My daughter sucks her fingers.....?

Question

She is going to be 7 next month.. we have tried taping her fingers, wearing gloves, spices and sauces etc. we even tried the hard approach and she just says i cant help it. she does it when she sleeps and bored watching tv.. please help me im desperate to break her from this habbit!! the answer that works will get the ten points!!

Answer 1

well I sucked my thumb until I was almost 16 so I sympathize with your daughter. I would suggest not doing anything she will stop on her own. As for sauces and spices they come off after sucking for a while and your daughter probably realizes it. You could try to get her to suck on something else for the first few days like candy when you see her doing it.

Answer 2

Your daughter is telling you the truth, she really can't help it! Hang in there! This is actually a common problem for a lot of children. Most experts will tell you that thumb/finger sucking is okay as long as the child stops before 6 years of age.

My recommendation is to take her to the dentist since she is already 7. You should do this as soon as possible to prevent further problems with her bite. Your dentist can fit her with a dental appliance (called a palatal arch) that will cover her palette (the roof of the mouth). Your dentist will actually cement it in place so it can't be removed.

The sensation of sucking on the fingers or thumb puts pressure on the palette -- THAT is why your daughter keeps sucking on her fingers. Having the palatal arch will prevent her from getting any pleasure from sucking on her fingers. It will drive her crazy for a couple of weeks but eventually she will stop sucking on her fingers. Once you are sure that she has conquered her finger sucking problem, you can have the device removed.

Although there are many different remedies available (and you've tried several already), I recommend placing a palatal arch since your daughter is already 7 AND because I know it works. (A good friend of mine had the same problem with her daughter).

Here are some links with some ideas. Good luck!

Answer 3

Most kids suck on something because they are stressed about something. Maybe try just leaving her alone and simply keep repeating to her that big girls dont suck their fingers . She is probably even more stress by tyhe gloves,spices,sauces tape and all those things probably made it worse. She will stop eventually and the less you bug her about it the faster it will go away.

Answer 4

Try rewarding her for not sucking her fingers

1.) pretty fingers get nail polish and glitter cream maybe (plastic) Jewelry....

2.) everyday she doesn't suck her fingers she gets a sticker for the calender after earning so many she gets a prize or special privilege

3.) She may have a oral fixation which is very hard to break, (ask any smoker) try letting her have sugar free gum or suckers to pop in there when she feels the urge.

Like some other people ahead of me said once she does it a few times around her friends she may stop on her own.....Kids have a way of wanting to fit in so they give up habits instantly .... that we have been killing ourselves trying to get them to stop.....GOOD LUCK

Answer 5

my stepsister sucked her fingers until she was about 10 or 11...the only way we tried to break her was us other kids making fun of her...it didn't really work...she would hide her face behind a pillow, like we didn't know what she was doing...She just kind of grew out of it when she started having friends stay over night and come over after school to watch TV and stuff..the 2 main times that she did it, she didn't want to be embarrassed about doing it in front of them so she stopped on her own

you can also rub chili pepper sauce on her finger tips...she wont be able to suck them with out it burning

Answer 6

Well, I was going to say try cayenne pepper. Maybe she is bored mentally and creativey. Get her a hobby, like drawing or painting or even playing an easy instrument... something that will occupy her hands. And about when she sleeps, get her a toy to hold. Something soft, and big enough that when she wraps her arms around, she can't get her hands back to her mouth. Good luck!

Answer 7

My suggestion is to increase her salt intake during the not a lot but some. I know many kids who suck on their fingers and it's because of the salt on them which they are lacking in their diet. This is the same reason that animals also lick people's hands and so on. Make sure you don't increase the salt intake to much as this is not healthy. You can easily increase it by allowing her to have a bag of the Halloween chips. It has much less in it and will not increase anyone elses salt intake in the family. Another way is to allow her to eat salted crackers they do not contain oil and are lower in calories.

Answer 8

Apply Tobasco sauce on her fingers. Do this for 21 days. It takes 21 days to break a habit.

Answer 9

My little sister and I BOTH sucked our index finger when young childen; We both also got braces as adults. (We're both grown now and done with treatment) I suggest taking her not to the doctor but to the Orthodontist, he'll suggest something and show her the results of "thumb-sucking", or in our case finger sucking..I wish someone had shown me! It should set her straight and her teeth :-P
Best of Luck!

Answer 10

we have several solutions. a dentist can make a thing she puts in her mouth.
but what worked with my daughter is that if she could go the whole winter or stop sucking her fingers we would go to Disneyland. may you can't go to Disneyland but any thing she would really like to do give her incentive.