My daughter will be 4 in May. She has sucked her thumb since 3 mos old, and I haven't worried about it figuring she'd grow out of it. But now I am trying to figure out how to get her to stop, as 1) I'm worried about the development of her mouth/teeth (and impending braces), 2) her speech development, and 3) being 4 yo and still sucking her thumb in public looks "silly" (at preschool, at the store, at the gym daycare, etc.).
Any tips? I've tried talking to her, we've joked about putting a sock over her hand to stop the temptation, etc. but she just laughs it all away. I've thought about the nailpolish you can put on that tastes bad, or I've even seen "hand guards" that they'd wear to prevent the sucking. What worked for you?
My parents bought some gross gel they painted on my finger... then they bribed me with a Cabbage Patch doll, that if I didn't suck my finger for 3 whole weeks, I could get one. We even charted the "suck free" days on a little calendar with stickers. I was about 5 or 6 years old and the combination of those things worked to break the habit.
I would not worry about it now. She is only 4.
My SD sucked her thumb for a long time even though husb tried everything he could think of to stop it:
-a band aid on her thumb
-he put the medicine to break the habit that they sell at the store
-he tried talking w/her about it
-shaming her
Nothing worked. She outgrew it in time. Granted she was pretty old but the point is....it was her comfort.
It's a stage.
I know kids that sucked their thumb & did not need braces.
Kids that didn't suck their thumb ever that DID NEED braces.
You just never know.
Maybe let her have her "comfort tool" for now.
She'll outgrow it.
My parents bought Stop Bite which is to get people to not bite their nails. It was the nastiest tasting stuff and it does not wash off easily. It broke my thmb sucking pretty quickly!!!
She's still pretty young, I wouldn't make an issue of it just yet. When you are both ready (and she HAS to be on board) I would get a handaid. We got one of these for my daughter and she wore it the summer before Kinder - worked great. She sucked her thumb all.the.time. Any time she wasn't moving, talking, or playing that thumb was in her mouth. We tried to get her to stop for a couple years, but she really didn't want to so nothing worked. She decided before kinder that she wanted to stop and that was when we were finally successful.
When I was younger my parents did the doll thing too! Well my mom says about after a couple of weeks I gave her the doll back so I could suck my thumb. I dont remember sucking my thumb for that long. I did have braces but it didnt have to do with the thumb sucking. Both of my kids suck their thumbs (4 and 5 1/2) I havent worried about it yet because they only do it when they have there bunnies or are really tired but we will see what the dentist says next week.
I'm so glad to see I'm not the only mom with a 5 year old who still sucks her thumb (and happier still that I'm not the only mama who isn't sweating it). I have also worried about potential problems: braces, speech ... but she's a great little talker, and I think she'll either have teeth like mine (braces, please!) or like my husband's, if she's lucky (beautiful and never needed anything done.) My daughter has been sucking pretty much since she was born. But once she started preschool, we decided on a rule, which has worked out great. The rule is: thumbsucking is only OK when she's sick (because it's a comfort tool) and when she's going to bed at night. I never shamed her about it. But if I caught her thumb in her mouth, I'd say - OH NO! ARE YOU SICK? And she'd laugh and take her thumb out. Then she remembered the rule easily, and she stuck to it. Now, the pediatrician, at her 5 year check up, told her that she needs to stop altogether. But she didn't seem to pay him any mind. NOW - if the dentist told her to stop, she'd probably listen. An authority figure like a doctor can really bend a little one's ear sometimes - in a way a parent cannot. So far, however, the dentist hasn't said anything. When I was little I sucked my two middle fingers, and my parents used the "something that tastes awful" to break me of it. I think it was around when I was 5. I don't remember well, so I guess it didn't scar me. For my daughter? I'm hoping time, maturity (and the dentist's advice) will be all she needs to outgrow it.
One of my daughters was a big thumb sucker and I didn't think much of it. I took her to the dentist at 3 and he talked her into stopping. Her mouth was a mess because she had a hard suck, now at 7, most of it has fixed itself. He told her she couldn't suck her thumb anymore and within a week she was done.
My daughter is 5 and still sucks her thumb. Her upper jaw is small and will need expanded before she starts losing her teeth and I am hoping that it will stop once that is placed in. She was at the dentist just a couple months ago and even he is saying not to worry about it yet.
I am lucky enough though she does not suck her thumb while at school unless she really isnt feeling well, and she really only does it when tired or upset.
Now my husband used to suck his thumb and my mother in law put pepper on his thumb. First time he said "yummy" and she then coated it really good. To this day he will NOT touch pepper and he is 32 years old. But I will say that he never needed braces. Meanwhile our son who never sucked his thumb had to have braces put on last year with phase one almost complete.
