Sucking Her Finger

My daughter used to suck her thumb all the time and i was wondering the same thing. How do you get her to stop? I went to walmart and bought this stuff that you put on her thumb. It came in a bottle similar to nail polish and you just brush it on. It was something like No Bite. It tastes nasty, but it worked. It only took a few days to break her of that habit. Good luck.

I would tie a sock on her hand and even duct tape it (ETA - duct tape the SOCK on - the duct tape never touches the skin) if you have to, or try something that tastes really bad like that no bite for fingernails (Sally has it). ETA: Sara, I have never personally put a sock and duck tape on my child but I have seen it done several times - but personally, you sound like my stepdaughter's mom who encouraged her to suck her fingers to OUR expense as she no longer sees her - she called it her "comfort blanket" which is ridiculous. We put an ortho appliance in her mouth to stop her but at the time she was still going to visitation with her mother who told her that she should still suck her fingers at 8) Also, we put the braces on her at an early age for her SELF ESTEEM - it was NOT necessary yet as she is young. SHE was embarrassed by her teeth. Shame on you for not stepping up and being the parent and stopping your daughter from that at her age!

Let's just say that my stepdaughter (full custody for many reasons) was encouraged (YES!) to suck her fingers by her mother for years. We just spent a LOT on braces.

If you have more children, encourage the pacifier and if they don't take to it, put socks or something on their hands! Bad, bad habit!!!

I would give her a pacifier to try and suck on again. You didn't say how old your daughter is. She may be teething. My daughter preferred her fingers to a pacifier; however, I just kept on replacing her finger with a pacifier. Now she mostly prefers the pacifier; however, if the pacifier falls out she will suck her thumb. You may also want to try a burp cloth or other little blanket to suck on - clean of course. My daughter likes to chew on that as well.

J.:

I really wish I could help you cause I tried all sorts of ways to stop my daughter and it hasnt worked yet. My friend told me she stopped her daughter by telling her that her finger would turn green and fall off and that night after she put her to bed she got a green maarker and mader her thumb green and she never sucked it again she told her that it was a warning I tried it and it didnt work and to this day at the age of 30 she still suckes her thumb mostly when sleeping. I Wish you lots of luck.
P.

Hi there,
How old is your daughter? My daughter (now a teenager) used to suck her thumb until she was four years old. It was hard to stop but she was four and understood that sucking her thum was bad for her teeth and her finger (that poor thum was half the size of the other one). She agreed to use a bandage and for a couple of days acted like an addicted in weanning process! Some people advise (we didn't need it) to smear some thing spicy or with unpleasant taste on the finger to discourage sucking.

Good luck!

My son who is 3 1/2 sucks his thumb. While we have not done this yet, his dentist recomended Thumb gaurd. They also make one for the finger.
Here is the link. http://www.thumbguard.com/Fingerguard.html
If your daughter is still under 3 I wouldn't worry too much about it. You are her mother and will know was is best and right for your child.
Good luck!

We have to use medical tape to put on my daughters fingers. She is 4 but if the tape is not on her fingers she will suck. My dental hygienist said that I could go someplace to get a special mouthgaurd for my daughter, but I thought that was a bit extreme. Have not tried the bitter stuff, but friend swears by it, dont know what it is called, but you can find it at Walgreens. I did tell her until she finally stops sucking on them completly we will not paint her fingernails. Good luck, we have been trying for over a year!

It really depends on her age as to how aggressively you should intervene. However, being in the dental field, I'd recommend you go ahead & speak w/your dentist and/or an Orthodontist. If they aren't totally DONE by age 4, they can re-shape their palate, teeth alignment, etc...plus the bacteria on the hands and I've even seen fingers begin to re-shape at an angle if they suck fingers. I've had a neighbor successfully use & order a glove from a website called Thumbguard.net. Her son was old enough to understand that he NEEDED to quit. Sometimes an Ortho. appliance in the roof of the mouth accomplishes the stopping of their ability to suck. Of course, that's for older kids vs. babies. Good luck & do your best!! (I'm sure it'll be transitionally tough, but worth it to stop the oral habit that has a lot of consequences.)

I'm not sure how old your daughter is but I have one that is almost five and she loves to suck her finger when she is tired. This brings her lots of comfort and security and there is no way I am going to SHAME her for this. I promise your daughter will be more interested in other thing such as school and playing with friends as she gets older that she won't be walking around all the time with her finger in her mouth. The more you stress about it, the more she stresses and that makes her want to suck more. You might just try to tell her that is something that she can do at naptime or bedtime but mommy wants her hands to be clean so she can play during the day. I also worked for a orthodontist and it is not as bad as some people make it sound, chances are she will need braces whether or not she sucks her finger, I have 3 siblings and we all had braces. The lady who commented about using a sock and duct tape is walking a thin line in my book, everyone has a bad habit especially adults, I know I love to eat chocolate when I am stressed but thank God no one is covering my mouth with a sock and duct tape!
I hope this helps and God bless your family.

How old is your daughter? Is she still a baby? If so, non-nutritive sucking is not a "habit", it is still a *need* at that age. I would say up to the age of 2 or even 3, which is the biologically normal age of weaning.

Now if she is four or five, that's different. Then you should try to find out why she is sucking her finger, and address that issue. Is she stressed? Bored? Lonely? Does she have trouble falling asleep on her own? Maybe you can substitute something else to help her feel more secure, change her bedtime routine, distract her, and so forth. In other words, think of the finger sucking as the symptom, not the problem.