My 2-year old still sucks his thumb. How can I make him stop?

Question

I have a 2-year old son that has sucked his thumb since he was about 3 months old. At first we didn't give it much thought and thought he would just stop doing it on his own when his teeth started coming out. We now he is 2 and it seems that he isn't ever going to get over that face. We have tried to just taking it out from his mouth every time he does it, we have tried distracting him while he is doing it, we have tried telling him to get it out sternly, we have tried to put garlic on it, but nothing seems to work. He'll get it out at that moment that we tell him or put garlic but once we're not looking or the wipes all the garlic away he just puts it back in his mouth. Does anyone have any ideas? Please help....

Answer 1

Leave him alone he's only 2. Worry if he's at school age and still doing it.

Answer 2

To be honest, your 2 yo still sucking his thumb is not uncommon. In fact, it is normal by any standards. Now if he was 7 or 8, then you would have a problem but i wouldn't worry too much about it until then.

There are other items you can use that will not rub off easily. Ask your doctor for a few recommendation he might have. There is a substance that has a similar taste to that of earwax but the name slips my mind at the moment.

The garlic idea could work though, if you're willing to go the extra step. Make a mixture of garlic juice (lots of garlic powder and some water). Soak his thumb in the mixture until you feel it is well 'marinated'. Then let him suck on his thumb then, it should do the trick. The only bad thing to come from this is that he'll end up a life long garlic eater.

Answer 3

don't bother at this point. My daughter was 5 when she stopped. They obviously still need to suck their thumbs for security, and even if you can get them to stop, they will just hide it from you or do it while they sleep.
The way my daughter stopped was that she really wanted earrings when she was 5. We told her that earrings were a very "big girl" thing, and that when she stopped sucking her thumb (a "little girl" thing) we would pierce her ears. Well, we made a chart, and when she went 7 consecutive days without thumb sucking, we got her ears pierced. Every now and then she forgets and reverts, but we gently remind her and then she stops.
So my advice to you would be to find something you son likes a lot, and use it as incentive to stop the thumb sucking. If it doesn't work, then he obviously wasn't ready to give it up.
Good luck.

Answer 4

It is said (by the pediatric profession) that babies who suck their thumbs are babies who know how to comfort themselves rather than looking to others for comfort (which is a good thing).

Many little kids do stop sucking their thumbs by themselves by four or five. Some don't; but at that point I figure its their thumb and they have a right to suck it if they want to. When kids are old enough to realize it isn't something people do in public they often only suck their thumb to fall asleep at night (and eventually stop doing that).

I always wonder if the people who zero in on a toddler's thumb-sucking are absolutely free of things that they, themselves, need to work on such as over-eating, drinking, smoking, losing patience, not keeping their house super clean, not proscratinating, not being late, etc.

As a former thumb-sucker, I can tell you that the tiniest of children see their thumb and their mouth as their own and tend to know they are not doing something "bad" (that hurts someone else or breaks something, which is what the tiniest children can understand). They may not have the vocabulary in their minds to form the thought in words, but they will FEEL as if you are overstepping your bounds when it comes to their autonomy and their own body parts, and they may build an emotional wall between themselves and their parents because they will come to feel their parents do not understand and/or respect them and their autonomy.

Autonomy is "big" for the two- or three- year old child because it is new to them, and they're sorting out what it is, and they value it. I think you should at least wait until he's four to start harrassing him or start putting bad-tasting stuff on a thumb that does not belong to you.

Answer 5

From the Baby Center website....
Question: Even with all I've read about thumb-sucking and pacifiers, I just don't know what I should do. My 8-month-old daughter prefers her thumb, but people say a pacifier is better for her. When should she stop sucking her thumb or the pacifier? Is either one a bad habit?

Answer: Babies use sucking to calm and settle themselves. Thumb-sucking starts before birth (there are pictures taken of fetuses sucking their thumbs in utero) and can be a very helpful way for babies to cope with tension. There are many advantages to allowing children to suck their thumbs rather than a pacifer: Thumbs are always there, don't fall on the floor, aren't tied to children's clothing by potentially dangerous strings that can get caught on things, and are under the baby's own control.

Children usually give up thumb-sucking when they develop other ways to calm down and comfort themselves, usually by age 4 to 5, although many children suck their thumbs at night or occasionally, when stresses become too much, for many years beyond that.

It's unlikely that your child will continue sucking her pacifier well into the childhood years when it might threaten proper dental development. During the years your child is likely to be using a pacifier, she only has her baby teeth; permanent dentition generally doesn't appear until around age 6.

I wouldn't attempt to "break her" of the habit until she's ready to give it up on her own. You're unlikely to be successful, and it will only lead to unnecessary struggles and frustration for both of you. If you decide to restrict her access to a pacifier, help her find her thumb, or offer her a blanket or a soft toy to comfort herself instead.

Answer 6

My 2 1/2 yr old son also sucks his thumb. Theres nothing really you can do to make him stop, it's not like you can take it away. He will eventually stop doing it. The more you make a big deal about it the more he'll do it, its security. I know a boy who sucked his thumb until kindergarten and the only reason he stopped was because a little girl wouldnt hold his hand because she said his hand was Yucky. He'll stop when he's ready dont force the issue. Unless there major damage being done.

Answer 7

Leave the poor guy alone, I sucked my thumb till I was about 12 years old. Did not do it in public though, only at night when going to bed. I felt it was the only thing I had left of my own, I came from an abusive father, and sucking my thumb relieved stress according to the doctors today. It did not make me a sissy, nor did I get buck teeth from it. I'm in the Millitary now, and love what I'm doing.

Answer 8

As a psych major, I can tell you that most children go through an 'oral stage' where they want a thumb or pacifier - it's normal and it will pass. I wouldn't make an issue of it unless it continues past age 3. My son is now 11 - we never let him have a pacifier, and never sucked his thumb, but he definitely went through an 'oral' stage when everything went into his mouth! Looking back, I wish I would have just let nature take it's course, as washing a 'binky' and little hands is a lot easier and less nerve wracking than worrying about what 'else' he was going to put into his mouth!

Have a great weekend!

Answer 9

I talked to my son's doctor when he was about that age about the fact that he had a very WIERD way of comforting himself. He would pull his foot up to his mouth and suck on his two middle fingers, holding his foot over the fingers. Basically, he would either become a little ball of Colin on the floor, or he would just sit there upright with his foot to his mouth (he's a flexible little kid).

She told us there was no real reason why he would need to stop holding his foot to his mouth or sucking on his fingers. Most children outgrow it by the time adult teeth start coming in (which is what the doctor would actually worry about).

The way she put it, two-year-olds are all about control. They want it, and they really get very little of it. By forcing your son to give up his thumb, you're forcing him to give up on the one thing he has 100% of the time that he can use to comfort himself. Since there's not much of a legitimate reason to make him stop, you're taking away his ability to self-comfort for no real reason.

If you still feel like you must make him stop, consider working out a deal with him. He can suck his thumb if he's sleepy or sick, but for just regular driving around, in daycare, watching tv, etc. the thumb comes out. By doing that, you're at least allowing him to have his self-comforting tool when he would most need it.

The best thing may be to just back off and try again in a few months. This isn't like a pacifier where you can just throw it away and refuse to buy a new one. You can't keep his thumb from him, and you're just playing a power game he's GOING to win if you try to.

Answer 10

Oh most definately I do. Our girl sucked her thumb until she was 5. We went and bought some nail biter and put it on her thumb nail. It tastes horrible and takes a long time to ware off so every time she went to suck,she would get a taste of it and quit. Don't worry, the stuff is clear in color so no one will notice that he has it on. Worked like a charm. Nail Hardener will also work if you can't find the Nail Biter. You can get it at WalMart in the make up section.

Answer 11

My son did the same thing. Babies use thumb sucking as a method of self-soothing, and if carried over into toddlerdom, it ends up being a habit. Sooner or later they grow out of it. My son eventually only retained sucking his thumb during naps and when he was tired, then eventually, he stopped it all together. I think by cohersing or forcing a child to stop thumb sucking is a detriment to their emotional health. Let him be, and in his own time he will let go of the habit.