Help, I Have a Thumb Sucker

I have a boy who was a thumb sucker. I tried having him wear gloves, I tried the stuff to paint on the thumb from the local drug store. Finally my husband went on line and did some digging and we found "Stop" by Mavala. Found it at Folica.com It is the only thing that worked. It is a horrible tasting fingernail polish that doesn't wear off easily. It worked. Good luck.

If she has a comfort article, like a stuffed animal or blanket, take it from her for "washing" and then "lose" it. There will be tears and major drama for maybe a day or two, but it will fix the thumb sucking (This is what my parents did for me). Unfortunatley, I don't have any suggestions for the thumb, except taping it or putting it in a brace to keep her from being able to suck it. Good news -- I sucked my thumb until I was in the 3rd Grade and never had to have braces. I think genes have more to do with it than anything...

I found this on a website: http://www.stopbitingnails.com/Thumb_Sucking.htm

Not sure if any of it will work or not but hope it helps.

1. If your child has a favorite chair or place they like to suck their thumb, put a "TV chair" near the TV instead. Move the place they normally watch TV.
2. Be aware your child may have a favorite toy or blanket they like to suck with, and move it to a place where your child can see it, but not have it to suck with.
3. When you do not see your child with their thumb in their mouth, tell them how pleased you are about it! Reward their efforts with positive reinforcement, kind words, and even surprises.
4. Think of things you can do together instead of sucking (remember, many children suck out of boredom), and do them. Keep a "busy box" of manipulatives nearby which will keep little fingers busy and out of the mouth such as Play dough, Koosh balls, Silly Putty, Legos, crayons and markers, books, stress balls, lanyards, beads, etc. Bring them in the car and place them by the T.V.
5. Limit T.V. usage, if this is a trigger for your child's sucking activity. Suggest a bike ride, computer game, or talking to a friend on the phone instead.
6. Never hesitate to consult a professional if finger sucking persists past age 4 1/2 - 5.
7. If a pacifier is a problem, don't promptly withdraw it's usage. Gradually wean down the daytime behavior, ending with weaning of the nighttime habit. Prompt, sudden pacifier withdrawal may promote the usage of a convenient thumb instead.
8. Before the age of 5, children are seldom ready maturity-wise to understand the necessity of why a thumb habit should be curbed, and therefore, it is best not to make it an issue until they are truly ready. Otherwise, they may resort to more continuous sucking as they become frustrated in their attempts to stop, seeking even more comfort from a convenient thumb, engraining the finger habit even further.
9. If your child over 5 expresses an interest in stopping, encourage this, utilizing the services of professionals such as orofacial myologists, or dental specialists, as needed, and depending on the method of therapy you wish to pursue.

I was a thumb sucker until I was about 6. My grandmother taught me to crochet and it kept my fingers and thumbs too busy to be sucked on. Maybe you could start yours out with a simple beading project; just something to keep both her hands busy.

I too had a thumb sucker (she is now 12). And we tried to "cure" her habit we tried most everything that has been mentioned. Then we were told that wait until she got to kindergarten, as the other children teasing would make her stop. This is one time that I would have gladly dealt with the teasing, but the teachers wouldn't allow it to happen. So we continue to try and curb that habit with no luck until we visited the dentist. At 9 yrs old we discovered that she would need braces and the first step would be to stop sucking the thumb. After a visit to the orthodontist, we decided that to fix the problem we would need an appliance. This appliance actually fixed 2 problems at once. It was placed in such a way that she could not get her thumb into the "sweet spot" (the comfortable spot where her thumb always went) and it also started her orthodontic work. We are probably the horror story of thumb suckers, but one that you don't hear very often. We are still working on the braces, but because of the appliance the thumb sucking has stopped.
But my advice is to find something that your dd doesn't like the taste of---ours was peppermint to begin with, and coat her finger with it. Then just continue to keep the stuff on their until she loses the desire to suck on her thumb. I know that we also tried a commerical product called "THUM" that we were able to get at Walmart that was essentially the same idea. Good luck and don't get too discouraged, she will eventually stop.

Having had four thumb suckers (and two pacifier users and one who had no sucking need -yeah!) I've noticed that at least for my kids, they have to want to stop. We did everything, but nothing worked until they wanted to stop. I just want to encourage you that this is a great time to work on breaking this habit. On the other hand, if your daughter won't stop, it doesn't make you a bad Mom. I have a 13 year-old-daughter who is very normal today; many consider her mature for her age, but she sucked her thumb at night until she was 9. One day she decided to stop and started taping a sock over her hand at night! We wasted money on a thumb guard - one daughter chewed it off! See if you can her to want to stop sucking it. I really think that's the key.

Have you ever tried putting a little bit of black pepper on her thumb? She won't like it, and it won't hurt her at all. Or rubbing a little bit of hand soap on it? After a few times of sticking the thumb in her mouth with either of these, and realize that it doesn't taste good, she'll quit. Before using either, maybe you should ask her doctor what he thinks of the idea. And, make sure she isn't allergic to the soap, if that is your decision.

My dd #2 was a major thumb sucker also (the other 3 did not thumb suck or even want a binkie). I too was fine with it (nosy others were not) and loved that she was a happy self soother. I was told by our childs dr and our dentist that only 10% keep sucking after 5 and that is when most permanent problems happen. So don't freak yet! It was suggested that we keep reminding her and if she had a blanket or an object that went along with the thumb sucking start leaving it behind or make a rule "only at bedtime or nap". It worked by 5 she just did not do it unless it was about bedtime and she was really tired and by 5 1/2 it occasionally happened in her sleep. Don't make her feel bad about it or she will want it more because she will feel insecure. Do not worry mom it will slowly stop with a little encouragment from you along the way.

What is the worst that can happen? She'll probably need braces as a teen. She might any way. At 2 1/2 what can you do? I bet she won't go to college sucking her thumb. :)

This is a touchy issue with me because my husband insisted I not let our second son suck his thumb. It was awful. He still can't get himself back to sleep like my first son (a thumb-sucker) did. My husband thinks thumb-sucking is disgusting or a filthy habit or something. I think that's an attitude that can come across to a 5 year old and make her feel bad about herself, but definitely won't stop the thumb-sucking!
I'm not defending myself, but I sucked my thumb until I was 7. I never had buck-teeth or deformed palate or anything. I remember sucking my thumb in the car when we picked up my sister from school. And I remember my mom rewarding me with Barbies if I would stop sucking. But I don't ever remember understanding that grown ups don't suck their thumbs, so eventually, i was going to have to stop. And it was only an understanding from within me that got me to stop, and i stopped instantly. Unfortunately, what made me decide to stop was the fact that my baby teeth weren't falling out (i'm super slow on teeth) and I had 6 pulled at once. I figured out on my own that sucking my thumb would make the sores bleed, so I just stopped. And I got my Barbie, and that was that.
So maybe a chart would help, I don't know!
With DS, DH had a talk with him right before his 3rd birthday and said that he was going to be such a big boy tomorrow, he wouldn't need to suck his thumb anymore. He stopped during the day, and he didn't use it to fall asleep, but sometimes I'd catch him sucking in his sleep. I'd pop it out and in only about 2 weeks, he stopped that, too.
I'm not saying it ought to be that easy; we lucked out.
Just had a thought---would she enjoy wearing a thumb ring? I big pretty non-toxic one that would feel uncomfortable on her lips and remind her to pull her thumb out?

My best friend, son, and I all sucked our thumbs until we we about 12-13, and all three of us have perfect teeth! I'm not concerned about my three year old's thumb sucking at all. My advice is to leave her alone, she give it up when she no longer needs it.

A few different stories that may help give you ideas or encouragement. As a young child, I bit my fingernails to the point of bleeding. My mom told me that if I could get them long enough that she would paint them. I worked hard and got them painted, if she caught me biting, she would take off the paint. I didn't like the color coming off, so I quit biting.
Second story, My nephew would suck on his clothes (gross habit). After ruining several good shirts, his mom let him chose one shirt to suck on and they chose an inconvenient spot that he could suck his shirt. This was away from everything fun (TV) and everybody. If he was caught, he was reminded to go to his sucking spot and suck his sucking shirt. After awhile he didn't like being away from everything and quit sucking his clothes.
Last example. While down with my second pregnancy, my oldest got to go play with a cousin while daddy worked. I quickly discovered that the cousin was a thumb sucker and used it to comfort himself. My daughter was picking up this nasty habit. I also learned that the mother was pretty rough on both kids. My daughter was learning that thumbs were great comfort when you get into trouble. I politely and quickly arranged for my daughter to go else where, worked with her to help her feel secure enough that the thumb sucking went away.
If they are doing it from day one, you will have a harder challenge because she has been doing it her entire life. She doesn't know any better. These are different scenarios and I hope you can adjust them to work for you!

My niece (3.5) is a thumbsucker. My sister's solution was to allow her the suck her thumb all she wants but she has to do it in her room. This worked great. Wanting to be with the rest of the family & participatein what is going on trumps the thumb sucking. She still does it but only in her room.

I tried this with my son (2) and his pacifier. It works. he knows he can only have it in his room and even voluntarily leaves it there (I rarely have to remind him). It it my son's only "security blanket" so I know I will not take it from him for some time but he is slowly weening himself from it on his own.

Hi K.-
I have had two children (out of 7) who have sucked their thumbs. There is a product called Mavala Stop at amazon for 7.99 that worked on my oldest daughter. She never put her thumb to her mouth again. (She's now 21.) I used it on her when she was 2 1/2 and honestly, after she didn't suck her thumb and needed comfort, I wished I hadn't taken that away from her so early. My fifth child sucked her thumb as well. I was so much more relaxed with her and so I let it go longer. When she was five I started using the Mavala on her thumb and she changed fingers and started using her pinky to suck on. When I covered all her fingers, she just continued and sucked off the gross taste. I tried not to make a big deal about it. It wasn't until she turned 7 and really understood that it wasn't a good thing, that I put a glove on her hand at night and it cured her. Whew.
Good luck. Every child is different. Here's the link for that product:

http://www.amazon.com/MAVALA-Stop-Biting-Thumb-Sucking/dp...

Give her something else to occupy her hands. Let her suck her thumb only at certain times - in bed or maybe when she is hurt. Get her a special toy for when she is bored - maybe a blanket instead of the thumb. Then reward when she does well - put stickers up for her or give her a special treat at the end of the day.

She'll out grow it when she's ready & I think the more attention you bring to it, the more she is going to do it.

Does she have a lovey that she sucks her thumb with? My 2.5 year old dd sucks her thumb, but mostly when she has her nite-nite. So, she isn't allowed to have her nite nite during the day. It's only for sleeping.

I think you are wise to start eliminating that behavior sooner than later. As a first grade teacher I have seen a few kids come in to school at the age of 7 still sucking thumbs. The thumb suckers don't seem to listen as well, hold still for very long and they get picked on by the other children for acting like babies. They seem to get sick often and spread that sickness around.

Our youngest got to the dental part. I kept a small closed container of cooking vanilla. When I caught him, we had to soak his offending fingers. (He was a middle, ring finger man) This makes them quite unpalatable. After a week if he saw me get the "vanilla cup" (we used a Tupperware midget)down, he put his fingers behind his back and was done. In about two weeks, this habit was broken!

There is a company called Leaps and Bounds/One Step Ahead that has a website (onestepahead.com). First off they sell great needed items for all ages of kids, from safety to fun, and in a recent catalog I saw a "brace" of sorts that is guaranteed to stop the thumb sucking. It's basically a plastic piece that fits over the hand to make it so that the child cannot suck fingers or the thumb. I have a binky problem with my son, but this looked like it would really work for someone who was in need of a thumb sucking cure. They have very reasonable prices and I have ordered several things from them, all good quality. I suggest you give it a once over, if anything you might find some other little items that you never knew you needed :)

I am sursprised your Dentist didn't give you any tips to discourage the behavior. My kids never did this, but I have heard of putting different tasting things on the thumb, they even have sprays. Also, they have splint like things to wear--here is the site: Thumbusters, LLC.

GL:)

I have one, too, and I just read a medical article in the office that said as long as they stop before 5, it's probably okay. That seems like a long time to me, but Im no expert! LOL We started with the gentle reminding, too, about the same time you are, and it did help...the stretches get longer and longer and the habit rights itself if you stay on top of it. We've noticed a huge difference in the last 6 months so just keep at it gently and Im sure you'll break the habit...you have some time to work with her though!
L.

I know you've had a lot of advice on this one. My second one is also a thumb sucker. It is a habit just like smoking would be to an adult. Our solution was to put socks on her hands and safety pin it to her sleeve so she couldn't get it off. it was hard at first, but now she comes to us to put them on. We had them on her all the time for about one month, and now she just has to wear them at night and at naps. (we called them her super mittens) and we had her pick out her own from the store. She just turned three.

K.,

My first and last children both sucked their thumbs. The last one, a boy who is 4 1/2 still sucks his thumb. My oldest sucked her thumb until she started kindergarten and she quit on her own! I asked the dentist and he said it didn't make a difference until their permanent teeth started coming in. I have casually mentioned to my son that he will have to quit sucking his thumb soon. I have never tried to force them to quit. It's a comfort thing. I would think your daughter will quit when she is older. She still "needs" it. She may be doing it more now because it has become an "issue" with you. The more you tell her not to the more she will do it. Just any child that doesn't like be told no. Good luck, but I wouldn't worry about it too much.