My daughter never sucked her thumb but, she did suck her fingers and various other things. She was big on the binky and would cry non-stop till we went to the store and bought her a new one (that is after we couldn't find the other lost binkies in house). I think we went through, like, 10 binks a week when I hit my limit.
But, my point is she had a strong desire to suck (for some reason????). I have no idea why she never found her thumb.
When the time came for her to stop with the binky, she graduated on her own. During teething she would put the binky down and chew on her toys. Her oral fixation continued well into the Barbie years as her favorite flake out form of relaxation was to chew on a Barbie shoe with feet up in the air just thinking about playing with the dolls - I guess. Still to this day as a High School student she seems to prefer the blue caps from the white Bic Pens. And her nails have never grown past her finger tips. She just can't resist the chewing & sucking on her finger tips.
I don't think she has a pika problem because she doesn't swallow foreign objects. Over the years, I've wondered if it's a habit, if she has anxiety, if she needs this kind of stimulation to help her focus, etc. But, one thing I've never done is crack down on her about it, like I did with some other more obnoxious habits. Something in me knew that it was a loosing battle to try any control techniques like teasing, or being really attentive always trying to catch her in the act and make her stop, or to do things like put a bad taste on her fingers and favorite chew objects. The last thing her and I needed was another thing to powerstruggle over.
So, she can bite away on her nails as she watches TV (as long as she doesn't wipe the peals on the couch), and she can chew her pen caps as she studies for Mock Trial / Youth & Law, and her friends in band can poke fun at her finger tips that look like little nubs on her flute, piccollo, french horn, and bag pipes - I think she has them named.
She'll do what she'll do and no one can stop her. So, I guess, all I can tell you is that the sucking never sucked the brains out of her head. She's smart and talented.
And she don't care what anyone has to say about it. And it's not embarrassing to her at all. She sees it as something that adds to her signiture personality traits... She's very beautiful and she will even go as far as to slap her bottom (sassy) with her stubby fingers and tell you that a girl needs something natural left on her body -nope no need for nail polish or fake nails on this girl.
If you want to see a picture of her come to my website at
http://huntersfirsthunt.tripod.com
She's on the page for Latest News and Donations
No buck teeth - a beautiful smile.
I wouldn't worry about your little one. As a Addy would put it, a girl needs something.