Stopping Thumb Sucking

Jennifer,
To quote my amazingly, wise older sister: "orthodontia (braces), is a lot cheaper than psychoanalysis". Leave the baby alone.

I have a 11 month old and he still sucks his thumb. I had started out not wanting a pacifier or a thumb sucker but I had tried the pacifier and that just didn't work. He found the thumb on his own. I also watch a little girl who is a paci baby and I can say I like the thumb much better as the baby is able to self sooth a lot easier due to the fact that they know where to find that thing they love so much. I have talked to people and they have said like may others have told you that forcing the child to quit makes it harder. My doctor doesnt have a problem with the thumb sucking as he says it doesn't effect them at this age. Good Luck in what ever you choose to do.

My brother sucked his thumb until he was 9. I sucked mine until I was 11! My parents tried everything, but we quit when we were ready. I sometimes wonder if we went so long BECAUSE they tried to stop it. Try giving her a binky. As others have said, it's much easier to control than a thumb. Good luck.

Do not EVER put a band-aid on a baby's thumb. They could suck it off and choke on it. If you're really concerned, you should ask your doctor for suggestions. Good luck!

8 months is rather young to make the baby stop sucking her thumb. It's a comfort measure, something that she does to self soothe. If you make her stop mow, you may start to notice other behaviors that you like less than the thumb sucking- more crying, not wanting to be put down, being inconsolable.

She is using her thumb to soothe herself. That would be like taking away your favorite pillow to sleep on, or your go to person when you need them the most. She is too young to rationalize that sucking her thumb will give her crooked teeth. If she is still sucking her thumb in grade school, the other children will make fun and she will stop on her own. I say these things from all the research I've done. My 3 year old still sucks his thumb and I would like him to stop, but all the research I've done says it's not good to try to stop the thumb sucking before they are ready.

Point 1- Thumbsucking for infants are their way of provide self comfort, but even more so, provide a teaching of breathing easier. Suck your thumb for a second, did you notice your breathing become more tranquil? Most adults forget to breathe easy. It is usually rapid and tense.
Point 2- Everyone has thier "vice," their technique of relaxing after a hard day. Sucking a thumb is the LEAST destructive of ANY habit or vice she could ever pick up. Anything from nail biting to ciggarette smoking as an adult are destructive. MY ADVICE- When she grows, just teach her where and when it is a appropriate. It is not wrong, it is just her way of relaxing.

I have 4 yr old twins and they both still suck their thumbs. My boys may be unique because only do it when they are relaxing or needingcomforting. Of all the thumb suckers I've seen, they usually do it with some sort of blanket. If you take that away from them, that could eliminate the problem, however it can also backfire on you and your child may never be soothed. It is such a hard habit to break and your baby is too little to talk to her about it. I'm sure you are concerned about the movement of the teeth and needing braces but thumbsucking doesn't necessarily mean that is a certainty. My brother in law sucked for 6 yrs and his teeth are straight and never needed braces. Personally, I think thumbsucking is better than a binky. If you don't find a cure, your little one will give it up on her own when she's ready. Just be glad she can find a way to comfort herself. I think horror stories about thumbsucking is too traumatizing for your child so I don't recommend that. Good luck!

Chances are your baby will end up needing braces at some point in her life anyway, so just let her be. It is VERY common for a baby her age to suck on fingers. It's a way for her to comfort herself. The only other thing you might do is ask a pediatric dentist if they have any ideas. I wouldn't suggest putting things like Bandaid's on her fingers. She is still so young. Coming from being a mother of 3, I think we tend to want to stop all sorts of things that babies do naturally, like sucking fingers, waking at night, controlling night feedings, etc. Coming from my mother who raised 7 children and who was a very wise woman, said let your babies be. They all go through stages and different habbits, which is completely normal! We as parents need to relax a bit!

An eight month old child isn't going to change the shape of her mouth or hurt the development of her teeth with thumb sucking, especially after only 3 months. Do you think you might be over-reacting? Children have been sucking their thumbs, chewing blankets, and crying for pacifiers for ages and they haven't all become deformed and/or dependent for life. I would suggest that you continue to try just taking her thumb out of her mouth everytime you see her doing it. Don't worry though, thumb sucking is a method of seeking comfort, she's only 8 months old and she will grow out of it. Some children simply grow out of it on their own and others need some encouragement, but do you ever see a 20-year-old sucking his thumb?

Thumb sucking is a way of self soothing, and is very comforting to your daughter. Instead of worrying about how to make her stop sucking her thumb, you might ask yourself why it bothers you so much. This is one control battle you don't want to engage in. Don't worry, she won't go to college sucking her thumb.

I agree that she is too young to take away something that comforts her and babies feel so secure when they suck. If you don't want her to suck her thumb, you need to give her an alternative. I think the pacifier is easier to stop than thumb sucking when she is older. What we did (at age 2.5) was cut a small hole (slit) in the pacifiers and still gave them to her, but there was no satisfaction because of the hole so she would put it down. This way we were not taking it away, and when she asked about it, we would just say, it doesn't work anymore, uh oh broken, etc. It only took about two weeks for her to stop asking about it, but she never cried. Taking her thumb out of her mouth is not going to work. You really need to provide her another way to soothe herself or she is going to become insecure and have other problems. Hope this helps; best of luck.

I have a 13 month old and I much prefer thumb-sucking to using a pacifier, which falls out of the baby's mouth and isn't readily available when they want to be soothed. I am not certain why people are so against it. It comforts your child. If she is still sucking her thumb at age 3, then I'd work to curb it, or substitute another soothing mechanism, but for now I really don't think it's harmful.

My pediatrician feels the same way, and told me that it absolutely does not shape the baby's mouth or teeth in a negative fashion.

Hi Jennifer,

I have a 5-year old and a 3-year old. At our last pediatric dental exam, our dentist told us with certainty that my 3-year old would need to definitely need to get braces when she gets older and our 5-year old's teeth seem to be doing fine, no orthodontia needed at this time. Guess which one of our two kids is the thumbsucker. If you guessed the 3-year old you would be wrong.

My 5-year old son has been a life-long thumb sucker and we have spent a lot of time over these past few years redirecting his hand away from his mouth and reminding him "quiet hands," when we see his thumb in his mouth to no avail. Because I was a thumbsucker myself, I know that it's just a self-soothing habit and that when he gets into kindegarten, he'll most likely become more aware that it is no longer acceptable and will eventually drop the habit on his own.

I suspect that you will probably not be able to do too much to get your daughter to stop sucking her thumb at this this young of an age and, even if you did, because she needs that oral sensory input, she will most likely replace that habit with sucking her clothes, blanket or stuffed animal and the damage to her mouth would be the same, if not, worse than if she had been sucking her thumb all along. Whatever you do, please, please promise me that you won't put another bandaid on her sucking thumb while she is still an infant unless, of course, she has a boo-boo. That bandaid could easily be a chocking hazard for her.

One of my big concerns with stopping our son's thumbsucking before he's emotionally ready for it is that he will seek out other ways to comfort himself and will satisfy his oral input needs by overeating. Healthwise, this may be more detrimental to him than sucking his thumb.

Wishing you the best of luck.

Most children stop at a very early age. I sucked mine until I was 11 and yes I have buck teeth. My niece (only two years younger than I am) told me she was going to tell a boy I had a crush on. That stopped me in my tracks. On the most part everyone I have spoken to who did the same as I did, it was due to everyone trying to make them stop. I know that some say don't get a pacifier, but remember that you can throw that away. You can't throw away her thumb. Try to replace the thumb sucking and if she doesn't give up the pacifier on her own before three or four, just let her start lossing them and don't replace them. My granddaughter was a thumb sucker too and that's what we did when she was three. It's been a year now and she hasn't started sucking her thumb to replace the pacifier. Good luck.

"The sucking need is strongest during the first 6 months of a child's life. In a study by Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, only 6% of thumbsucking babies continued the habit past 1 year of age and only 3% continued beyond the age of 2 years. A more recent study, however, found that 15% of 4-year-olds still sucked their thumbs. Those children who continue sucking their thumbs after the age of 4 often have become involved in a power struggle in their early years with a parent who tried to stop their thumbsucking. Occasionally, the thumbsucking simply persists as a bad habit.
The American Dental Association advises that a child can probably suck his thumb until he is 4 or 5 years old without damaging his teeth or jawline. However, thumbsucking must be stopped before a child's permanent teeth come in (at age 6 or 7) because it can lead to an overbite (buck teeth). Another reason to encourage children to give up the habit before they enter school is to prevent the teasing they would otherwise receive."

The experts say: " I wouldn't attempt to "break her" of the habit until she's ready to give it up on her own. You're unlikely to be successful, and it will only lead to unnecessary struggles and frustration for both of you."

Sounds like the bottom line is that if you don't want her to continue doing it till she is 4, you should let her stop when she's ready. At 8 months you can't reason with her so you kind of have to let her decide when to stop. This bears out in the posts that I have read below, those moms who engaged in the struggle at a young age refusing to let them just be, have kids who suck items, chew cloths and lick remote controls and yet that particular mom doesn't see that it's because she refused to allow them to do the natural thing of sucking their thumb, they do it in the womb and rediscover it as babies, it's natural. She's pacifying herself, it's a good thing.

Someone wrote: "Prolong thumb sucking affects their teeth, and can leave scar tissue on their thumbs. Later you can try hot sauce, pepper, something like that. Julie"
I sucked mine till I was 5 and didn't have scar tissue, unless there's scientific data supporting that, I can't imagine it's a fact given that so many millions of children suck their thumbs. Besides 8 months is hardly prolonged. And wow hot sauce, why would you want to engage in that battle and burn your baby's mouth? When she reaches school age then look into nice ways to stop it. For me, just going to school where kids didn't do it, helped make me stop doing it, that and sticker star reward system helped too.

My son, who is now 15 1/5 years old, always sucked his thumb and did so probably up to about 5 years old. No problems with his teeth. My friend's daughter, who is now 12 1/2 years old, also sucked her thumb until about 7 years old and has had no problems with her teeth. I thought I heard that the pacifier, which my 17-month old daughter uses, was worse on the teeth. When I was young, my mom (being Mexican) even tried hot sauce to keep me from sucking my thumb and I just sucked the hot sauce right off. Needless to say, I love hot sauce!

I have four kids and only my first sucked his thumb. I WISH my others had. He was my only good sleeper as an infant and toddler. Now they all sleep fine, except for the baby-- why won't she suck her thumb! My son quit easily at 5-years when the dentist suggested he stop. We just had to take away his lovey (which was a little traumatic) because he only sucked his thumb when he had it in his hand, scrunched against his nose. And we only gave him the lovey at naptime, bedtime, Dr. appointments and long car rides. Maybe you can encourage her to attach to a lovey so you can do the same.

I took my son to the dentist at 1-year and was told he didn't need to stop thumbsucking for a while so I didn't worry. He did have a bit of an underbite so maybe the thumb-sucking actually did him a bit of good.

Good luck!

I didn't but my sisters did. My sisters were also thumb-suckers & I wasn't. Who knows why it happens but I can say that they got their infants to take to a pacifier instead. It is easier to break the habit of a pacifier than a thumb. Your baby needs the comfort of the suckling - a pacifier can give her that just as well as the thumb. Every time she wants the thumb, give her the pacifier. I know my sisters had to buy MANY different ones in order to find the one that their babes were going to like....but it worked! Good luck & God Bless!

I sucked my thumb from the age of 18 months/2 until I was 13 years old and got braces. My dentist told my parents to ignore my "sneaky thumb" but they apparently didn't listen because they constantly tried to stop me from doing it. I remember hot sauce, talking about what flavor it was, pulling it out of my mouth, etc. Like I said, none of it worked until I got braces and they gave me a piece called a "tongue thrust" which is essentially sharp wires glued to the roof of my mouth. I started smoking a year later...
So, when my daughter started to suck her thumb, we saw the same dentist and he told me the same thing he had told my parents. I listened. She was 6 months old at the time. She stopped sucking her thumb at age 10 months and never took a paci. My son used to suck on his shirt and he did this until he was about 8 years old and then he just stopped doing it. (he has perfect teeth at 12 years old now)
So in my experience, constantly drawing attention to it didn't work but ignoring it (like my parents and I was told to do) did.
Yes I needed braces, my nail grew slower until I stopped sucking it but its not at all scarred after 11 years of sucking my thumb, when I stopped the nail grew back in and it's fine, doesn't look any different than my other one. I have a slight speech impediment from the tongue thrust though and I had to have braces for 4 years. I'm sure the fact that I continued to suck my thumb after my permanent teeth came in had a lot to do with that though.
Leave your daughter alone and quit drawing attention to it and she will likely stop all on her own. :)

No luck here nor am I concerned. My 3 year old sucks her thumb starting from birth. It is natural. I sucked my thumb until was 5 or 6. I have perfectly straight teeth and I did not wear braces. My childs doctor and dentist are not concerned. Good Luck!

I have a 2 year old that use to suck his thumb all the time as a baby, he now just does it when he goes to sleep (and he sleeps much better then his sister who had a pacifier). He just naturally stoped and only uses it as a self-soother, I wouldn't try to stop it, they use their thumbs for a reason. As far as teeth go, my good friend is a pediatric dentist as she says most kids need braces anyway and not to worry about the thumb.

I worry about the band aid -- she might choke on it!

Try giving her a pacifier instead, and that's much easier to get rid of before she turns two. It might be too late to introduce the pacifier, but I'm also saying this to any first moms or moms-to-be, pacifier is great because you can control it. Thumbs you can't. I've even known some kids at age 10 who still sucked their thumb! For my kids, they never sucked their thumbs because I gave them a binky when they were newborns, then had the "binky party" at age 22 mos. where we throw them all out. Good luck!

Hi Jennifer,
My oldest son was a thumb sucker, Even his ultrasound picture had his fist up to his mouth. We would put him to bed with mittens or socks on his hands, but he would take them off, tried pacifiers, bandaids, teathing toys, you name it, as he became a toddler we constantly encouraged him not to and reminded him, with lots of praise, but as soon as he was asleep the thumb went back in the mouth. Our pediatritian was not concerned about the sucking, as a pacifier or toy can have the same effect as thumb sucking, but did suggest a grat product for older kids once he was a preeschooler and old enough to want to stop this product iis called Thumb Guards (T-guards) that he wore on his hands. He wore them full time for three weeks, and stopped sucking his thumb for good. Good luck. I know how frustrating it can be.

I remember thinking the same thing you are when my Daughter was an infant, how can I make her stop sucking her fingers???? Ultimately, I let her have her comfort I figured if they do it in the womb it must be OK to let them do it while they are adjusting to our world. I waited until she was 3 and then I used a product called Stop by Mavala, it works so much better than Thum. I know she will need braces, but so what so do most kids......
Good luck

Have you tried giving her something else to put in her mouth? A paci might help slow down changes in mouth shape, but that's another thing you'd have to take away later. My daughter chews/sucks on her blankie, so if you're consistant enough you can get her to sub something else. But you can't just get her to stop without giving her another tool for self soothing- that's the good thing about thumb sucking, it's a good sign your baby has learned to self sooth, which is a hugely important thing for babies to learn.

The only thing I can tell you is that my mother didn't beleive in pacifiers, so my brother, sister, and I weren't ever allowed to have one. My sister sucked not just her thumb, but also her forefinger until her teeth were so messed up she had to wear braces for five years. My brother rocked on his hands and knees, banging his head against his headboard. I chewed off my fingernails until I was a teenager. My mother was unable to stop any of these behaviors.

I, on the other hand, understood the need for an infant to suck, and gave my daughter a pacifier in between feedings from birth. My daughter used her pacifier until she was two years old, at which time, she simply popped it out her mouth, handed it to me and never asked for it again. My daughter has never bitten her fingernails or sucked on any finger.

I don't know how you feel about pacifiers, but I figure they were invented for a reason. If you use an orthodontic style, you won't ruin your daughter's teeth, and she may be able to satisfy the need to suck without using her finger.

hi jennifer, my first baby started sucking his fist's and i would just take it out every time and eventually h stopped. You may get a of advice to give her a pacifire, please don't 's just keep removing her thumb. Prolong thumb sucking affects their teeth, and can leave scar tissue on their thumbs. Later you can try hot sauce, pepper, something like that. J.

She could very easily choke on the bandaid so that is not a smart solution. Both my kids suck their thumbs and every dentist we've talked to say their teeth will not be ruined unless they continue sucking when they have adult teeth. Doctors & therapists I have spoken with say if you make a child stop a habit like thumb sucking that gives them comfort they are likely to replace the habit with one that is even worse. She is not even a toddler yet, she is still a baby & she is learning to sooth herself so you really shouldn't disrupt that.

I am proud to hear that you want to stop this now, we didn't allow any of our kids to suck their thumbs or take pacifiers. All they learn from this is that nobody wants to hear me. I'm fine if it was simply for sleeping time and it stayed in their cribs. As for thumb sucking good luck keep doing what your doing. I watched my mother try to stop my 3 younger sisters from sucking theirs. She waited till they were 4 and would be starting school soon. Thinking that they wouldn't want other kids to see them suck their thumbs. It never seemed to work, even wrapping them in bandages during the night, every morning they would be sleeping with their thumb in their mouths. All I can say is keep taking it out try wrapping it up at bed time. They do eventually grow out of it. I think some kids simply need something in their mouth, My daughter who is now 12yo. still puts things in her mouth when she watches tv or movies, or simple sitting around. I find her chewing on the darndest things, mostly my sons toys because he left them on the couch (army men, star wars guys & stuff, I have even found her licking the remote control. Half the time she doesn't even know that she's doing it. I am constantly watching her. Good Luck in stopping this early!
J.

Hi Jennifer-

I would take him to a pediatric dentist and see what he says. I know 8 months is early, but he would know if damage is being done due to the thumbsucking. I have teo kids and my oldest sucked her thumb until 3rd grade. We had to use intervention devices to have her stop, but as much as she sucked her thumb, there really never was damage to her mouth. I could have sweared that there would have been, but there wasn't.

Good Luck...

Sucked mine until I was 5/6 and never needed braces or a retainer. I remember feeling shame at 5 years old because I knew I was a big girl so I eventually stopped on my own. Let your baby suck her thumb, it's a comfort. She'll stop someday. No child ever went to college sucking their thumb.... at least none that admit it!

Hi Jennifer,

My sister-in-law tole me about this chili paste you put on their thumb. I know it sounds brutal, but if you are really adiment about it, I would try it. She said it worked for her. Sorry I don't know the name of the product but it is something specifically to stop thumbsucking. Maybe try googling it? Good luck!

The same thing happened with my youngest. I never had a thumb sucker but at 6 weeks old my baby found her thumb and I could not get her take a paci instead. I tried it all too but the pediatrician and dentist told me that it will only cause anxiety so not to worry. She will be two in a coupe weeks and now she only sucks her thumb to help her fall asleep so I am not as worried now. Sorry no advise just try not to cause anxiety. I took the paci away from my oldest at 14 months and then she took on nail biting. When she had no more finger nails left she went to her toes to the point that she would make herself bleed. The anxiety was too much. I will not do that to another child.

Jennifer:

First off I personally have no problem with a child sucking his or her thumb. Some children do that because it makes them feel secure. One of my 3 did it and stopped around 2 years old. But each of my children had a different vice to make them feel more secure.

One has a teddy bear which she sleeps with every night, even though she is 12. Another had a blankie and so on. I believe it is very natural. When they are ready to give it up they do on their own. My 12 year old daughter is so independent, talented and much too smart, but sometimes she gets overwhelmed by life and at night needs something to let her know she is still just a kid even though she is striving for so much more and maybe wanting to grow up to much to fast.

Getting back to the thumb sucking, my nephew did it up till junior high especially when he had a stressful day ahead of him. He wasn't aware and he would do it in the middle of the night. My sister would use this a gauge of what was going on with him. Now granted that is an unusual case and he had a very disruptive first 5 years of his life. But children use what comes natural as a way to offset stress, fear, uncomfortableness. Some twist hair, bite nails and in the scheme of things, thumb sucking isn't so bad.

Well so much for my opinion which really doesn't count since this is YOUR child and you need to do what you think is best.

A couple suggestions: 1. introduce a pacifier, it should create the same comforting effect and not change the shape of the mouth. (By the way what did your doctor say about the mouth shape changing?)
2. Introduce a blankie or stuff animal or maybe a teething toy of some kind that the baby could hold and suck on or chew on.

I hope this helps, but honestly I really wouldn't stress about it too much. You will learn down the line that you can't control everything concerning their lives. You need to choose your battles, such as when to shave, hair styles and hair cuts. Pierced ears, bed times, dating age etc.

Sometimes even though I know they are not ready for something, I agree to it anyways. Let my 11 year old boy get a mohawk. It was cool for a month and then just too much work and quickly forgotten. Or my 9 year old daughter wanted her ears pierced, I knew she wouldn't keep them up but agreed anyways. Sure enough 6 months down the line they got infected and she decided to let them close up. Even admitted I was right she wasn't ready. Now at 10 1/2 she had decided when 11 she wants to try again, with her own money. It is such a learning process for us all and it is every changing, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Sometimes the hardest lesson is letting them be the person god intended them to be no matter how different from you or I that may seem.

Enjoy your daughter and good luck!

S. Chase