Reassurance Please...?

Question

My son is 2 1/2 years old and has been sucking his index finger since infancy... I am in the process of stopping this by putting bad tasting things on his fingers.. although so far it has not worked yet.. Does anyone have any advice on what else to try, or on where to go for futher assistance.... I have read that it isn't a problem until after 4 years old however my son has been having problems pronouncing certain sounds and letter, as well as when he says his S's or simalar type, he ends up sticking his tongue out everytime... (that part is hard to put into a visual~ just you try to say your S's and stick your's out of your mouth in between your teeth at the end of saying it).. And here lately he has developed a slight lisp on certain things... Is this reversible??? Like I said I am working on this... And I know that it can't wait until 4 if he is already having speech issues now... And noone else in either side of the family sucked their fingers, or had a speech problem either..

He sucks his finger all day... And the other thing I have notice is that instead of S he says SH.... like Cash intead of Cats.... I don't know but is that normal for kids his age??

His teeth are another thing... I don't know how most kids are, but my sons teeth have gaps between each one on the top and bottom.. Is that normal too??? Or should they be close together??

Answer 1

sh, ch, th, s, dz, z, er, r, and hard and soft j are speech sounds that, on average, develop after age 3 1/2 or 4 years of age. In some kids, they may not be mature sounds until age 7. I wouldn't be concerned about tongue thrust until he is about 4.
As far as the finger-sucking is concerned, try putting a glove or mitten on his hand and reward him for not taking it off. It's not advisable to give him a food reward; rather, read him a story after he's had it on for 15 minutes, then gradually increase the time between stories. It helps if you have him pick out what book he wants to read before you put the glove on. After a few days, remove the glove, as he will have dropped the habit. "What a big boy you are! because you've been so good, we can go to Chuck E Cheese" , etc.
Consult a speech pathologist if the tongue thrust continues after age 4.

Answer 2

OK. If you know Granny Weatherwax, you're bound to have a learning curve. There's a big difference between the Christian Heaven or Muslim paradise and the Celtic Summerlands. Heaven and Paradise are rewards and Eternal. Summerland is a convalescent home and temporary. Souls taking a beating over a lifetime. Once the Cauldron has burned away the dross, leaving only the true metal, it needs time to cool and regenerate back into a full soul before returning to the Worlds. Actually, there is only one soul and we all share it, taking just enough for ourselves to live in a body. Individual souls are a perceptual illusion created by the body's limited senses. Like all convalescents, the healing souls get cranky as their strength returns, so it makes sense to provide a fun environment until they are ready for rebirth. Maybe you can opt out of the wheel. But I'd like a few more rides. Blame the gloomy Hindus, with their Philosophy that, "Life Sucks, Then you die, Then you are reincarnated, Then life sucks some more," for tainting our view of multiple lifetimes. It's not a wheel, but a spiral. We all rise together, but at our own paces. Life is Joy and the Mother divided herself to experience the most of it.

Answer 3

I would definitely have him evaluated by a speech therapist, the sooner you start working on correcting his speech the better. Also, I would have him checked out by a dentist. Both of my sons have what is called a tongue thrust and have speech problems. Their tongues are constantly protruding from their mouths causing their front four teeth to grow around the tongue rather than touching each like they should. They have trouble with the "S" sound and the "CH" sound. They are both in speech therapy and will eventually have to have braces to correct the mouth problem.

As for sucking his finger, I would keep working with him, remind him not to do it, but ultimately it will be up to him to stop.

Answer 4

Does he suck it when he is awake, or asleep.

If he sucks it when awake, really he has to want to stop. If he does it in his sleep there are things you can do to prevent it.

Regarding the speech difficulties you need to see a speech therapist. These problems may have nothing to do with the finger sucking, and maybe they do, but either way the problem needs to be solved and you may not be able to do it alone.

My cousin went for speech therapy and he enjoyed it and it worked great. I think he was around 3.

Answer 5

Look up Early Intervention in your local phone book and have your son evaluated by a speech therapist. They will let you know if his speech problems are related to his finger sucking or not, and whether or not you can let him continue until he's ready to stop on his own.

Answer 6

I sucked my index finger until I was 5. It was something I had to end on my own. Nothing my parents did stopped me. Finally they just told me how big I would be when I quit. I decided to stop so I could be a big girl. It never affected my speech, though. I hope that helps you in some way.

Answer 7

the desntist puts a thing to to stop thumb (or finger) sucking. It simlply takes up the roof of the mouth so there is no room for finger... plus is pushes the tongue down when swallowing and teaches you to swallow without pushing your teeth forward (Thumb suckers need braces alot more)... it stays in a year or so and then comes out

Answer 8

I would see your pediatrician and see what they say, normally they can give you some tips on what to do.

Also if the lisp continues, even for another half a year, have him evaluated for speech. My brother took speech therapy from the time he was three and he was done by the time he was in 1st grade.

Answer 9

My son had a problem with the letter F coming out as an S. He still (at 14) says Sishes and Soxes to his aunt. It went away. Don't make a big issue of it whatever you do.