Ok I I need a thumb sucking cure. Durring the day we can pretty much keep my 4 year old son's thumb out of his mouth. Bed time and nap time are another story. What can we do? I haven't really cared about it all that much but now it is causeing a rash around his mouth and sores on his noes where he rubs his finger. Please help!
Well we will see how it goes but we were able to find some of the nasty tasting sutff that you paint on. It is not so much that it taste nasty but has cyanne pepper in it so it has that spice burn to it. 4 hours after putting it on my finger it will still burn my tounge. Our main problem is at night time so we als0 got some "small finger" splints and we will medical tape them on. I am not so worried about how it has changed the shape of his mouth, braces aren't the worst thing in the world, but the sores he is creating on his face are a big deal to me. Thank you all so much!
I sucked my thumb way past your son's age (and yes, had to have dental work in part from it)...
My parents bribed me with a Cabbage Patch Doll to stop... but they also used some sort of nasty tasting liquid to help. It dried on my finger and was just awful and numbing tasting.
I can't remember the name, but pharmacies like Walgreens should carry it.
There are bitter creams, thumb guards and even things that dentist can insert in their mouths to help. Google it and you will come with things.
Each kid is so different so you have to try a couple things before it can work.
There was a mom that created a contract with a much sought after reward/toy if the child stopped sucking their thumb for three weeks. By then the habit is broken. But there is a lot of talking that goes around that and will only work if you child is swayed by that type of thing.
I have bribed, made deals, used thumb guards- everything you can think of- nothing works for me. Both of my girls suck their thumb- 6 and 20 months. My ped and dentist said it would be nice if we could get her to stop, but it wont work unless they are ready. I have stopped worrying about it, I dont like it but it doesnt seem to be the right time for her. I agree with you- there are worse things than braces. I know that for mine, boredom is the trigger, so once school starts Im sure she will cut back alot. And unfortunately, one day someone will call her a baby or something- and that may be all it takes. She will get embarrassed and then stop. We have not had a problem with a rash- but my little one recently developed a blister and staph infection on her thumb- so that scared me a little. We also tried the splint with tape and it was very unfortable for her- the metal cut into her finger. Go to ebay and search thumb sucking, there is one on there called thumbuster- this is a much cheaper thumb guard and it worked temporarily for us. (We still have it on standby) Good Luck!
We have the same story with our 4 yr old daughter. Last I heard, the pediatrician said don't worry about it until they're 5. However, at her last two dental cleanings, our dentist said she's definitely a candidate for orthodontics. Even though she's only ever sucked her thumb for sleeping, it has been enough to misshape the roof of her mouth and affect her teeth. So we've finally got an initial visit with the orthodontist next week. I asked what good dental work would do if she's still sucking her thumb and they said they can insert something called a "habit breaker."
Ack!
At any rate, if it's not affecting his teeth, I wouldn't worry about it.
The only thing that I know of that really works is the Thumb Guard. One Step Ahead sells it - here is the link: http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...
Good luck!
