My daughter will be 4 in a couple of months, and she still sucks her thumb. I tried a pacifier when she was little, but about 6-7 months she would spit it out, and started sucking her thumb.
I've tried rewarding her with stickers, and fingernail polish. ( She loves to have her nails painted). I've tried embarrassing her, & scolding her when she sucks thumb, and nothing seems too work!
I don't know what else to do!
2006-10-10 08:22:37 · 17 answers · asked by friend 2 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Toddler & Preschooler
Hi, I know how you feel. I was going through the same situation with my daughter. I bought at the store in the nail polish isle an anti nail biting polish. It is the nastiest taste and it takes awhile for the taste to go away, so I suggest a very small amount. My daughter quit in one day. I put it on at the same time I did her nails and she didn't seem to notice. Then when she put her thumb back in her mouth she was instantly disgusted. I only had to reapply it once. It worked like a charm. Good Luck to you!!
2006-10-10 14:48:49 · answer #1 · answered by serendipity_siren 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My 4 year olds teeth (and palete) were starting to protrude outward at her last appointment this July. Her dentist suggested the device that someone else talked about and it would have cost me $400.00! We tried all the things you have but I finally found something that worked.
I make her wear a thin streatchy glove when she goes to sleep. The kind that one size fits all kids from Target. It is not at all tight but still stays on her hand when she moves around in her sleep. I would get a few pairs since their hand gets a little hot and it needs washing a lot. Also when she is tired or watching tv, I regularly check to make sure she is not sucking her thumb. If she is, I put that spicy thumb stuff on it from the drug store. We also talked a lot about how it hurts her teeth to suck her thumb!
She really does not suck her thumb at all anymore but for some reason she still likes her glove on at night. Fine with me as it ensures that she will not suck her thumb!
Her teeth have moved back a tiny bit too! It just takes patience. Good luck!
2006-10-10 15:35:54 · answer #2 · answered by Beth H 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I was a thumb sucker to until I was 13. My parents tried everything to break my habit and as I got older, I tried to. Nothing worked, we tried mittens on my hands, hot sauce on my thumb, my mom tried embarrassing me as well.... nothing worked. It caused me to need extensive dental work and once those braces were on my teeth and my teeth were so sore, my habit was then broke. All I can suggest doing is really re-enforcing it, keep on her. Tell her that her teeth will grow in funny and her thumb will be mis-shaped, mine was. My thumb never grew properly, cause we grow while we are sleeping and my thumb was always in my mouth when I slept. It's not real noticeable, but it's is shaped a little different than my other thumb. I will offer this one key of advice, I am not sure if they still offer it though, cause I am 31 years old now..... my dentist told my mother that if I continued to suck my thumb they would insert a thing in my mouth, that everytime I tried to suck my thumb it would poke my thumb and help me break my habit. So call and ask your dentist if they have any advice.
It's such a hard habit to break. Good luck.
2006-10-10 08:37:06 · answer #3 · answered by Michelle Lynn 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Like Michelle Lynn suggested there is a device that the dentist can put into your child's mouth. I knew a six year old that had to have it inserted, because her teeth were getting bad, and her thumb was so bad it would bleed. So check with your daughter's dentist and see how it is affecting her, if it's not doing damage then she should out grow the habit. Good luck!
2006-10-10 12:47:32 · answer #4 · answered by Kiah 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't worry about it, she'll grow out of it eventually. It's a way for her to soothe herself. It's much better for her to suck her thumb then to be walking around with a pacifier in her mouth. Just make sure she washes her hands more often so she doesn't get sick. If you allow her to suck her thumb as long as she washes her hands more, she might just think it's too much effort for the reward and stop.
2006-10-10 08:30:05 · answer #5 · answered by Melissa B 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
im afraid thumb sucking is once of the worse to break. i used to suck my thumb until my late teens, i know someone now who is 26 and still sucks her thumb as a comfort thing.
the worst thing you can do is embarrass her or sold her for doing it! its not fair! each child has their own way of comforting themselfs, some have toys, blankets, dummys. try talking to her and asking her to maybe only do it in the house. also dont put gross stuff on her thumbs! i think thats awful and cruel. just talk to her. if she wants to suck her thumb she will find away around it and scolding her for comforting herself isnt a good thing. she will grow out of it eventually. the more people go on about something the more likely she is to carry on. when she hasnt sucked her thumb for awhile -praise her! tell her how tell shes done. children react more to praise
2006-10-10 08:34:53 · answer #6 · answered by alrightyyy_then 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
She'll grow out of it. I sucked my thumb until I was 13. Yikes! My teeth are not damaged and I have never need braces. She will go to kindergarden and realize that no one else sucks their thumbs so she wont do it in public. She'll basically do it when she is tired. I was very insecure and it helped me feel safe. I eventually didn't need the security anymore and stopped all together.
2006-10-10 08:34:33 · answer #7 · answered by JENNIFER B 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Chances are, she'll grow out of it eventually - it just may take a little while longer than it seems to take other kids.
If you want to go drastic - my mother had that same problem when she was young, and her mother put hot sauce on her thumb. ;) You may just want to settle for something unpleasantly sour or bitter.
2006-10-10 08:50:25 · answer #8 · answered by Sailor Jupiter 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You should rub something she hates the taste of on her fingernail and when she taste it she might try a couple times after then stop my mom did it to my sisters, but with hot sauce
2006-10-10 08:57:26 · answer #9 · answered by Lisha 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
dip it in something gross, like fingernail polish remover (although that can be potentially dangerous) or tobasco sauce (better).
Keep rewarding her like you have been, but if nothing works, don't worry. She will outgrow it soon, and definitely by the time she is in kindergarten where no one else sucks their thumbs and peer pressure will take over.
2006-10-10 08:26:05 · answer #10 · answered by mountain_laurel1183 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋