I have a daughter, who will be 3 later this month, who still sucks her thumb. She doesn't do it all of the time, just when she gets tired or upset and when she goes to sleep at night. She has sucked her thumb since she was a week old and I know this should have been nipped in the bud a long time ago. I was just wondering if anybody out there has experienced this same problem. Her front tooth is getting pushed farther back from the one next to it from sucking her thumb so much. I would appreciate it if someone could let me know what I can do to get my daughter to stop this. Thank you.
Thank you (Christi and Carie) for the advice. I have seen the nail bite stuff in the store, but never thought about using it on my daughter's thumb. I am going to give it a try. I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks again.
i sucked my finger until i was about 9. The only thing that broke me of the habit was this ointment or oil called THUM. You can get it at any pharmacy like walgreens or CVS down the baby care Isle I think.
C.
Hi J.! First and foremost I would like to say that this is purely advice so please take it for what it is worth to you. I have a five year old son and a 2 and a half year old daughter. My son sucked his thumb til he was 4. I didn't ever make a big deal about it because it really wasn't a big deal to me. The only concern I had was with his teeth. I had taken him to teh dentist when he was three, and our dentist said that if you can get your child to stop sucking on their thumb, or pacifier by 5 their teeth will shift back, and not have permanet damage when the permanent teeth come in. We didn't make it an issue because for our son that would've made it worse. I truly believe the reason they do it is because they feel like that is one of the things they have complete control over. He eventually stopped on his own with our own (as much as I hate to say it) manipulative coaching. We started treating him more like a big boy...he was 4 his sister not even 2. For example...giving him a chore chart (helping mom to laundry or dishes. Cleaning up all by himself. Rewarding with big boy rewards. At the same time praising him for being such a big boy, but also bringing to his attention in a subtle way that big boys really don't need to suck their thumbs. For us it was very important how we phrased it and how he was going to feel about what we were saying. And it worked like a miracle. But I will honestly say I don't think we could've done it with this success when he was 3. Three is difficult for us as parents, but also for them. They want more control more independence, but they don't understand how to get it. Our 2 and a half year old sucks her thumb also, but way less then our son did. I'm not worrying about it right now because I feel like there will come a time when it appropriate for us to make it an issue. I really think, again just personal opinion, if I push my kids to do something before I know they are ready just to benefit some need of mine, it'll backfire and become a bigger more cumbersome battle. Every child is different, and every parent is different. So do what works for your child and for you. Good luck!!!!!!
yes I would love to know the answer to this question also..I have a grandson who just turned 4 and he is still sucking his thumb ...thanks M. B.
OK, I am not an expert, and neither of my sons ever had a pacifier or sucked their thumbs. Your daughter sucks her thumb for comfort. If you make a huge deal out of this it will just cause her more stress. Try to displace her comfort from her thumb to something else. Understand that she is an individual with free will, too, even though we try to control the actions of our children. I teach adults and I have a woman in her early twenties who still puts a finger surrepticiously in her mouth when she feels stress. I'd ask a dentist if that tooth "moving" back is really a result of her thumb sucking, too. Might be she just has crooked teeth to start with. Best wishes!
My son is 3 1/2 and sucked his thumb liked your daughter did. I was dreading trying to break him of the habit. I went and bought no bite for nail biters. Just before bedtime we told him that tomorrow night we were not going to suck our thumb anymore. He could do it tonight but tomorrow we stop. The next morning i put it on his thumb, he said icky thumb...yuck! Put it on a couple more times during the day and he did not suck it that night or ever again. No bribary. No threats. Nothing.
Could not believe I was so lucky. We were very matter of fact about it and did not make a big deal it. Good Luck.
My mother tells a story about how I did the same thing when I was 3 years old and consequently when my adult teeth came in they were horribly crooked. They tried everything to get me from sucking my thumb. Finally my mom made a deal with me because I wanted to paint my fingernails so bad. She told me that if I stopped sucking my thumb then she would allow me to have a manacure and get my fingernails painted because I really wanted my fingernails painted I broke the habit of sucking my thumb. So I guess the advice from this story is find something that your daughter really wants and have that be the incentive for her to stop sucking her thumb.
Hope this helps!
Hi J. I feel for you because my daughter is
3 1/2 and still sucks her index finger. Her teeth are also pushed out and I talked to the dentist about this and he assured me that as long as she stops by the time her permanent teeth come in(5-6yrs old) it shouldn't cause any permanent damage. He told me to try and put vinegar on it while she is sleeping and maybe the taste would cause her to stop but he also said that most kids will stop on their own especially once they are in school and if someone sees them they will be embarrassed. I hope this helps and I wish you luck. My daughter starts school next week so we'll see if it stops or gets worse. Best of luck.
C.
My 4 year old son who will be 5 in a in November sucks his thumb also the same times as you listed for your daughter. When I visited his Pediatric dentist I asked him about plans to stop. He stated that since he was only doing it during times of stress or when children usually need comforting things like nap time or bed time. He is on his way to stopping. But he also said he won't stop until he is ready and to force it sooner just adds to the childs stress.
J.,
I sucked my thumb until I was 8 or 9. I know!! Anyway, two comments, one my teeth are fine so it didn't end up doing any premanant damage, although I know it can. And two my parents had a special drop/ontment that they put on my thumb-- similar to nail bite stuff but especially for thumb suckers-- you may want to check with your pediatrian. I've also heard that plain on viniger will work.
Good luck.
