Thumbsucking

[Tealady]

May I ask for some advise for my own child rather than a mindee? If so here goes...

My DD is 5 next week and a thumbsucker. She sucks it to get to sleep and when tired, unwell or upset, pretty typical really.

Anyway the plan was to let her get settled at "big school" then after Christmas start encouraging her to not suck her thumb, so as she was out of the habit before she starts loosing her milk teeth.

Anyway, she lost her two bottom teeth within a few weeks of starting school and I am fining it really hard to not suck her thumb.

If I catch her I ask her to take it out but she sucks it just as much. I have explained what will happen to her teeth if she continues to do so (wonky teeth and braces). Told her she's a big girl and big school and only little children suck thumbs. I've also tried dipping them in nail biting solution but she gets so upset when she forgets and puts her thumb in her mouth and either cries or has a tantrum.

Her new teeth look like they are begining to grow slanting backwards so I am desperate to stop this habit ASAP. Any tips or advise please?

[Dare4Distance]

I have no advice at all. I always sucked my thumb and still do :blush: My teeth are fine, never had problems with them. Probably because I don't push on my teeth when I suck my thumb.

[Penny1959]

My advice is - let her decide - if she still needs the comfort of thumb sucking it would not be right to stop it.

With my daughters we SLOWLY introduce times when not acceptable to suck thumb (when talking / when in lessons - for example) but stressed the times when it was acceptable (in their room / if upset / worried)

Two of my thumb suckers still do (in private - one is 22 and one 25) another does not all (fourth daughter had dummy as what she wanted and she gave it up before 2).

Re teeth the one who had dummy had most dental work (even though had given up well before adult teeth), one thumb sucker had some - other two thumb suckers - none. Think it more to do with teeth blessed with!

I know if someone tried to make me give up my 'comfort objects' (cake in my case) I would just crave it all the more!

Good Luck - I am sure your daughter will find her own way through this

[mama2three]

I can see why you would want to break the habit , and I think you need to make her 'realise' she is doing it as its so often subconcious. A friend of mine put gloves on her son even indoors for about a month - it didnt stop him completely , he still sucked his thumb at ' needy ' times but it did help.
Otherwise persevere with the nail solver , she will object and get upset but if youre consistent it shouldnt last for long. Having said that I bit my nails even when I had it on - just got used to the taste! Sorry , not much help there either ..by the way , Im a 40something thumb sucker. My teeth are ok too - not exactly a hollywood smile but ok.

[solly]

My mum used fabric plasters on the thumbs for my brother and that stopped him but i think he may have been a bit younger and didn't know how to take them off.
I was a thumb sucker and mum used to to put the stop & grow on but i got used to the taste so didn't work, I was too old for the plasters as i just took them off, but i just grew out of it:) I have never had to have braces either :)

[miffy]

I had a friend at school who sucked her thumb - she was constantly nagged not to do it by her parents. It didn't stop her, instead she used to pull her jumper sleeve over her thumb, sort of hiding the thumb, and then suck both! :eek:

She was still doing this in her teens!

Miffy xx

[Dizzy Ducklings]

My stepdaughter(11) sucks her thumb... personally it gets on my wick and I'm the only one who tells her not to do it!

So as said before... she just puts her hands/sleeves/hair over her face and does it any way!

:ohdear: I'm worried my son will copy her when we take his dummy away for good.

[LOOPYLISA]

I did when i was little up to a high age :blush: sorry but my teeth are ruined because of it :(

Dd did up untill she had braces (braces are not because of thumb sucking) so glad its stopped her though :thumbsup:

I have no advise really and i don't think thre is anyway of stopping her x

[FussyElmo]

Perservence you have to keep telling her. Yes the thumb sucking can cause teeth problems it may not but it can just the same as having a dummy can.

The gloves are a good idea so is the plasters.

My son was a thumb sucker and I can honestly we have not seen it for a few years as my dh kept on at him everytime he saw it. I thought it was cruel but looking back at it now Im glad he did.

The tantrums and tears stop after a while I made the mistake of giving ds a dummy thinking it would have been easier to get rid of - but in the end I had 2 habits to break.

Sticker charts and plenty of praise and you will get there :thumbsup:

[Tinglesnark]

i am 29 and i STILL suck my thumb when im tired, unwell or upset :laughing:
the only way to stop me would be to cut off my thumbs! lol
obv. i dont do it in public! lol!
mum used to put bitter aloes on my figers and thumbs in a bid to stop me biting my nails and it was so distressing for me that i couldnt suck my thumb she ended up having to remove it...
im a great believer in allowing children and adults their comfort :thumbsup: but thats probably because i need it myself :thumbsup:

[~Chelle~]

My son stopped sucking his thumb with the help of a reward chart.

He was 7 when he stopped and it took him only two weeks to stop sucking his thumb.

We said that we would do it over a month and everytime we saw him with his thumb in his mouth it we would put a cross on the day. We would count how many crosses were on it at the end of the week and if there was less than 15, he would get a small treat.

The plan was that if he kept it up he would get a bigger treat at the end of the month, but we never neeeded to do that :D

I know it is kind of bribing them, but I agree with it is better to do it now, when they still have baby teeth, than try and go it after the adult teeth come through. As it is he needs braces and I do believe that thumb sucking is a factor of that (he bashed both teeth out at the age of 5 and they took two years to grow back and grew back crooked).

Good luck xx

[Zoomie]

My DD is a thumb sucker (3y now) and my research into it is that they need to be self motivated to stop, in order to have any chance of success.

I do ask her to stop if she tries to talk / eat with it in, or if she is playing single handily, when she really shouldn't, but the rest of the time I just let her.

Whether if will affect her teeth or not, remains to be seen. DS1 has braces and has never used a dummy or thumb, DS2 teeth are perfect and he thumb sucked briefly ....

[Mookins]

my name is jennie and iam a thumb sucker:blush:

always have done, cant help myself even at 30yrs

my mum tried plasters,nail solvent stuff, gloves the lot was nt until i was seen by a friend and they starting taking the mick when i was about 7 that i didnt do it in public


teeth are fine, thumb had an area for years of hardened skin which looked unsightly (so my mum said)
xx