4 Year Old Sucks Fingers When Tired or Sleeping

I think you should paint her nails or put nail polish remover on her thumb. That's how my mom got me to stop.

Control-It....is a great product, all-natural alternative to stop thumb sucking.....try it....GOODLUCK! It appears she does this as a comforting measure rather than bad habit and she will probably grow out of it eventually.....Wouldn't worry about it, and if it does become more habitual, there's always Control-It.....GOOD LUCK!

my daughters dentist told me to try and stop her because she is 4 and already getting an over bite, it's hard they said to tape a golve on her hand at night or put a popsicle stick in her inside elbow and wrap it up with an ace bandage so she can't bend it to put it in her mouth, the only bad thing if they don't stop is if they fall on there face they will break teeth more easily because of the overbite, if they were older the dentist could put in a plate to stop them

I use to suck my thumb up until I was about 10 years old and my mom's boyfriend helped break the habbit by putting hot sauce on my thumb and telling me when I went to bed that the hot sauce better still be on my thumb when I wake up or else... Although that sounds too cruel for a 4 year old how about trying this...putting a pretty bandaid on the finger they like to suck and name that finger a special name with special care instructions such as not removing the band-aid for a certain period of time. Even if they accidentally put it in their mouth while sleep or awake it's a conscious reminder in two ways... they'll either see it and be reminded or taste it, which won't be so pleasant to the tongue. Just try it and see...

Dear J.,

I'm sorry this is so late - you probably don't need it . . . I had two that sucked a thumb or a finger. They both had security blankets that they used in conjunction with their finger or thumb for self-calming. My husband figured out when my son was five that he didn't suck his thumb as much if he didn't have his "night-night" - the night-night's got put away and he stopped sucking his thumb. We basically did the same thing with my daughter four years later . . .

Good luck!
B.

Dear J.,

I sucked my thumb as a four and five year-old but stopped by the time I was six or seven.

Mom put pepper on my thumb and it made me sneeze, but it didn't stop me.

Your daughter will outgrow the habit; I think it's best not to interfere.

Best
C. H

Wow! A lot of zany suggestions! Yes, a lot of old school dentists may say this might cause dental problems, but the more recently educated ones will tell you not to worry about it. Don't buy into old wives tales. This is absolutely a non-issue. Your daughter is comforting herself when she is tired. Not a problem unless you make it into one. It will not be a life-long habit. It will not change the shape of her mouth. It will not create orthodontic issues. Don't try to make her stop. This is not a big deal at all. The number one rule of mothering should be, do not create problems where there are none. Don't make this into an issue and it will never be one. Let her be. Enjoy your wonderful daughter and don't give the finger sucking another thought.

My daughters were both thumb-suckers, only at night or they were really tired and only when they were holding their comfort item. For my older daughter, her teddy bear, younger daughter, her blankie. I surfed like crazy and what I read almost unanimously from the pediatric experts was that kids that are pestered suck longer and most all kids, especially those that suck only when they're tired (as opposed to all day long) will give it up on their own. My older daughter dropped it at about 4 1/2, my 3 1/2 year old is still sucking and I'm not worried about it. Both are great sleepers, in part I think because they have a source of comfort readily available. So my advice, don't worry about it - odds are very high it'll take care of itself and no harm will be done.

leave her alone! what is so important about that ? she will stop eventually :)

my now almost 14 yr old was a finger sucker. started at about 1yr old when we decided it would be a good idea to take away her pacifier. i dont really have any advice but just hope. we tried everything from the nasty tasting stuff to bribing her with her favorite things nothing lasted. it was mostly when she was tired too. it is a security thing and it is hard to compete with that feeling of securtiy.

i can tell you that she did finally stop though at about age 10 or 11 as they were prepping her teeth for braces. they were hesitant to actually put the braces on with her habit, but she stopped and never turned back.

so i guess my advices is dont pressure her, she will stop when she is ready and i think the less you make of it the less important it will be. just be patient with her.

good luck!

Put hot sauce on her fingers, no I am not joking. Its safe, it works, and just have milk on hand for when she has a hot mouth use mild too because hot it too hot for kids.

Good luck.

I am a hygienist. Our Doctor has recomended putting a sock over hands. Not to worry to much if it's not to often. Keep a look out for the front teeth protruding or the front teeth not closing when teeth are bit together in the back this is what we call an open bite. Most bite issues this early on can grow back to norm but some not. Good luck that is why I push the binkies cause you can get rid of them but not the hands.

I know how to solve this problem.. Do what my mom did when I wouldn't stop - GET RID OF HER BLANKET- it worked on me and I was 6! It sounds harsh and its tough love but for some reason the child has some sort of connection with that blanket and her fingers(like smoking and drinking go together for some people). Its psychological, she will lose interest after a while when its gone and then you can always get her new blanket =)

She probably uses this as a method of offering herself comfort. A dentist told my sister-in-law that it had to stop as it would change the shape of the mouth and her child's teeth would be crooked and hard to fix. I don't know how true this is, because I got it secondhand.
Just take her finger out of her mouth everytime you see it and place something in her hand to comfort her. You could also try some of those "stop sucking" substances that make your finger taste really bad so you don't want it in your mouth. My husband said that his mom did that to him once and he never sucked his finger again. He also said the taste didn't go away for almost a whole day. Yuck.

I had the same "problem" and I can tell you it goes away naturally. I had family telling me that it would ruin my sons teeth, palate, etc. My son found comfort in sucking his finger and holding his blanket. He stopped when he was around other kids in school. Why do you want to stop this behavoir? It doesn't hurt anyone and will go away on it's own. Kids find comfort in different things. Don't make her feel it is something wrong. My son is 16 now and it never caused any problems with his teeth or mouth. He has a beautiful smile!