My son has been off the Binky for 3 yrs. Never sucked his fingers. Lately he has been putting his fingers in his mouth. He is not sucking on them or biting, he just puts them in his mouth. We are always having to tell him to keep his fingers out of his mouth. What do I do to get him to stop? My husband thinks the answer is Tobasco sauce. Is this the only choice?
I have 2 thumb suckers. the 6 yr old is autistic and has been sucking her thumb since birth. we have taken to when she does it other than bedtime just taking her hand away from her face and telling her to get that thumb outta her mouth. she will generally try to put it back in 2 more times then will stop. bedtime or when she is tired seems when she mostly does it now. the 3 yr old still does it.
If you are going to try to put something on his fingers so he doesn't put them in the mouth. I wouldn't use hot sauce. Try something like vinegar. It smells bad, taste bad, it's natural and it would probably do the trick. This is what I used to when my first child went through a biting stage. It worked like a charm. Everytime he bit, I put vinegar in his mouth.
Someone gave me the brilliant idea of hot sauce for my son when he was having a problem with biting. It was great. It scorched the inside of his mouth. :-( Didn't exactly make me feel like Mother of the Year.
Vinegar worked for us, and still does, for biting and "potty mouth" problems. It's just nasty, and the kids don't like it. Even the smell helps them straighten up quickly, and we have rarely actually had to put it in their mouths.
The only thing to consider... is there maybe a REASON he's doing it? Self-stimulation, self-regulation, self-soothing etc.?
My son has multiple special needs, and finger/hand/thumb sucking are ways he self-regulates when he's feeling overloaded. Punishing him for that would be wrong.
You said he's not sucking them, but I might be curious about his need to do it at all. Is he only doing it when he's tired/angry/upset/overloaded? Or is he doing it unconsciously or just to get a rouse out of you? It matters why, I believe.
Anyway, good luck. Ain't being a parent THE MOST FUN? Hee hee. (Someday we'll look back like our parents and wonder why it is that our kids have such a difficult time... it's EASY, right?!)
Get a hand sanitizer with the highest percent of alcohol or that smells really bad and rub his finger every time he tries to get it in his mouth, It will taste terrible.
Hope this works for you. But in case it does not work, try putting a very strong bandaid, that really tastes disgusting...
Hi I'm a pediatrician and youre not alone in this. I get the same problem very often in my office.This is just a phase kids go thru kind of a way to liberate som anxiety(yes they get anxious too). But to prevent infeccions and calm parents down I recomend to put on some ALoe straight from the plant or from a Freshmarket store where natural product are sold. This is a natural product that wont hurt the kid in a way its even good for them but tastes very nasty. Hope this help you. Bye!
once a child is 2 he can understand time out . It has to be done properly then it works great. The person who first thought it up wrote a book called S O S For Parents. If you could get a copy it's worth your time. I 've seen people do a watered down version which they think up but it didn't work out well.
I let my son suck one finger too long and then he needed some kind of brace at the top of his mouth which I had to tighten with a screw . I didn't like it at all and neither did he !!! I wish I had asked the dentist at what age to have him stop. That would have been an easier task.
good luck
S.
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I am the mother of two and my oldest daughter sucked her finger for years. I personally think this is a necessity they have and sooner or later they will stop. When she turned 8 she asked us to take her to the dentist so he could put some kind of a brace behind her upper teeth. It worked perfectly but only when she was ready to quit.
hello fingers in the mouth .i have to say ur husband is on the right track" but i would try something bitter like lemon anything that could be a bad taste should work u might have to try a few diff taste. hope this helps
When you figure it out, let me know! My 4 year old daughter has been doing the same thing lately!!
Is he getting any teeth?
