A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Hobbies, Crafts and Creativity Helpful Hints How to stop Thumb Sucking?

My 3 yr old sucks her thumb like there is no tomorrow. We've tried lots of things to make her stop and, in fact, she stopped in November for about 6 weeks. At that time we had a band aid on her thumb to keep her from sucking and it worked. Unfortunately, she got sick and in went her thumb, band aid and all. We've tried the Thum fingernail-polish but she actually LIKES it. Any other suggestions? I sucked my thumb until I was 13 and would really like to avoid that with my daughter.

LandOfOz,
My son sucked his thumb until just before he went to school, although he only did it when he laid down to sleep or got his blanket. I was scared he'd keep it up even in school, especially Kindergarten where they do lay down on a rug at times. So I started trying different things, and the one that worked for him was a mit on the thumb he used to suck on. I just covered the thumb with a mit type thing and tied it down around his wrist. It worked after a time and when he started kindergarten it was over.

Ocassionally, I still suck my thumb!

Seriously, just let it be, he'll stop.

And just looked out you turned out Mel..
*sorrrrry, just couldn't resist that one *

HOT SAUCE!!

Dip it hot sauce when she's not lookin'
*sleepin'*

****Dip it or paint it with anything edible
a little one wouldn't like, Vinegar, Cod Liver Oil,
Hot pepper juice, or something she doesn't like...


You know one thing when I had my first baby..
And he was tryin' to root back and forth tryin'
to find his thumb.. and I thought, Ohhhhhh how cute!
But in the back of my mind, I thought...
I do not want my kid suckin' his thumb..
I won't be able to take his thumb away!!!!

So, I gave him and made sure he had a pacifier..
*I thought, at some point in time, I will be able
to take the pacifier away, and he just won't know
where it is.. but what would you do to a thumb.
cut it offfff? NOT*

So, that's how I ended up with the pacifier..

And it wasn't so hard for them to give that up either..

I just started telling him, his 3rd birthday was comin'
up and he was going to be come a big boy and big boys' don't suck pacifiers..

*and a friend of mine told him, that her son, gave them
all to the baby birds in spring time, they gathered them
all up and thru them all out for the baby birds to get...
~>another friend ran around outside and gathered them up,
so when they looked they were gone..*

~~~>but that's kinda hard to do with a thumb, I know.

My oldest sucked her thumb (actually index finger) thru age eight. Her orthodontist put on braces with spikes to stop her. They were like posts on earrings on the back of her front two teeth. They were also to correct her swallow. They worked in less than a week for both.
I sucked my thumb until kindergarten. I had at least one clean digit most of the time even if the rest of my hands were grubby.

My sister had to get the prong device also, she needed to stop sucking her thumb so they could do some orthonditic stuff to her mouth, it did work really quick, that's for sure.

Out of four sons I only had one who sucked his thumb.
That lasted until he was about five. His three brothers use to laugh at him to try to get him to quit, even the youngest laughed at him!! I guess he got tired of them laughing after awhile!!!

Mel..do you really?!!

The only time my daughter is not sucking her thumb is when she is coloring, and trust me, she looses interest in that quite quickly. I wouldn't be all that concerned if she just did it when she was tired or stressed but it is always in there! The doctor mentioned that the offending thumb is smaller than the other one and the dentist mentioned that her teeth are oriented very "strongly" for a thumb sucker. Although the dentist was very encouraging about her stopping before kindergarten, the doctor was less patient. My hubby has absolutely no understanding about it whatsoever. He thinks it's nasty, gross, wrong and a reflection of my bad parenting.

I remember when I was little, before kindergarten, my parents making a HUGE deal out of me sucking my thumb. I remember them holding me down and rubbing all sorts of stuff on my thumb. At the time, I thought to myself (while kicking and screaming, I'm sure) 'if they are going to make this a war, I'm gonna win it.'--well it was that sentiment, anyway. It didn't matter what they'd put on it, I'd just suck it off and be done with it. The harder they tried to force me to quit, the more I sucked it. My little thumb sucker reminds me a LOT of me. I finally quit when I went to visit my super-ultra-favorite Aunt and all she said was, "you still suck your thumb?" Never done it since.

I just don't want to make a big deal out of this and having that fuel her desire to suck her thumb. My hubby thinks that a Thumb guard is the way to go. But it seems sooooooo mean. I'm thinking reward system and he's thinking torture device.

Mel, I'm not surprised to hear that some still suck their thumbs. When I get really sick, and have to take care of myself and the kids, then I finally get to lay down, my first instinct is to suck my thumb. It's really weird to have such a...strong, basal instinct to do that. But now I've got a very, very bad jaw problem (at least partially genetic) and a very touchy gag reflex, so I'm not trying it out, ever again!

You know, it is natural for a baby to suck,
and is encouraged at early ages..
So, it's not a nasty, etc. etc. thing to do..
It increases jaw muscles and promotes later on in life
good speech because of it.. and it's a nuturing thing
that a baby can settle it's self without outside stimuli..

And it is soooooo cute to watch a new born suck..
on their thumb and take control of thier own self..

Absolutely nothing wrong with that at all...

But for me, when I came to the conclusion of a pacifier
vs. thumb, I just went the pacifier way, because of the
not being able to take the thumb away..

but there is not a bad parenting...
(I'll give him or anyone even against even the pacifier,
that they are a not totally informed group of parents..
NOT THAT THEY ARE BAD PARENTS.)




That is why I suggest to do it while she sleeps
and never say one word about YOU MAKING HER STOP...


For something to shoot for is her next b~day, or maybe a special outting day or something she can shoot for and know about when it is, and prepare herself...
And you say, some day you're going to be a big girl,
and you won't, or pretty soon you won't be needing that..

Prepare her... that is one of the things parents do or should say, don't do, is prepare their wee~ones'..

Just like you said above, it was a WAR, and you weren't going to give in.. but if you, as the parent now give them
the opportunity to put it in their hands, and growing up..

*same for potty training.. some day you go pee~pee on the potty, when you feel ready... when you're a big girl..*

I must agree. We talk about everything long before it ever happens; so that way they know what to expect, and how we expect them to behave. That way, there is none of that "oh, I didn't know that I wasn't supposed to throw chocolate dipped bananas on the ceiling like my cousins do."

Lindsay (the thumb sucker in question), never wanted anything to do with a pacifier. She would refuse to suck on it and spit it out. She was always so cute with one thumb in her mouth and the other in her left ear. She turned 3 on friday, and we have done a lot of talking about big girls and what big girls do (or don't do) for a couple months now. We even have a new dolly, she named her Roberta. And Roberta doesn't suck her thumb. What a big dolly she is! Lindsay likes to say, "I don't want to suck my thumb but it is sooooooo good. I like it." I like to joke that God must've given her a candy-coated thumb. Maybe it's true after all!

i didn't have any thumb suckers, but my nephew sucked his until he was in high school.

my sil thought pacifiers were gross

my only thought is that i'd not be willing to spend $70 on the device, i'd be much more inclined to tell her "if you can stop sucking your thumb, as good as it tastes, we will take the $$ we would spend on this, and/or the orthodontist, and get a treat for the family. would you like to help us pick it out?"

then, i'd go from there. she sounds like a very intelligent girl and that might just do it. good luck.

I did the same nailpolish thing with my eldest, who used to bite her nails. Like I do. Hmmm, my kids are picking up my current and past bad habits, how terrible is that? Anyway, it worked great. For boys: if they bite their nails--they get painted with hot pink polish. The ring idea is a great idea. I think we'll take her out to get the ring tonight. Then I'll start spending my insomniac hours dipping her thumb in hot sauce or something gross. Then I'll show her the torture device daddy wants to put on her. mean daddy And talk about spending money on something a LOT more fun. If nothing else, this regime should reduce the thumbsucking.

My son is 5 and he sucks his thumb. But, he only sucks it when he is tired or lays down. I notice that it is getting less and less and he has done that on his own. I have never told him that he needs to stop sucking his thumb. I feel with something like that, the more you tell them the more they do it. Just like how you said you were as a child. I don't know if that is right or not but that is my opinion. If he was sucking it constantly and he was starting school I would probably talk to him about it. I definitely would not go out and buy that $70 device. I had some issues with him pottying the bed and what worked was bribery basically! He would get a sticker every night he didn't potty in the bed and when he got so many I would buy him a small toy. He is really into Hot Wheels so that is what it was most of the time. And they only cost 97 cents at Wal-Mart! Maybe you could use the same concept with the thumbsucking. Make a chart and give her a sticker every time she doesn't suck her thumb and when she gets so many she gets a little prize. It does not have to be big. Go to the dollar store. Good luck and keep us posted!

Like I said, if it was constantly in there, I wouldn't be worried. But, dear god, if she isn't coloring it's in there. She'll even push it into her cheek to talk.

AND, her daddy is left handed. SOoooooo, she seems to be developing ambidextrous-ness. Which her Daddy is more than happy to encourage. This means that she can color with her LEFT hand and still suck her right thumb. How great is that? What a good mult-tasker.

hahaha!!!

My only thought with a 3 year old and a thumb ring
is choking on it...
To me 3 is still kinda little and if she's a habit sucker,
she may accidently shove it in her mouth, ring and all and give one good suck and down it goes..

***I have an obsession with choking, that is the one thing
I feel I can't be of any help, you can't shove your hand down their throats to clear it out and you have to WAIT for an ambulance to get there to help *and I live in town where that siren goes off, and off, and off*, and I would hate to be the one choking on something and have to wait for those people to drive their country miles to get to the ambulance
then drive those same country miles to get to me/kid***

But you know your wee~one better than I but for me...
And those thoughts above are IMHO!

Weezie, I appreciate your concern. Thankfully, my home is about a half mile (tops) from the fire station/ambulance place. lol, not to say that her choking would be fine 'cause we live close. But I could just see some parents saying that... yes, I have a weird sense of humor. I think the ring, should, be fine during the day. Definitely would take it off at night. She is always putting stuff in her mouth--everything that can fit and if it's not going in her mouth, she's licking it. She pretends she's a puppy, but, really, she just likes tasting everything. The only thing that doesn't seem to make it into her mouth is Ramen noodles and broccoli.