My 7 year-old son is a thumb-sucker. He doesn't suck his thumb at school, but aside from taking off his backpack and/or jacket and/or shoes when he gets home from school, I swear that is the first thing he does is stick his thumb in his mouth. He sucks it all the time. I am not sure how to get him to stop. Obviously, I don't want his teeth getting screwed up (although at this point, I don't much care if he sucks his thumb when he's going to sleep at night), but it also is just driving me nuts seeing him walking around with his thumb in his mouth all the time.
I think a lot of the time he does it without realizing it, but I can point it out to him, and he'll take it out, and then 2 seconds later, he's sticking it back in there. I don't want to have to watch him constantly to be bugging him to get his thumb out of his mouth, plus I am afraid that bugging him too much is just counterproductive.
I think it runs in the family somewhat, as my sister apparently sucked her thumb until she was about 15 (but only when going to sleep). I know he has some tendencies towards anxiety, but I am not sure if that is what is causing him to do it (at any rate he seems to be a big physical comforter - thumb-sucking, playing with his ear, sticking his hand down his pants). Even if he's playing a video or computer game, he's often playing with one hand, and sucking with the other.
I have some real bad habits myself (picking at my skin and plucking hairs) that I theorize may have stemmed from my father "beating" the thumb-sucking out of me before I was ready to give it up - went from thumb-sucking to biting nails and picking at the dry skin on my lips to still picking at things. I don't want that to end up happening to him either, assuming that is what happened with me (at least in part).
Ok, this has gotten kinda long..;) Anyway, does anyone have any tips or tricks to help him get over this (or maybe I just need to stop getting so upset about it)? Thanks!
I, too, sucked my thumb at 7 years old. My mom tried everything to get me to stop...sock on the hand, icky tasting stuff on the thumb, etc. The only thing that worked for me was getting something put in my mouth called an alligator (I've also heard it called a rake). I don't know if dentists still use them but it's the only thing that worked to get me to stop.
I have a 16 y.o. son who sucked his thumb until he was 12. He even sucked his while in class too. He wasn't embarrassed to do it in front of anyone. When he was younger, his doctor used to tell me all the time, Don't worry about it, most kids quit when they turn 12. His teeth are perfect too. They are beautiful and straight, no overbite either, and he has never had braces. Try to ignore it, especially at home. Only time I got after him was when we were dining out.
My friend would paint her daughter's entire thumb with nail polish the texture and taste was enough to get her to stop. You could try a bandaid or tape or something too.
C.,
I had a similar problem with my daughter (now 8). She just recently stopped completely. Her issue was with her index finger and only at bedtime or while watching TV. We tried a chart, where she'd get a sticker if she'd make it thru a day or half day and a reward if she'd make it thru a week or whatever length of time we decided upon. That worked a bit. What was most effective was a trip to the dentist who told her that at some point she will likely need to wear head gear and braces due to her sucking. It was VERY hard for her to stop but it was essentially her decision with our support and gently reminders. Avoid the instinct to scold or punish. Your child is already going thru something emotional that he's trying to give up and a low self esteem is something no body needs. There is a device to purchase called a T-guard sold by Med dental or something like that. We bought one but she only used it a short time, maybe 2 weeks and she decided she'd do it alone. Good luck and I'd be happy to email more if you'd like.
My oldest (now 24) sucked her thumb until 7 yrs old. I had tried everything to get her to stop. A visit to the dentist where the Dr. said 'you need to stop sucking your thumb" and she never did again. It was so 'easy'. Did it take another authority figure? I don't know. It worked for us.
K.
I sucked my two middle fingers and my brother and sister both sucked their thumbs. I think all of us quit around 1st or 2nd grade. My parents used some clear stuff made to help nail biters and thumb suckers quit...it tasted terrible but wasn't harmful. My sister and brother both ended up needing orthodontic work but that may or may not be because of the thumb sucking. I think talking to your son about quitting is a good idea. He may need to hear the reasons - germs, orthodontic problems, getting teased, etc. and then you could think of a plan to help him quit with a reward at the end. In the grand scheme of things, there are far worse problems you could be having! Good luck!
I have a friend that was still sucking her pinkie until we graduated. That was almost seven years ago, and who knows, she may still be sucking her pinkie. She used to suck her pinkie and rub her ear. She would rub other peoples ears too - then switch hands! Gross- having her wet pinkie rubbed on your ear was not fun!
Her mom tried everything...the mouth piece, nasty tasting finger nail polish, etc.
I sucked my thumb quite late and what worked for me was my mom bringing me to the dentist and he showed me disgusting pictures of crooked teeth. It gave me the internal motivation to try to keep my thumb out of my mouth.
I got my little sister that is 17 to stop sucking her thumb with purell. I would make her put it on her hands all of the time and she hated the taste.She stopped in about two weeks. Maybe something like that could work for you.
B.
Mom to Taya two weeks old, Mika two years old, Married for three years, starting up home daycare with a great friend.
My aunt sucked her thumb until the day she died. Sadly that was 3 days after her 40th birthday, but anyways it was her way to cope with what was going on in her life. Kind of how your picking and nail biting helps you cope. Everyone has something they do, it just so happens your sons is thumb sucking. He will stop when he is ready to and not a minute sooner. Telling him there are appropriate places (ie his bedroom) to suck his thumb may help, but there will come a time one of his friends sees it and my guess is they are going to tease him, and that is when he will quit. Don't force the issue, it will just cause him to hide other things from you later on. Those things are the things you need to know! Good Luck and just be patient!!
H.
Hi,
I have the same problem with my 6 year who is turning 7 in June so I'm interested in any tips posted on this topic. You are lucky that your child does not do it in school, my child does it all the time every where without even realizing it. He will stop when ever you call him on it but not on his own. Last year i was really close to getting him to stop, I told him he was get too old to keep sucking his thumb and he might get picked on in school fro doing it. That worked up until he meet a 19 yr old relative still sucking her thumb and decided that if she can still do it so can he.
I did not think getting him to stop would be this hard, especially when I saw my brother stopped in one day.
Any way Good Luck
I am 28 and I still suck my thumb. : )
