How Do You Get a 4 Year Old to Stop Sucking His Thumb?

Since he's not sucking his thumb in public, I don't see the big deal. If it makes him feel better what harm is it causing? I was also a thumb sucker for a long time, and when I didn't need it anymore, I stopped, as some of the other posters or their kids did, as you son will. I say let him have his comfort.

I have 4 1/2 year old twin girls and both suck their thumb. I try to discourage them from doing it in public. But otherwise at home I let them. It's their comfort zone.

Hi S. - You'll get lots of ideas from lots of great moms, but my 2 cents worth is to let him be. He will outgrow it in his own time, on his own terms. My daughter turned 7 in June and stopped sucking her thumb shortly before her birthday. I didn't pressure her to do it - she needed to do it at her own time without being "bullied" by me or forced to take nasty-tasting elements. She stopped sucking her thumb in public around 4.5 years old and only sucked it at bed time. Then she wouldn't suck it at sleepovers, and eventually she gave it up all together. I was given some great advice by other moms - "Like walking, talking, toilet training and most other developmental stages, I was guaranteed that she wouldn't be going to college sucking her thumb. So pick your battles and let your child find their own way to resolving these issues." Once I stopped worrying about it and bothering her about when she was going to stop, we had less battles and she eventually gave it up on her own. Good luck.

Sucking on a thumb or pacifier is a coping skill for kids to help them calm down and soothe themselves. It would neglectful to force him into giving up the thumb sucking without helping teach him other things he can do to help him calm and soothe himself before trying to break him of thumb sucking. Thumb sucking is part of his current emotional development so taking it away before he is ready and without teaching him new coping skills that work for him would to get him to handle stress, calm himself and soothe would set him back and cause other issues that you weren't aware of the thumb sucking was helping him deal with.

www.whatshebuys.com has the worst tasting nail polish to stop thumb sucking and nail biting. It's so terrible that it takes days to wash off. It's called Malva (I think). it's about $9.00 a bottle.

My daughter found it soothing to wind down after school by laying in bed under a heavy comforter, lights dim, and chewing on a chew toy her OT recommended. She was so wound up and tired at the same time, she needed a way to calm herself. She would chew on this rubber ring and then usually fall asleep. Sometimes she liked a soothing CD. She wasn't young either when we finally struck the right routine for her- she was 5! We also did a brushing program that her OT taught us. It really helped.

She felt bad at first using the teether, like "Am I a baby?" and we just said, "No, people just need different things to get their bodies calm and this helps you." She only used hers in bed though.

Sounds like it you can find something to replace the thumb, something equally soothing and close by (like, bring it along to school pick-up so he can have it on the way home if he is solo, so he doesn't have to explain it to other kids), and buy 4-5 of them, so you will have them when you need them, that might encourage him to break the thumb habit.

I think we ordered ours from Southpaw Enterprises. She liked the P and Q set and also some grape scented ones. She used them for about one year.

She also LOVES her vibrating toothbrush now. Do you think he might enjoy using something like that orally when he feels the need to suck his thumb? We got ours on sale at Jewel for $4.

My son had the same problem. My husband was watching "The Doctors" one day and they suggested using band-aids on the thumbs. We used character band aids. I didn't use "generic" for fear if he did suck his thumb, he'd swallow them. But he didn't want to suck on them. It took 2 days and he broke his habit. Good Luck!

My 4yo sucked his 2 fingers since he was a baby. I just recently bought and used the nail polish that tastes bad. I got it at amazon. If you want the name i will get it for you. I put it on while he was sleeping so he didnt protest and i told him when he gets to be a big boy his fingers wont taste good anymore. After he put them inhis mouth with that on, he freaked out and never did it again. I kept putting it on for a week or 2 just to be safe. So he stopped sucking right away, HOWEVER, since that soothed him to bed every night, we had afew weeks of hell getting him to bed after that. He didnt know how to fall asleep without his fingers. It was very difficult but now he goes to sleep with no problem. And no more finger sucking!!!!!!

S., my younger son Kevin who is now 23 sucked his thumb for a long time and quit on his own. I don't even remember how old he was when he stopped. I also mentioned to the dentist that he used to do this, and the dentist said he'd have never guessed that by seeing Kevin's teeth. They are perfect. I thought he might need braces because of this. I wouldn't worry about it, personally. When it becomes a problem for him, as my ex used to say, he'll stop. Good luck.
S.

My son stopped around 5 - he usually only did it at naptimes and bedtime. Ah, yes - he did need braces - but then both of my children did and the 2nd child didn't suck his thumb. They both used pacifiers until 18 months old.

I tried from the time my daughter was 2 to stop the thumb sucking. I did purchase the thumb guard and what a waste of money. No matter how tight i got it and even after having the dentist show me how to put it on, she got the damn thing off every night.

The only thing that finally worked for us was the bitter nail paint and that didn't work until she was 5. She used to suck her thumb raw and it would bleed, not too mention sticking it in her mouth with all the germs on it.

One word about the bitter paint, be careful that you don't put too much on, and you will have to get up several times at night for the first few weeks because they get the horrible taste in their mouth when they try to suck it. Milk gets rid of the taste, and to help keep her from putting it in her mouth at night, she would wear socks on her hands so it wasn't easy to just plop it in. She still wears the socks to bed out of habit, but she has not sucked her thumb in over a year now.

Hi S., this is a very long time ago when I had a 4 year old boy that sucked his thumb too. I can't remember if it bothered me or not. One day I did notice that he stopped sucking his thumb and I had to ask him, how come he wasn't sucking his thumb anymore, he answered, "I stuck my thumb in my ear and then in my mouth, and it tasted so bad, I never did it again" He was only 4 years old and now he is 37 and I can never forget that day. Reading your help for advice really put a smile on my face. May the spirit of Christmas be with through the year. God bless you and your dear family. Love Jo

Has your son seen a dentist yet? Our pediatric dentist said my younger son's thumb-sucking wasn't affecting his teeth, so we were able to gradually get it down. He also learned not to do it at school, but when I picked him up, he'd do it in the car and at home. This gradually lessened, although he did it some at home during his kindergarten year as well. Your question made me realize he stopped sometime last year--I haven't thought about it in months! He's in first grade now. Good luck.

Hi S.,

I know people who've put a little mouthwash on their child's thumb to get her to stop sucking. Putting something safe to eat that might taste yucky to a child might work. Also, I slept with socks on my hands as a child to extinguish thumb-sucking during sleep times.

Best,
R.