How do you get an 18 mth old to stop sucking her thumb?

Answer 1

According to the American Dental Association, thumb sucking does not cause permanent problems with the teeth or jaw line unless it is continued beyond 4 to 5 years of age. As it turns out, somewhere between 85% and 99% of children have finished thumb sucking spontaneously before this period.

Children have control of their own thumbs when you are not looking. Pressure applied against thumb sucking can turn a natural developmental phase into an ingrained habit.

Instead, you want to create an environment where she chooses to stop on her own. You can weaken the thumb-sucking habit by distracting her when you notice her thumb in her mouth. Engage her in a way that she uses both hands.

Painting something that tastes yucky on the thumbs can make sucking them less satisfying. Commercial products are available for this purpose. Other parents have had success with pickle juice or a drop of vinegar. You might have to switch flavors periodically because people can develop a taste for almost anything (I remember my first cup of coffee – yechhh!).

If she decides she wants to stop, yet the habit continues, then helping her notice when she is doing it can help her. Otherwise, pointing it out will only seem like nagging.

Comments from other people, though, can be helpful. Her pediatrician and dentist can be important allies, helping her to feel that she wants to stop because she is growing up!

Having children she respects (and who don’t suck their thumbs) over for sleepovers can also help. If they comment on her thumb sucking, it can be a powerful motivation. If she doesn’t suck during the sleepover, it further weakens the habit.

Without nagging or battles, almost all children will stop before age 4 or 5. For the very few that don’t, their dentists can help with sleepy-time appliances and other techniques.

One way or another, soon her cuddly habit of thumb sucking will be a flickering memory of those precious days when she was so young.

Answer 2

Let the child suck their thumb. A lot of children do that to comfort themselves and they grow out of it in time. At 18 months that's normal behavior. Making a big issue out of it is just going to create other issues.

People used to put bad tasting liquids on the child's thumb to keep them from sucking their thumb. I'm surprised that one poster mentioned that in this more enlightened age. That's a cruel thing to do to a baby.

Answer 3

There are heaps of products on the market designed to make people stop biting their nails, due to the disgusting taste. They are all non toxic. Try painting that on the thumbs.

Answer 4

You could try putting a band-aid on his thumb, mittens or maybe a sock puppet---something that will make it hard for him to suck his thumb. Good luck!

Answer 5

I don't know if this will help, but there is this stuff that you can put on your nails that tastes really bad, but it's ment for people who bit there nails, but i would assume that maybe it would work for sucking your thumb too.

Answer 6

my daughter is starting to have a problem putting her fingers or whole hand in her mouth and slobbering everywhere or choking herself. every time i see her finger(s) in her mouth i push her hand away from her mouth and i tell her no. usually right after i do that, her fingers are in her mouth again. well, i just keep pushing her hand away until she keeps her hand in her lap or something.

it only works if you keep with it.

i only notice when she chokes herself, so it's really hard for me to be watching her 24/7.

Answer 7

Your child is still young, but you can keep telling him/her to take it out of her/his mouth. Pull it out of his/her mouth and tell him/her its yucky germs.

Answer 8

squeeze a little lime on both of them

Answer 9

DEAR

YOU DO NOT JUST LET HER DO IT SHE IS JUST A LITTLE BABY OK AND PLEASE REMEMBER DEAR TEETH CAN ALWAYS BE FIXED LATTER IN HER LIFE OK

TAKE CARE

Answer 10

BE PATIENT AND IN DO TIME HE WILL GROW OUT OF IT !