cuddle time, book reading, etc. will be more effective, too, if you can make this a project you two do together, as in, "Brooke, come to me when you feel like sucking your thumb, and we'll do something togehter."

Good luck.

L.

Hey J. N,

First of all, I sucked my thumb until I was 8 yrs old, and have perfect teeth! The thumb sucking is a comfort habit. Unless it is distorting her teeth alignment I would not worry about it, once she becomes more secure and self confidient she will stop. I have been in the dental field for more than twenty years, and I worked peds during that time. If you and your husband really want her to stop, there is an appliance that can be cemented into her mouth to prevent the thumb sucking. This same appliance is used for tonque thrusters. It has two ortho bands that are cemented to each side of the upper arch. The middle is "spiked" in the palet area. Whenever the child tries to suck her thumb, the thumb will hit the spikes and it will not be comfortable. Sounds Mid-evil, but it works. It is usually done it severe cases where of mal-occlusion is occurring. A ped dentist or an ortho can make the appliance. I hope my info was helpful, I know what you are going through, my ten yr. old was a tongue thruster which has cause his front teeth to protrude a bit. He has stopped on his own, but it took taking him to the ortho (scared him) and constant reenforcement to change his habit.

Good luck!
K. R.

p/s the hot sauce does not work, only causes bad memories, I speak from my own personal childhood experiences......

My almost 4 year old son was a thumbsucker. I purchased a device called a thumbguard. It is simply a piece of medical grade plastic that is put over his thumb and strapped on by the bracelets like you get from the hospital. We started on March 23, 2008 and by April 20, 2008 he was totally over his thumbsucking. They have to wear it 24/7 for 3-4 weeks, but if it works, then it will be well worth it. It goes for $75 on the website

http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...
I actually purchased mine on ebay for $50 with free shipping. It may be worth looking into. My son has not sucked his thumb AT ALL since before this product. Hope this helps you.

My third child was a thumb sucker. Until she was ready to quit, all of our efforts did not work. So, we started encouraging her to realize that she needed to quit and stopped focusing on things to make her quit. Once she was ready, she was on board and although it was hard she was successful. This is a habit that kids develop and sometimes they don't even realize that they are doing it. What worked for us were socks over the hands at night. We called the socks her friends and explained that they were helpers for her. We also made sure that we praised her alot for her efforts. We encouraged her and talked about it often, we listened to her and then tried to help her. I think one reason this worked is that she was on board with it and we were helping her not us MAKING her quit.

Good luck!

Is there an older child, babysitter, adult, etc. that your child really looks up to? If so, conspire with them to tell your child how awful thumbsucking is and that only babies suck their thumbs and so on. I have found that when my my daughter won't listen to me, she will take advice from someone else that she admires. Best wishes.

You, of course, know your child better than anybody.

Why are you trying to get her to stop sucking her thumb?
Why is she still sucking her thumb? Is it for comfort or is it for attention?

Either way, I would sit her down and explain to her why she needs to stop sucking her thumb. Come up with a consistent disciplinary action for doing so - Losing the tv for that day, losing candy for the day, not getting a sticker that day, ETC. , . . They key is to be consistent. And explain to her what the action will be and follow through with it. If it doesn't work right away, well, keep it up. She is old enough to remember how you handle this situation, so it is important not to get overly frustrated with her and always make sure she knows you love her, but she cannot suck her thumb. Also try using a reward system for not sucking her thumb and create a calendar - Put a sticker on each day that she doesn't suck her thumb - once you have a few days filled up, have a fun family outing in celebration. Let her know that you are proud of her for having the courage and strength to quit. Good Luck :)

I SO feel your pain!! My 7-yr-old is still fighting this habit. He quit when he was five, then started back up again after a bad experience with a day surgery. That was over a year ago, he's just now trying to quit during the day.
When he quit at 5yrs, we found something that he REALLY wanted, then for every day that he didn't suck his thumb, we paid him a certain amount. After about 4 weeks, he had enough money to go buy his "dream" item, and he was so excited. Couldn't believe that it worked, but it hasn't worked this time - this time the hot sauce did the trick. He still sucks at night, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. His teeth are a little messed up, I've already warned him that he will probably have to wear braces.
I wish you luck. Mine was sucking his thumb any time that his hands weren't busy, so do try to keep her busy as much as you can. Maybe get some special crayons/markers/stickers and keep her as busy as you can!!

I sounds like you have tried everything you can at home. As a dentist I would now recommend taking her to the dentist (probably a pediatric one) and asking about a thumbsucking appliance.

J.,

I have three thumb-suckers. Well, only one is still sucking - so I've successfully helped to break the habit twice. My first daughter was easy- we taped her thumb with medical tape (after we realized that she was sliding the band-aids off and then sliding them back on to fool us). She quit before kindergarten and - other than a few rough bedtimes - it was not that big a deal. Then my second one!! Ultimately, we used the medical tape to help her during the day. Day time was not that hard - she wanted to quit (the dentist had shown her some messed up teeth and there was some peer pressure). Night time was another story. What finally worked was long socks (we used soccer socks) that we safety pinned to the sleeves of her PJs. If we didn't do that, she would unconsciously slide the sock off in the night to get to the thumb. She was 8 before we were able to defeat the night time habit - but I think that was my fault. I'm confident that if you are consistent and diligent, the habit can be broken in a couple of weeks. But, be patient. It is a habit and sometimes they don't even realize that they're doing it. We are in the process of getting my last one (he's 5) to stop and he will have his thumb in his mouth when he's in the car and not even realize that he put it there. That's why something like medical tape during the day works- as soon as it's in their mouth, they realize what they've done.

It will happen. Just stick with it and make sure that you get her to agree that she wants to stop. It's a hard thing to do and if she's not committed to it, you're fighting a losing battle.

I was a thumb sucker. My parents tried everything to get me to stop. Among other things, I had hot sauce on the thumb and an appliance with prongs that the dentist put in to make it hurt to suck it, etc. None of those things worked. I had a permanent hole in my thumb where it rested on my bottom teeth. I eventually stopped on my own in about third or fourth grade. I was never a day time sucker, I would suck it in my sleep. To this day I sometimes wake up sucking (just sucking - not on my thumb). If she is sucking during the day, just continue to remind her to remove it constantly. You may ask your dentist for suggestions, but she will likely grow out of it.

Try distracting her. Get her to do things that require both hands, so she can't suck the thumb. Most therapists will say that she sucks her thumb for comfort. At her age she can't really understand or explain to you why she needs that comfort. If you make a big deal about it she will get nervous or upset because you are trying to take her comfort away and it will only make things worse. If distracting doesn't work, seek help in the form of a child counselor.
J.