how do i get my 4 yr old to quit sucking her thumb??

Question

anything that works

Answer 1

Why are peole so obssesed with stoping thumb or finger sucking??? It is just a security issue. It does not cause an overbite or any other dental problems!!!! If your child has dental issues they are caused by mouth and jaw growth. So let her do it until she feels secure enough to quit. As she matures and sees her friends not doing it she will do it less and less. Even if she does it forever what harm will it cause???

Answer 2

This question is asked alot. I say the same thing....don't force the child to stop sucking their thumb. Give it time and they'll outgrow it. The thumb is security to them and it's not hurting anything. My daughter is 8 and still sucks her thumb to go to sleep. She used to do it more often, but as she's gotten older, it happens less and less. Her pediatrician assures me there's no harm in her doing this and the dentist has given me lots of stuff to prove that it's not harming her teeth. That's a huge misconception. The thumb is a natural shape and unless they're sucking the thumb off, it's not damaging the teeth or mouth. If you insist on her stopping sucking her thumb, you can try putting things on ther thumb. None of that worked for us. Our daughter licked sour and spicy things right off. Didn't even care. We also tried that stuff for nail biting/thumb sucking and all she'd do is wrinkle her nose. She made the biggest advance to stopping when she started school. They don't want to be caught sucking their thumb in front of other kids.

Please just let her quit when she's ready. It's not doing any harm with her doing it and she feels secure. As I was told, it could do more harm to force her to quit then let it happen as she's ready.

Good luck!!

Answer 3

You can buy various and assorted products to put on her thumb that will make it taste bad, and she'll quit sucking it...but....she'll just substitute something else for the thumb, and that may be REALLY hard to get her to let go of. Unless she's doing it constantly where it's interfering with her teeth formation, I'd just let some good 'ol fashioned peer pressure handle it when she starts school, most kids will quit sucking their thumbs by kindergarten. Good luck!

Answer 4

Don't worry about it. It's a comfort to her. I sucked my thumb until I was 7 and never had any problems with my teeth. Most people can't believe I never had braces because they are perfectly strait. I have also heard of many, many others who sucked their thumb longer. Believe me, it's no big deal. If you get flack from other people, tell them to mind their own business.

Answer 5

You can buy this nailpolish for people who bite their nails, it's very bitter tasting. Paint your daughter's thumb nail - if she sucks it too often, chances are she softens the nail - hence she'll get the taste of the polish. She's not gonna like it, belive me, and she can't wash it off, that's the good think. You can also help break the habbit by keeping her over busy, let her paint, tell stories, give her a gum (if she knows how to chew it),..... anything that'll keep her hands and specialy mouth busy.

And yes, I agree with AnswerMom, make her stop immediately, it does create overbite!

Answer 6

there's a e book written through Pamela Marshalla about thumb sucking--won't be able to remember the identify of it yet you would possibly want to discover it throughout a yahoo or google search for for her call and thumb sucking.

Answer 7

I've found that the hand cleanser you can buy (the one that you put on your hands and rub it in until it is gone, no water necessary) makes my boy keep his thumb out. It tastes awful and if I say that I'm going to get the cleaner he'll take it out right away.
Worth a try....
I use Purell

Answer 8

Patient way: Keep telling her not to do it, and keep taking the thumb out everytime she puts it in.
Faster way: Put something bitter on the thumb. In India we put juice of neem tree or black pepper

Answer 9

You can try the stuff they use for stopping nail biting, but for me that didn't work. I was really determined to carry on, so I just learnt to get rid of the pain. Leave her to it, because she will grow out of it, and if it carrys on for more than the next 6 years or so she will start worrying about wonky teeth/looking silly, etc and stop of her own accord!

Answer 10

not sure if u can i sucked my thumb until i was 10 i just woke up and it wasnt good anymore i wouldnt worry yet still young