I have already tried tabasco, no-bite, and similar products to no avail. I am not willing to pay hundreds of dollars for the device the dentist can put in.
2006-10-27 15:05:47 · 20 answers · asked by wackadoo 5 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Grade-Schooler
You're not going to be able to just forbid her to suck it, but you can try absolutely forbidding her to suck it anywhere but in her bedroom. Tell her that she can suck her thumb if she wants, but people don't want to see an 8-year old sucking their thumb, so from now on if she feels like sucking it, she's to go to her room until she's finished. If you see the thumb go into the mouth, remind her of the new rule. Be really, really, strict about it, and after a while, she'll get tired of having to be in her room all the time.
2006-10-27 15:15:39 · answer #1 · answered by Jess H 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I sucked my thumb all my life (and still do to my shame). When I was about 10 I had braces put on my teeth as my thumb was pushing them out into buck-teeth, wearing the brace really made a difference and I actually stopped for that year and lost the urge to suck. For some reason I intentionally started again and never was able to stop since, it's very hard. I've even considered a tongue piercing to make me stop but that's rather extreme. Maybe braces are the way, apart from that I have no advice, nothing that my mum did any good for stopping me either. Maybe you could show her some photos of manky mouths, I recently looked at some websites about thumbsucking, I typed in 'adult thumbsucking' on yahoo search and there are lots of galleries of horrible teeth for her to look at. Good luck!
2006-10-27 22:19:23 · answer #2 · answered by NikC 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Buy the book David Decides About Thumbsucking. You can purchase it online at Amazon. Discuss with her the choice to stop sucking her thumb. Inform her of the way it affects her oral development, etc. Perhaps let the dentist discuss this with her and ask her to take responsibility. It should be her decision, or she should at least agree that she wants to stop, perhaps with your help. It will help her if you "downgrade" her habit. Don't put too much focus on it. Help her find things to do that involve her hands that are useful and that she enjoys. But I do believe that reading the book with her may be a good start. Empower her to choose the healthier, better option for herself.
2006-10-27 23:22:02 · answer #3 · answered by absnyc 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sounds like you have tried it all. Have you put badaids( you may call them something else where you are but the sticking plaster you put on cuts) on the thumb to make it uncomfortable in her mouth? As for the price of the device...which would you rather?a few hundred or the thousands braces cost?
2006-10-28 02:46:54 · answer #4 · answered by Rachel 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is a homeopathic product called "Thum" that you can try. It only costs about $3 and most drug stores can order it for you. It is made of cayene pepper extract and it stays on the thumb like nail polish. Just need to keep away from her eyes cause it will cause irritation.
2006-10-27 22:25:46 · answer #5 · answered by ltprph 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wow, thats a really hard question. Being someone who stopped sucking her thumb very late (I was actually nine, yes, thats kinda embarrasing), the only thing that got me to stop suking my thumb was a scare from my orthodontist and about a procedure that they do (I needed braces at the time) so that was it for me. To stop that is really hard, its a feeling of comfort for her, shell stop over time, I suggest that you dont push it anymore.
2006-10-27 22:15:00 · answer #6 · answered by boricua_chick_21 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sometimes you can make it worse by trying to force it. Then she will try to hide it from you and never get over it. See this website below about stories and there is also a MSN group.
2006-10-27 22:11:11 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Try showing her pictures of teeth that are crooked from thumbsucking. They aren't pretty. Get her dentist to have a talk about why it isn't good for her.
2006-10-27 22:16:41 · answer #8 · answered by sally 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
So my friends cousin is 4 and he sucks his. So his grandma has horrible arthritis and her thumb grows like crooked. So she always shows him and says, "And that's why you don't suck your thumb." I think a well staged prank like where some girl sucks her thumb and suddenly it falls off and fake blood squirts everywhere. However that could cause a larger neurosis.
2006-10-27 22:08:26 · answer #9 · answered by alwaysmoose 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Leave it alone. You could have much bigger problems. Thumb sucking isn't that big of a deal.
2006-10-27 22:13:29 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋