4 y.o. Still Sucking Thumb

I sucked my thumb until the fifth grade! At that point I think I started to like boys and decided it was time to stop sucking the thumb. My parents tried everything but it ended up having to be my decision to stop. I did get braces but I would have needed them anyway due to the fact that I was missing a permanent tooth in the front. It allowed my permanent teeth float, etc. Otherwise, no cavities and a very healthy mouth (and thumb)! :-) Try not to worry about it too much.

Run, don't walk to Sandra Coulson -
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Work Address:
2121 S. Oneida Street, Suite 633
Denver, CO 80224

She is a miracle worker - got my son & daughter to stop sucking their thumbs & my other son to stop biting his nails.

I tried with my son for many years. I tried the reward charts, the dentist talk and visit, the braces talk, you name it I tried it. He was spitting out his pacifier and replacing it with his thumb at 4 weeks. he is 5 1/2 when I finally went and bought the nail polish bad tasting stuff, it worked. I told him that the polish was his reminder to stop, and he stopped within a few days, he would actually ask me to put the stuff on when he couldnt taste it anymore. I found the polish at walgreens. Good luck, I know its so hard. dont give up. I was 13 when I stopped sucking my thumb, I didnt have braces or anything, but with my son, the way he sucks it, it did cause a HUGE concern for his teeth, since he has stopped, we have noticed that his overbite is less, and the space between the 2 front teeth has closed.

You are going to get lots of advice opposite of mine but here goes. I sucked my thumb until I was 8 ( only at night). My 2 daughters, 2 and 4 still suck their thumbs. The 2 year old more than the 4 year old. My 4 year old tells me every once in awhile that she doesn't anymore, so honestly I think she'll wean herself off. I spoke with the pediatrician and she said that the dental problems are a myth. That most dental problems are inherited. I have never worn braces and have no cavities. I say back off maybe he'll wean himself off. Oh, the pediatrician told me when she started school the kids would tease her and she would stop. Unfortunately, in her preschool class there are four 4 year olds that also suck their thumbs. The teachers try to discourage but don't ridicule the kids. Good luck.

Just a suggestion but it worked in our house - try a little Tabasco sauce on his thumb. He won't like the taste but it won't hurt him either.

I was a thumb sucker until I was 5. My parents tried everything with me-- asking, bribing, threatening to not let me start kindergarten (though they let me go anyway), and even putting hot sauce on my thumb. The thing that finally worked was they found this really nasty tasting liquid and put it on my thumb. The liquid didn't wash off easily at ALL (I know, I tried) and once I got the taste in my mouth it took it a long time to go away too. That was the best reminder ever not to suck my thumb. Sorry, I don't have the name of the liquid (this was 25 years ago and I was the child), but I am sure they have similar things on the market now. Good luck!

Hi there,

My 5 y/o grandson does the same. What works for him is Wasabe paste, and if that isn't around, Pine scented hand lotion. Know it sounds harsh, but so will the orthodontics bill be.

Hope that helps.

Cath

Hi P., just to add my two cents, I sucked my thumb until I was about 8, just at night as I got closer to 8. My parents and siblings tried to get me to stop and I just kept right on, although their comments made me feel bad (I still remember!). I never had braces, and my teeth and palate are just fine. My advice would be to back off because he's going to stop when he is ready. I understand your concerns, because my daughter is 2 1/2 and is a thumb sucker, and I really, really don't want her to do it as long as I did. But I won't force the issue. Good luck!

Hello there. It was the summer between my 4th and 5th grade year that I decided to stop sucking my thumb. My parents tried everything to get me to stop. ie. tobasco sauce, punishments, singing cute little songs about not sucking thumbs, gross tasting nail polish, ect..... The problem is that I learned all the bad taste would go away in a minute of sucking my thumb or I could wash it off and made me more sneaky about doing it. What finally got me to the point where I stopped was that I decided that I was not going to do it anymore. I went to my mom and said,"Mom if I stop by the end of the month, will you take me to get frozen yogurt?" She said yes and I stopped. The thing is that my teeth are fine. I have never had braces and dentists are amazed that my teeth are so perfect. One dentist told me that you are usually predispositioned to good or bad teeth and that chances are that your child will have problems if they were going to anyways. My suggestion is to talk to your child and see what is his price to stop. He will tell you his price if he is willing to. Otherwise show him love as I am sure that you are and help him build confidence and he will stop when he is ready. Good Luck I know this was hard for my parents and I am sure it is hard on you to.

If he wants to be a baby, treat him like one! If he wants a cookie, tell him, "I'm sorry, babies don't eat cookies!" If he wants to go to the park, "I'm sorry, babies don't play at the park," etc. etc. Withhold anything and everything you can think of that babies can't/don't do.

Obviously it's better if you can break him of the habit, before he goes off to Kindergarten. However, if he refuses to give it up, I can almost guarantee that he'll stop when his friends at school start to make fun of him for sucking his thumb. Peer pressure... the most effective behavior modification tool of all time!

Good Luck!

I sucked my thumb (at night) until the day I got my braces on - - I was 12 or 13. It was, what it was. My mother never tried to stop me. It is a comfort thing. I am sure folks will disagree with me and maybe my need of braces was from that but......

Maybe just let it go and leave the issue alone. Or try those things to put on it. I guess I don't feel like it's the end of the world and if it help him cope then why take that away.
L.

P., I used to work in an orthodontic office where I saw the results of sucking thumbs. If he has an open bite (When he bites down do all his teeth come together or are the front ones apart?). He will need a special habit breaking appliance. It also helps children who swallow incorrectly. It is usually no charge for a consultation, so you should check it out

Hi P., I was a thumb sucker. Finally I was bribed with a toy if I stopped. I did.
My sisters son was also. He would suck when watching t.v or at bedtime. She noticed he did it when he had his "loveys" with him. (his 2 stuffed animals that have done everything with him since birth!)
She taught him to be aware of when he was doing it, it was a habit, he didn't even realize he was doing it and he started watching t.v without the animals. She also made them a special "bed" for sleeping in at night so they were still with him, but he wasn't holding them, therefore he wasn't sucking his thumb. Good luck.
If nothing else he will outgrow it or it will end up embarassing him and he will stop. I hope it doesn't cause him to get his feelings hurt.

This is an extremely difficult habit to break -- for the child, it's as addictive as smoking cigarettes. If the child won't do it voluntarily, here's what we did:

My daughter's palate/teeth were misshapen because of the thumb-sucking (very common). In second grade, we took her to the orthodontist and he put in an expander (it goes in the roof of the mouth, to begin correcting the mouth problem). You can't suck a thumb with an expander in your mouth! She cried the first night at bedtime. I was broken-hearted for her. Then -- she never mentioned her thumb again, and no more tears. In a few months, the braces went on (they only need the first four adult teeth on top for braces). Within about 14 months, the entire procedure was done, her mouth was beautiful, and the thumb-sucking was over.

This is going to sound silly. But my parents and other relatives would tell my siblings ( I didn't have this problem) that if they didn't stop sucking on thier thumbs and fingers thy would fall off. We knew someone who was missing 2 fingers. When we asked about it we were told that they fell off because he sucked on them too much. Before this my parents had tried everything, including the nasty tasting creams. Although ths didn't stop them completely, it just caused them to back off a little, my siblings were worried about loosing thier fingers/thumbs. In the end they just grew out of it. You also might want to try to replace it with something else. Maybe something he can chew on. My sons therapists gave him a rubber mallet looking thing to chew on when he was stresse, it night work for this also. Good luck.

Usually peer pressure takes car of it by this age in preschool. However, go to the pharmacy and ask for Thum. (I think that is it) It is a nail polish like stuff with cayenne papper in it. You paint it on. My younger kid got excited about putting it on too so both are on the way to stopping sucking. the peer pressure helps and telling my 4 year old that she doesn't want to ruin her teeth (she likes that type of talk.) she is down to only when she is tired and going to bed.

Well, I remember when I was little, my brother paid me a dime not to suck my thumb! It didn't work the first night, but after awhile it did, since I sure don't suck my thumb anymore!! Good luck!

Hi P..
I am not sure why ALL kiddos suck their thumbs, but we have twin boys ( now 6 1/2) and one sucked and the other did not.
Stephen has always been very ORAL and put things in his mouth including his thumb. He is also a sensory seeker - which is part of the bigger over all picture.
Two summers ago, we took him to an oral myologist - a person who works with all kinds of oral issues, including thumb sucking and tongue thrust. It really worked to get him to quit sucking his thumb( he quit sucking that day!then continued w/ interventions such as putting a sock over his hand at bedtime) ! If you email me - I can give you her name. There are others in the Denver area as well.
Now, I knew when he quit sucking his thumb- there might be some issues. He was so oral, so of course he still put his fingers & other objects in his mouth to get that oral input he needed for the sensory issues we were working through.
Chewing Gum and a pulsating toothbrush has really helped decrease the amount of oral stimulation he needed.
The great thing is, that he quit sucking his thumb- which is wonderful for to help with the social aspect of thumb sucking. His teeth moved back into alignment within a couple of months.
You might also want to check w/your dentist or check with a pediatric dentist to see if they can refer you to someone they work with.
Good Luck! J. S.
____@____.com

I used to chew my nails but I find if I keep polish on them I won't chew them. So I was thinking maybe if you got some of those tattoo band-aids with his favorite character and put it on his thumb maybe he won't want to mess it up or maybe it will just serve as a reminder not to suck his thumb.

I know this might sound mean, but if your desperate...it might be worth a shot. I had the same problem as a child and my parents tried two different things, and they worked. On the fingernail place and let dry: fingernail polish remover or tabasco sauce. It worked for me, good luck.

My son sucked his thumb also - it became such a habit he wouldn't realize he was doing it. What worked for us was "Stop" by Mavala. Found it at an online store. It is made in Switzerland - it's like a clear fingernail polish that has a very raunchy taste that will not wash off. It's for stopping thumb sucking and chewing on fingernails. It works. We tried "Thumb" or something like that from Walmart - it did not work. It is pretty inexpensive - I would try it before sinking a lot of money into an appliance.Good luck.

Hi, P.. When my son turned three, I bought the thumbguard sold by One Step Ahead. It is expensive but it worked great. It is a plastic sleeve that goes over the thumb and is attached to the hand with the little braclets you get when you're in the hospital and at some tourist attractions. The first day that we put it on him, he did try desperately to tear it off and wimpered pretty much all day, but he couldn't get it off. The next day, he only occasionally tried to get it off and otherwise just left it alone and went through the day as normal. Each day after that, he got better and better about not having the urge to suck. The bracelets come in various colors, so he enjoyed picking a new color each day. The device is supposed to be worn 24/7, although I took it off for an hour or two after about a week so his thumb could get some air and to test his ability to stop sucking. I would say that at two weeks, the habit was broken. I kept it on for four weeks just to be safe, however. He hasn't sucked his thumb since.

I had a friend who used the thumb guard with great success. She highly recommends it. She just says to make sure you get the one with the wrist band.

there are things you can put on his thumb so that when he sucks it, it tastes really nasty, your doctor should be able to recommend some things and if doesn't try your dentist or maybe you could call and orthodontist office. good luck

I never had a problem with this, but while buying some medicine for my nephew a couple of weeks ago I noticed something specifically for children that suck on their thumbs or bite their nails. You are supposed to put it on the fingers or thumb and it tastes so bad they won't want to put their fingers in their mouths. It's at Walgreens in the baby isle. My mother sucked her thumb and my grandma continuously put lemon juice on her thumb until she stopped. It worked but took a while.

M.

My daughter was the exact same way. We saw her sucking her thumb on the ultrasound, too! We tried everything. Eventually (not until she was over 5) she quit sucking it. I don't know if it was because she was starting school or what. She just quit! Good luck. I know a lot of kids just do it when they're ready.

Our 4 year old has been sucking his index finger for the past 6 months or so. He just started a new daycare & his new teacher is making him wash his finger/hands everytime they catch him sucking his finger. When they told us this trick, we decided to try it at home & it has been working. Our son dreads washing his hands after everytime he sucks his finger, but we have to enforce it & he has stopped, but occassionally slips up a few times. We also tried putting band-aids on his finger while at school, which seemed to work ok, but the hand washing really makes him think about the consequences. We found that you have to be consistent & everytime we catch him with his finger in his mouth we make him wash his hands, even though it drives us crazy as well, especially if we have already made a few trips to the sink. :) Good Luck!

Dear P.,
This is a struggle going on in our home as well. I am trying a glove. My daughter just turned 5!!!!!!! It is driving me crazy. She is a twin and has sucked her thumb since birth. I didn't mind when she was a new baby because she seemed to sleep so well. With twins that is a huge blessing. I really thought she would give it up by now and my concerns are increasing because she will be going to public school this year where there, as you well know, are germs everywhere. I don't know if you have tried the bad tasting polish you can paint on the nail. It is available in the pharmacy. Many moms recommended that to me. It didn't slow my daughter down at all. I know the dentist can make an appliance to place in the child's mouth. I have saved that as a last resort. The glove helps her recognize that she doesn't need to suck her thumb just because she is sitting still. It almost jolts her out of her auto pilot setting. I have heard of one set of parents that had their child get a cast. I think that is a bit extreme. I hope that she will not need to. Hopefully your son will have a possitive response to the polish like so many of my neighbors and friends have had.