Thumbsucking - Gardnerville,NV

Please do not stress over his thumb sucking. He will eventually quit either when he does not need the self-soothing technique any more or when another child says something to him. With everything that we Moms have to worry about, let this one go. He will be fine.
Good luck.

As a former thumbsucker myself I can testify to leave him to decide when to stop. I was 7, yes 7, but I decided at that point thumbsucking was for babies and I didn't want to get teased at school. I asked my mom for help and before bedtime she put a tabasco like product on my thumb so I wouldn't do it when I was tired. Sure enough right when I was about to fall asleep I stuck my thumb in my mouth and boy it burned, I ran to her and she fed me a piece of bread to squelsh the fire. And I didn't do it again. I remember it being easy.

So don't worry about him, he will either grow out of it or it can be something you conquer together. It is not the same as a 5 yo running around with a binki. Just don't let him talk with his thumb in his mouth and as he gets older help him learn the appropriate places to suck his thumb. But if I see a 5 or 6 yo sucking his thumb, I don't think anything of it.
Good luck.

Hi S.,

I can tell you what my parents tried with me. First, they bought some liquid that tasted like hot pepper and painted it on my fingers. It burned but, I just sucked until the taste wore off. Then, my dad decided to cover my hand with knee socks which he masking taped to my arm at night. I sucked through the socks. Neither of these startegies worked and I continued to suck my fingers until I was ready to quit. For me, that was the day that I got my braces put on when I was 12. Yes, sucking my fingers was one of the reasons I needed braces.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that sucking is rooted in the need for comfort and security. I know you don't want the thumb sucking to continue. But, I'm sure you agree that it's important for our children to feel as safe as possible. You may want to discuss with your son that big boys don't do that. Show him examples, Daddy doesn't suck his thumb, the little next door doesn't suck his thumb. Using males that are extra special to him would probably make the most impact because he wants to be like them. I just a psychological approach may work best. For me, my parents trying to physically remove my source of security caused me to cling to it even more and become stubborn about it.
Good luck to you and your child.

Soap under the thumbnail. My mom used Ivory.

My son sucked his thumb as he went to sleep till after age 5. It was his comfort mechanism--and we all need those, don't we? It did not give him an overbite, and in fact the skin got so callused (and blistered, too) from it that it helped him learn left from right--I still remember him feeling his "sucky thumb" when the teacher would ask him to distinguish left from right, as he only sucked his right thumb! If it helps him sleep and rest, don't mess with it--he will outgrow it, as the others have said...

Our second wouldn't take the binky either. He is still occasionally sucking his thumb at 6 yo. The doctor says not to worry about it. He will stop when he is ready.

When he was younger, the ped dentist said that it had caused a slight gap in his teeth. But now the dentist said the gap closed by itself when he stopped sucking as often, so he shouldn't need braces. (Yeah!)

Shelle,
I am in a similar situation. My oldest took a binky and we eventually weaned him of that. My youngest, however, has sucked two fingers since she was very young. She is now almost 2 1/2, and on her last dental checkup the dentist said her teeth are slightly angled from the sucking. But he also said it should repair itself if she stops by age 4. Apparently after age 4 the mouth isn't as soft as it is now. He didn't seem to think it was necessary for us to get her to stop right now, but we've pretty much eliminated daytime sucking. If I catch her doing it, I just tell her to stop and she does (yes, I'm lucky on that one). I can't control the sleeptime sucking though and that seems to have increased. I don't feel that is worth the battle needed right now to deal with it although I may try some of the other solutions posted.

I copied the following from our pediatric dentist's website (www.livermorekidsdentist.com):
Thumb Sucking
Sucking is a natural reflex that relaxes and comforts babies and toddlers. Children usually cease thumb sucking when the permanent front teeth are ready to erupt. Typically children stop between the ages of two and four years. Thumb sucking that persists beyond the eruption of primary teeth can cause improper growth of the mouth and misalignment of the teeth. If you notice prolonged and/or vigorous thumb sucking behavior in your child, talk to your dentists. Here are some ways help your child outgrow thumb sucking:

Don’t scold a child when they exhibit thumb sucking behavior; instead, praise them when they don’t thumb suck.
Focus on eliminating the cause of anxiety—thumb sucking is a comfort device that helps children cope with stress or discomfort.
Praise them when they refrain from the habit during difficult periods.
Place a bandage on the thumb or a sock on their hand at night.

I hope all of that helps!

My daughter sucked her thumb until she was nine years old! I tried everything to stop it but nothing worked, so I finally gave up. It did not ruin her teeth and she is one of the most well adjusted adults I know! She even had a friend in junior high, the GATE program, who still sucked her thumb. It seemed odd, but she also turned out very well and was not even bothered when children teased her.
By the way, I am a dental hygienist.

My daughter sucked her thumb at night until she was 12 which just made me crazy but she just would not stop. It is really no big deal though. If it hurts the thumb he will not do it for awhile. The only real downfall is she had to have braces.

S.,

I too had a thumbsucker and it was so cute when she was a baby and sucking her thumb that I never thought of how hard it was going to be to stop her. We checked with both the dentist and her pedi, and they both said at age 2 it wasn't too much of a concern. My daughter sucked her thumb until 5 1/2. We tried everything and nothing worked until she was ready. Age 2 your going to get terrible two's (hopefully not too bad) and so pick your battles. If this is what makes him content then let him until he's ready. This is the age where he is learning boundaries and independence. I started around age 4 1/2 - 5 reminding her take your thumb out of your mouth, take your thumb out of your mouth. She was only mainly doing this when bored or watching TV, going to bed. It stopped being a all the time thing as I continued to reminded her to take it out. Then one day she was done. I am not sure if all the months reminding her to take it out, she started hearing my voice and it became the "new" habit. Or if putting her into a sport occupied her mind enough she stopped thinking about it. Try some crafts or sports or something fun for his age and just try and remind yourself he is only 2.

Trish

My son is a 2 year old thumbsucker, also! My advice to the both of us is, don't worry! I began to get worried about it after his first birthday and when he was weaning from breastfeeding. Not because of my own thoughts, but because of off-hand comments from others!! I would have my own family members almost rudely ask me, "so when you gonna wean him from THAT?" I'm sure you can imagine the pang in my heart when I thought that the cute little comfort method he had was suddenly taboo. After endless nights of reading and researching thumbsucking, I discovered that it's normal, it's okay, and they do stop when the time is right for them. In fact, pressuring, chastising and forcing a thumbsucker to stop can actually be counterproductive. In one reading, they studied adult thumbsuckers and the only common link was that every single one of their caregivers had attempted to stop them with one harsh method or another at a young age. It's almost as if they became closet thumbsuckers and needed it later into their life.

I've decided that I will wait until he becomes school-aged or when we can appropriately have a conversation about how he can suck his thumb when he wants to at home and if he would like help stopping (some want to stop because of realization from peers) when we're in public, that we can come up with a signal or a word just for him that will help remind him (because they can start sucking sometimes without even realizing).

This may or may not work, but hopefully you can find a loving trick that works just for him. Just remember that you and your spouse and your home should be a safe and comfort spot for the kids to land. He shouldn't have to worry about his comforting method being seen as wrong or bad to you.

And as for the dental aspect of it, it remains to be seen if thumbsucking is the end-all when it comes to needing braces. Our children already have issues with spacing and crowding and we've been told that our kids, like my husband and I, will most likely need braces at some point. So again, we've decided it's no point in trying to stop the thumbsucking to avoid braces.

Thanks for reading this long-winded note. I hope whatever works, works well for you and your little one.

I read somewhere that more than 75% of children suck their thumb or a pacifier, and that most kids outgrow it before they start school with no involvement on the part of their parents. Sometimes parents interfering with age-appropriate behaviour makes problems that would not exist otherwise. Have you been pressuring him not to suck his thumb? It may be that he's responding by sucking it even more. Have there been any changes in your family, or household?

Try giving him a silky piece of cloth to hold onto, or a new toy, or gently remind him (during the day only) not to suck his thumb, and get him distracted with something else. He'll stop on his own soon enough.

Hi S.,
There is a device that the dentist can create called a habit appliance that will prevent thumbsucking. It looks like a retainer of a sort. Dr. Saffold made one for my daughter although she was about 5 years old. Not sure what age they recommend for these. They are are few hundred dollars and after three months, the habit is gone!