My fiancees neice is 7 years old and still sucks her thumb. We are always reminding her to not do it, but 2 minutes later its back in her mouth. Her mother said she has tried everything. Right now she is trying to ignore her when she does it, which i dont agree with. Does anybody have any ideas we could try that have been succesfull for you or someone you know?
2007-01-03 08:57:26 · 16 answers · asked by ANDREA 2 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Grade-Schooler
i would also like to add that she has been through alot. She was taken away from her mom and lived with her grandmother until she was about 3, and her father isnt around.
But she is now back with her mom.
2007-01-03 08:59:07 · update #1
She probably just does it for comfort. I have a nineteen year old cousin who still sucks her thumb. Thumb sucking is said to cause problems with chewing, speech, and facial appearance. The older a child is when they stop the worse the damage. However, if a child stops before her baby teeth fall out and her adult teeth grow in the damage is usually repaired with in six months.
Some parents try home remedies to break the habit. Some try placing gloves on their children before bedtime. Others paint thumbs and fingers with various foul-tasting substances, while still others wrap bandages around the offending digits. Yet all of these measures are typically easy to overcome and, unless done with care or under psychological supervision, may be unsuccessful because thumb sucking is a deeply ingrained behavior.
The most effective way to stop thumb sucking is to have an orthodontist place a "crib" in your child's mouth. It's actually called a fixed palatal crib. The crib is almost invisible, and usually works within the first day.
Good luck to you, hope I have been some help.
2007-01-03 09:14:46 · answer #1 · answered by Autumn 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No wonder she needs her thumb to suck. I would too if I had been passed around like that. The poor baby still doesn't feel safe.
Wear gloves, use the icky tasting thumb sucking deterrent, put a bandage on the thumb. That's all I've got. Good Luck.
2007-01-03 10:22:00 · answer #2 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My sister is 25 and just got married on Christmas Day. She still sucks her thumb. She still uses it as a comforting tool but someone needs to illustrate to the child other ways to cope and deal with stress. I know I make my sister nervous because she wants my approval, when I see her with her thumb, I pull her hand and give her a hug. She smiles at me sheepishly but we know she will not stop because she was separated from our mother at an early age. If you don't help this baby now, she will have the same problem - believe it stems from the same source, early separation from her mother.
As a side note on coping, my two year old still sucks a bottle and I know she uses it to cope because I travel. I work with her to keep her busy and involved - this helps tremendously. We cut, paste, color, draw, sing and dance. These things may help.
2007-01-03 12:29:10 · answer #3 · answered by Elwanda B 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There's this stuff called "For bitten nails". I think it is by sally Hansen, the manicure products. Anyway it is like a clear coat of fingernail polish, only it has a horrible taste. Paint her fingernails with this "clear fingernail polish", when she puts her thumb in her mouth, it will taste horrible. Remind her that if she keeps sucking her thumb that she will have to have her fingernails painted with this until she can stop. Don't know if it will work, but it's worth a try.
2007-01-03 10:16:31 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'd actually just leave her to it. Most kids who suck their thumbs will out-grow it in their own time, especially once they hit puberty and become more conscious of peer pressure and not wanting to look 'babyish' in front of friends. Being on her case all the time just makes her rebellious and you angry for her ignoring you.
If she's still sucking her thumb at eleven or twelve then it's time to start the stories of how her front teeth will end up pertruding if she's not careful.
2007-01-03 11:11:07 · answer #5 · answered by starchilde5 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
when a child sucks their thumb it isn't a big deal until they get older then it will cause an over bite. i suggest that you use a product called bitter spray. You can get it at the pet store but it is perfectly fine for humans.
2007-01-03 09:07:57 · answer #6 · answered by crusher_mma 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Use the substance you can buy that is safe for kids, but makes their thumbs taste bad. It's sold in most drug stores, and it's not anything where you'd need a prescription.
2007-01-03 10:06:41 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think she just needs to stop in her own time. It is like potty training, not everyone does it at the same age. She could try putting that yucky tasting nail biting stuff on her thumb, but if she has been through a lot, I would just leave it alone. Does she do it in public, like in school, or just at night and at home?
2007-01-03 09:06:24 · answer #8 · answered by socialwork2010 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Let her suck her thumb. Everybody has some way of dealing with stress and southing themselves. I sucked my thumb until I was 13 years old and nobody could do anything to stop me. After time I just stopped doing it.
2007-01-03 09:02:02 · answer #9 · answered by kelliemag 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Not stopping children sucking there thumb is a problem. They can have seriously large front teeth when they grow up.
2007-01-03 09:55:06 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋