My daughter will be 5 on oct.6. For the past year we have done many things to try to get her to quit. We have tried bandage tape on her thumb, she takes it off when we aren't looking, then puts it back on. we have tried polish called stop the bite (to stop nailbiting), that tastes REALLY gross, but she picks it off and even though the taste is still there, she sucks it anyway. I've talked to her about it a lot. I've told her she will be starting school soon and she needs to be a big girl to go to school. The other kids might be mean and tease her. She is such a big girl, she shouldn't suck her thumb, it is babyish. Anything I've put on she takes off. I want to help her get rid of this habbit soon. Her dentist has shown me the effects this is having on her teeth as is adement she needs to stop. She already has a "moon". I have shown her this in the mirror and in pictures how it is getting bigger. Has anyone gone through this? Do you hve any advice that really works? Please hlep!!
2006-09-11 02:18:30 · 8 answers · asked by MommyBekah 2 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Toddler & Preschooler
Also, she has her thumb in her mouth CONSTANTLY, not just when she is sleeping. She has no real stresses in her life. She doesn't attend preschool, parents don't fight, just a happy kid in a happy home life.
2006-09-11 02:37:49 · update #1
well i sucked my thumb when i was a child, it is a great sence of comfort for a child, i really dont think she will do it in school, i never did. i would let ur child be, this is somthing she feels she needs to do , and it is not hurting anyone, plus it makes her feel surcure. Dont worry about trying new things to make her stop, cause she wont! trust me! they tried everything with me, nothing worked and i did not see the point in stopping. she will stop when she is ready, the more you try to stop her the longer she will do it, just let her be.
2006-09-11 02:26:08 · answer #1 · answered by trish p 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have a 6 & a 3 year old boys thank God didnt have a problem, but my nephew suck his thumb and all u gotta do put a flavor that he dislike on his thumb like tabasco or lemon pure juice even brown sugar and in less than 1 week is gonna be done!!! It works pretty good with the pacifier too i did that one with my 3 year old and by his first birthday he didnt want it!
2006-09-11 09:37:26 · answer #2 · answered by Isha 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My oldest daughter was a thumb sucker too. If you try to get her to stop too hard, it makes her more anxious, which results in more thumb sucking. It's not something she can just stop doing. It's a comfort to her. My daughter's teeth weren't affected, and I took her for regular check ups and talked to her doctor and dentist about it.
When she went to school, no one really teased her because she was only sucking it when she went to sleep.
She'll kill me for saying this, but she's 20 now, and still wakes up with her thumb in her mouth sometimes.
2006-09-11 09:23:23 · answer #3 · answered by Lady J 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My two year old daughter is a thumb sucker. My husband has been on her about sucking her thumb for months. The result has been that she just sucks more. Unfotunately I don't have any good advice for you to make her stop. What has your dentist suggested. If he/she hasn't made any suggestions you should ask him/her what to do. If nothing else they see a lot of thumb suckers and they may have some idea.
2006-09-11 10:21:12 · answer #4 · answered by me 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the more you focus on it, the more she will have to do it
my suggestion would be to first, lighten up! very few adults still suck their thumbs, and the ones who still do probably had parents who harrassed them the most
slowly, try to train her to only suck her thumb when she naps, or goes to bed at night, and make sure she has something else, like a stuffed toy, to derive comfort from
next, the more you keep her hands busy with something that she enjoys doing, drawing, playing with clay, playing video games, etc, the less she will have her thumb to suck
praise her if she doesnt have her thumb in her mouth, try to ignore it when she does
2006-09-11 09:27:17 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i think the more you try and stop her the more she will want to carry on sucking her thumb. its human nature to do what your told not to do. i think you should just leave her be and she will stop herself, properly when she starts school,she wont want to suck it in front of all her new friends.also try substituting her thumb for a comfort blanket she can have at bedtime or something.its the comfort of it she likes and if you can divert that comfort into another object, problem solved
2006-09-11 09:31:49 · answer #6 · answered by pinktinkray 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I use to use pepper and hot sauce it took about 2 mths for my son to stop sucking his thumb.everytime the child sticks her finger in her mouth put the stuff on it.
2006-09-11 09:22:17 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
the only remedy that i know is to put pepper/hot sauce on the thumb... sounds cruel, but it's quite effective.
2006-09-11 09:25:07 · answer #8 · answered by asian chick 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋