Still Sucking Her Thumb at 9!

I sucked my thumb til I was about 7. My family was in a tizzy about it! My grandmother was the one who got me to stop. She'd slather my hands in this horrible herbal lotion (it was nuclear green!) and then put this rubber thumb cover on (I think it was some freaky sort of thimble), and then she'd slather that in lotion too. BLECH!!! I guess while I was sleeping I would take all that off and try to wipe the lotion off because it tasted so terrible, but I could never get it all off. That was the summer I quit.

So... it was forced but it worked. I don't feel traumatized about it. As a parent, neither of my kids ever sucked their thumb. My son never wanted his thumb or a pacifier. My daughter loved her pacifier and when we took her off it, all we did was make them all disappear. She looked for them for a little while but got over it pretty quick. Heh, except for the time she saw a baby with one and she took it from him and popped it in her own mouth! LOL Buuuut...she seems pretty over it now. :-)

Dear T.,

I am an orthodontist and have a thumb sucking child myself. I have found with my patients who love to suck their thumbs the only thing that really works is the orthodontic appliance. However, if the thumb sucking is not causing an orthodontic problem (find out if it has caused an openbite or a crossbite ) you don't need her to stop. many kids have thumb habits that don't cause ortho problems. It's funny how my views on many orthodontic issues have changed since i became a mommy. Good Luck

Dr. L. Toth

Hey T.
I had a similar problem with my daughter. She was chewing on her cuticals and destroying her fingers. What we did was we made her a deal. i asked her what the two things she wanted to do most were. i then told her that if she stopped chewing on her fingers for 1 month then we would do one of things she chose. We made a chartand put on a sticker for each day that she made all day with no chewing. She actually made it in 5 weeks. The first week was hard but she made up her mind that she was going to stop.
So off to disneyland we went. :O)
I hope this helps, Good luck
B.

Hi,,I myself sucked my thumb until 6th grade!My parents also tried everything.Trust me,,,,she will not suck her thumb forever.After my parents stopped making it such an issue,,I stopped.I am now 36 with 3 beautifull kids of my own!

T. - If you take the thumb sucking away, then you need to replace it with something. She will need something to soothe her. That's the reason for the thumb sucking. Have you tried talking to her about it? Being open with her is important. Good Luck!

When my daughter turned 10 we had a slumber party. I thought that if she had other girls at our house she would not suck her thumb. Guess what? At least three other girls sucked their thumbs!! (I have a theory about the thumb sucking and our current "let's be grown up at 10" society).
Anyway, we decided to use old fashioned bribery. "They" say it takes 30 days to break a habit.
She wanted an expensive American Girl doll. I told her if she could go a month without sucking her thumb she could have the doll. Bingo!

Hi T. - I sucked my thumb until I was 9, too! My parents tried to help me quit, but ultimately it was my decision. Even when I told them I quit, I just did it in secret. At some point, I just stopped. Maybe that will happen for your daughter, too.

Let her suck her thumb. It's not your problem. I sucked my thumb until 9 or so (I'm 63) at night as it helped me to relax and fall asleep. If you let this trivial issue become a non issue, your daughter will suck her thumb only when it brings her satisfaction. She will stop on her own if you leave her and her thumb alone. Please find something in yourself that needs to be improved and improve. There are times in my life that I remember being 9 and having my thumb to help me to fall asleep. I don't suck it at 63 as it doesn't help me like it once did. Maybe if it did, I would! My best friend's now 41 year old son sucked his thumb until he was 11. Today he could win a prize as the world's best dad of 3 beautiful children of his own.

My daughter was 7, but we started to put a bandaid on her thumb and it took about a week, but it worked!!
Good luck!!

T.,

I sucked my thumb until I was 13, so I think I have a little bit of experience. LOL. Anyways. I was only a night time thumb sucker. My mom tried EVERYTHING...Peppers, nail polish, I had a care bear she bought me that sat on a shelf and when I stopped sucking my thumb I would get it. I would go to the dentist and they would tell me to stop, I would tell my mom I would stop she would give me the bear for my nap and when I would wake up from my nap the bear was gone and my thumb was in my mouth. Nothing worked on me. I just chose to stop one day. Maybe letting the thumb nails grow out a little bit may help because you can't get a good suction when the nails are long.

Good Luck!

J.

Hi T.,
You kind of got this suggestion already, but nail polish. But not just plain ordinary stuff. Take her to the salon, or have Mom and daughter "spa" time at the house. Paint her nails up real nice and put a special decal or "diamond/gem" on both of her thumbs. They'll be so pretty, she won't suck the details off. This is how my Mom got my daughter to stop. Worked like a charm.
Good luck.

Hi T.~
I know EXACTLY what you are going through. I was a thumb sucker till I was 12! Yes 12! I know that isn't what you wanted to hear, but the truth of the matter is, that you can try everything in the world to get your child to stop sucking her thumb, and she is going to find a way to put her thumb back in her mouth. Your daughter is NOT going to get "bucked teeth" from sucking ther thumb.
She will stop in her own time. When she is at school and cought by her friends with her thumb in her mouth, I guarantee that is going to affect her.
It could be a lot worse right?

Chin up, it won't last forever.

I'm glad that you are getting better advice than the first person, who told you to use punishment!! I think that would definitely be counterproductive.

My daughter is 9 and still sucks her thumb at night, usually when she is first trying to get to sleep. I know she has some "needs" issues as her dad and I are divorced and her dad is sometimes very critical of her, so I think this helps her in a way.

I am a health care provider and don't have a huge issue with it. The dentist used to say it was a problem, but the last few times we have gone, he said she doesn't have as much of a problem as she used to. She'll need braces around 12, but her dad wore braces too, so I think part of the need for braces is genetic. She is also a very talented girl -- she is in GATE, is loved by her teachers, and is involved in lots of activities. So....my opinion is as others have said -- she will eventually stop sucking it on her own.

My daughter did the same thing. She DID have the orthodontic appliance (a thing with spikes on it on the roof of her mouth) but she bent it all out of shape to accommodate her thumb. The more people told her to stop, the more she wanted suck her thumb! She's just like that, and always has been.

She finally gave it up on her own at about 10 1/2. Your daughter will probably do the same, especially if kids tease her. As parents, we'd love to spare our kids teasing, but we can't always do that.

I wouldn't try to force her to stop. Humans have natural, sucking needs, they are instinctual, for survival. It's different for everyone. I think that if you let it ride its course, then your child will have less of a predisposition for a sucking substitute at a later time, (such as smoking.) There's no reason to compare our kids with what other kids are doing at the same age, it just results in lowering their self esteem. Everyone has their own path and timing. I'd try noticing all the things about her that are good, and putting plenty of emphasis on that. Good luck! ;-)

My cousin, now age 41, has been voted Mother of the Year a couple of times and Wife of the Year (husband is military) - when she got married after college, she still sucked her thumb. She was always Advanced Placement all through her school years, and did well in college. She has 3 amazing kids, all of whom are very social and have friends all over the country. She had braces and it didn't mess up her teeth; she still has a beautiful smile. She's pretty "hot" - her 16 year old daughters look like her sisters. So, I wouldn't worry about your daughter. Just let her be and do it on her own.

Well, my 4 year old daughter is a huge thumb sucker.
I was concerned because the dentist told me how it can effect the palate formation.He could already see her mouth and teeth moving. I can totally relate about not knowing what to do.
Whenever I try to redirect her she cries and tells me she is not ready to stop! I just really felt the appliance was very invasive for a young child.

I don't have any suggestions to get her to stop. But I remember I sucked my finger until I was probably almost 11 or so. By that time, my parents didn't know because I only did it when I was alone and falling asleep. I'd take it out when they came around. But eventually, I just stopped on my own. Don't worry, I'm not still sucking my finger at 31 years old:) So maybe if you just let her do it, she'll be more likely to stop on her own when she's ready to. The pressure to stop may cause anxiety that is comforted by more thumb sucking. I'm no authority on the subject, but it's just what came to mind when remembering my own finger sucking history. Good Luck!

I'm sorry, I don't have any suggestions, but I wanted to use this for first time moms - USE A BINKY BEFORE THEY DISCOVER THEIR THUMBS! I swore by binkies, and my kids never ever put the thumb in their mouths. You can control the binky and get rid of it around age two. My neighbor had a daughter that sucked her thumb until about 13, she finally stopped on her own because she realized a teenager sucking her thumb is weird. I hope you daughter stops before that. I wish you luck!

I would just ignore it. Eventually she'll stop because the other kids are teasing her. Either she's found a mobile technique for self soothing, or she's found a great way to work your nerve. You might ask yourself why it's bothering you so much. Good luck.

i sucked my thumb to go to sleep until i was 10. then one day, i just stopped doing it. at the time, i didn't think anything of it and neither did my parents. now that i think of it, they might not have know about it since i only did it at night. i'm 36 now. the only real consequence of sucking my thumb was my crooked teeth. i had braces in high school and then again in my late 20s...wear your retainer, kids! the stress of trying to make her stop might not be worth it. she'll probably just stop on her own like i did. here's one thought: sucking one's thumb is a self-soothing act. maybe if she's a worrier, that's why she does it. give her other ways to cope with worry and maybe she'll stop.

T.,
Have you tried "STOP by Mavala"??? It's a polish you use everyday without fail for 36 days, it worked for my 3 year old. I also told her that I would buy her anything she wanted from the toy store once she stopped for one month. Good luck this is a hard one.

Dear T.,

At 9, it may be too late for this, but to give my (ex)husband credit, he figured out that my (then 5 year old) son sucked his more when he had his night-night (security blanket) - the night-night disappeared and the thumb-sucking tapered off. Four years later, we did basically the same thing with his younger sister (at about the same age). (The same thing is suggested for quitting smoking - get rid of the triggers - like your morning cup of coffee, whatever you do that foes hand-in-hand with your cigarette) I don't know if she has triggers like that, but that might be an idea. (I quit when I was three and made a deal with my dad that I would stop sucking my fingers if he stopped smoking - but then I bit my fingernails for the next 30 or so years . . . )

Good luck!
B.

My niece is 12 and still has an urge to suck her thumb. It is a very strong urge and/or habit that some children get into. She gets over the urge by doing something else with her hands. When she is tired she rubs the edge of her blanket or shirt instead. During the day, especially when she is doing calmer activities (like TV), she either rubs her blanket or she does a craft (like crocheting) while watching TV. Your daughter has to decide for herself and make-up her mind to quit...otherwise nothing will work. You can encourage her, but ultimately it is her decision. Definitely give her support and love and let her break the habit by helping her overcome her urges. Hope this helps.

You've probably already tried this but letting it be her problem may help? Tell her you know she'll stop when she's ready and that you understand it is comforting to her. That maybe she can something else to comfort her (a blankie or stuffed animal?). That she should let you know when she's ready to stop and then you can begin the orthodontic process.

Best of luck.

G.

http://www.oliverthebear.com/content/contactus.htm this is a good web site with lots of testimonies from others who tried this book I read putting a bandaid on the thumb as a reminder not to suck it, the book sounded very helpful

good luck

Hi T.,
Thumb sucking is a hard habit to break. They have to realize they are doing it. I am still working on breaking my daughter who just turned 7. The best thing I tried, and it might work better since your child is older, is I bought two thumb metal splints for broken thumbs in the pharmacy and I taped them on with medical tape. Then when she goes to automatically put her thumbs in her mouth without even thinking, the thumb wraps will prevent her and make her conscience of what she is doing. Good luck. D.

Hi T.-

When my daughter was 9 her dentist us told that we had to do something to stop the habit. We also had tried everything that you had, but it didn't work. We did have the appliance put in her mouth that the plan is to stop the sucking, she stopped sucking her thumb, and instead played with the appliance so much that it jarred loose. Then he recommended the Thumb Guard that worked GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here is the website on Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=thumb+guard...
Probably way more info that you need but I just cut & pasted it. She wore it for a couple of months and it really worked. My daughter enjoyed wearing it as well because it is strapped on with brightly colored bracelets, (like the wristbands you get for the fair.) A few months after we took it off she wanted to know if she still wanted to suck her thumb, so she tried to suck her thumb again, and started up again. So we did it again, (you get two shields,) and it worked again and has worked ever since.

Let me know if you have any questions. Good Luck!

When does she suck her thumb ? Give her a time when she sucks her thumb the most and try to limit it to that. I suspect that it's at bed time .

I would try punishment next. Sounds a bit harsh but if she is caught sucking it outside her alloted time she gets a punishment ( something reasonable of course she isn't setting fire to the cat or anything) . No TV is a good one or less TV until she can be a big girl about sucking the thumb. I would also reward her when she goes without sucking it.