" Help with 2 Thumb Sucking Toddlers"

I have thumbsucking twin boys and a blanket sucking 2 year old. The boys don't suck their thumbs in school as they will be ridiculed. The baby is only allowed to have the blanket at night.

I can't say do nothing they will grow out of it because I have seen adults sucking their thumbs. I am going to try the Nail Biters polish also. I will let you know how it goes.

I know this response will not agree with most, but I speak from experience. My daughter (breast fed) was a thumb sucker until she was eight!!! She started seeing an orthodontist at four who would work with her, give her chanllenges etc. She would always wind up sucking her thumb at night and she had a hard force - we could barely pull it out when she was sleeping. I spoke to her dr, the ortho, tons of people. They all said she would quit when she was ready. She wouldn't do it at school because she didn't want anyone to know. My husband and I felt like we were either going to pay an orthodontist for braces or a therapist for trauma. Her dr. told me she would need braces due to spacing issues. She did have an appliance put on to help the suction not be so hard and to quit - it didn't have the sharp thing on it that scrapes them - her ortho didn't want that yet. Finally, she announced she was quitting on May 1st, right after she turned eight and she did!!! I couldn't believe it. She is almost fourteen, very well adjusted and yes, she is wearing braces (invisaligns) for a year. The braces are mainly to correct cosmetic issues. I figure adults overeat, drink too much and smoke - so is this such a big deal??? It didn't effect her speech, her social adjustment or anything else. We were working with professionals that we trusted. My son took a paci and I would much rather have a thumb sucker!!!!

In the past I have used the stuff for nail bitters. It worked great but you do have to stick with it eventhough the taste is horrible. It is non toxic so you dont have to worry about it harming them. I have actually used it on my 15 yr od because she bites her nails and she has been keeping her fingers out of her mouth!! Good Luck

MY first was a pacifier baby and I ALWAYS had to have the EXACT one on me so I decided the 2nd would be a thumb-baby. She is 5 and just broke herself of the habit. I don't know how she did it or why but we don't even tell her we notcied for fear she will go back to it. She seemed to do it more with the arrival of my third last year since he was sucking his thumb. The dentist recommended a product called MAVALA. HE said it is "better" than the OTC ones out there. I bought her something called "Stop Nail Biting". I put it on her finger in the morning when she was sleeping. She woke up quite unhappy and everything she ate tasted horrible. It sounds like a horrible mommy trick, but at the time she associated her thumb with the bad taste and, voila`, shre stopped. Moral of the story..if you get them to stop-don't have another baby! HA!

My daughter will turn 5 next month and recently stopped, for the most part, sucking her index finger. She had been to the dentist and the dentist promised her a gift if she could stop for 3 weeks. She said this is the threshold to break a habit but I do find her doing it sometimes. When she was having trouble I would ask her if she ever sees the Disney Princesses with their fingers in their mouths. This seemed to help too. She also was allowed to only suck her finger when she goes to sleep.
The dentist also mentioned a product available on Amazon which other parents have used but I don't remember the name. It's like a nail biter stop ointment.
Good luck - hope these suggestions help.

My 23 month old is a thumb sucker and this too scares me.

My only experience with this is when I was teaching kindergarten and one of my students would suck her thumb throughout the day. I had repeatedly told her that it was not allowed in school for the following reasons; germs - hers & other kid's', class participation. Also during my parent/teacher conference with her parents I had explained to them that this was inappropriate behavior because she should be having conversations, developing her language, and learning more mature ways to sooth herself.

She eventually stopped, at least in the classroom.

SO I guess my advice would be to enlist the help of their teachers, be consistant, be firm, and explain to her why you want her to stop. Good luck.

A.

S.,

I am a speech pathologist and also face this concern with my five year old and newest baby. My second did not suck his thumb or take a pacifier.

I can tell you, having tried with my oldest and my newest baby (just four months) to make them take a pacifier instead of their is impossible. You wouldn't have prevented it even in hindsight. I most definitely would have preferred them to have the pacifier, and I assure you I tried because, as you said I could have weaned that.

Pam Marshalla, writes a very parent friendly book on ucking. I would obtain a copy of this book and employ some of the strategies she talks about.

What has worked for us: Setting a timeline of big days and curbing the occurrence of the ucking. When turned 3 she could only suck her thumb at home. When she was 4 she could only do it upstairs. When she turned 4 1/2 it had to be in her room. And now that she just turned 5 she can only suck her thumb on her bed.

This doens't make her thumb as something that we won't allow it just puts limits on her when/where she can do it. Sometimes, when she just needs a few moments to herself, I will find her in her room and on her bed.

As for affecting their palate/teeth; you really don't have to worry until their grown-up teeth begin to come in. Until then, you have some time to wean them.

Because your children are a little bid older you may not have the luxury of time like we did. But you can use the holidays as milestones...after Valentine's Day you can only suck your thumb at home. By Easter only in the living room and your room...etc.

Good luck!

I have two thumb suckers as well, ages 4 and 6. The 6 yo doesn't suck her thumb in school because she doesn't want the other kids to see her. I think her teacher said something to her about it at the beginning of the school year. We really haven't said much to them about stopping. We figure they will when they are ready. And the 6 yo hasn't been any sicker this year than last when she was home with me. My pediatrician suggested little hot sauce at night. I saw thumb guards in a catalog but can't remember which one.

Try Nail Biter. I believe it's made by Sally Hanson, it's applied like nail polish and can be found in the cosmetics section of most pharmacies where nail polish is sold. It's clear, invisible and is great for keeping fingers out of the mouth. It tastes terrible. Even if they wash their hands, they can still taste the residue, and they will never develop a taste for it.

My son was totally hooked on his thumb (he used to play with his belly button at the same time, turned himself into an "outie"!). At 4 years old, we started talking about how he would stop when he was 5 years old. So we gave him almost a year to get used to the idea. (We didn't make him stop on his birthday, gave him a few days extra!) But basically, he had accepted it as fact by then, and with some encouragement he was ok.
It took another year to get away from the sippy cups. ;-)
D.