how do u stop a thumb sucker?

Question

i have 4 kids 1 daught 6yr and 3 sons 4, 3, 1 yr. my youngest 2 suck their thumbs. how do i stop this disgusting habit?

Answer 1

I have 4 kids, too. My 3rd child (who is now 22) was a thumb sucker for many years. We never did find a way to make her stop, she had to finally do it herself. If you ask her when she stopped sucking her thumb, all she'll says is that she was "pretty old". We tried everything to get her to stop, rewards, punishment, yucky stuff on the thumb, taping a thumb guard to her thumb. Nothing worked. Once she burned her hand, including her thumb, badly on our wood burning stove and she couldn't suck her thumb because it hurt and we had to keep it wrapped with medicine on it. She was 3 and we thought this would be the end of thumb sucking. Well she started sucking her other thumb and when her "good" thumb healed she went right back to sucking it again. She sucked it much less out in public by the time she went to kindergarten, but she was still sucking it when sleeping, tired, or watching TV until she was at least 8. She has never had any teeth problems and never required braces. Most little ones will naturally stop sucking their thumb as they get older, but besides my daughter, I do know that there are others that just can't seem to shake the habit. We developed a hand signal that meant "stop sucking your thumb" when she was about 4. She had to stop or she could go to her room and suck her thumb. She had a perpetually "pruney" thumb.

Answer 2

I was a thumb sucker as a child. By the time I was 3, I only sucked my thumb while I slept. My parents tried to break me of the habit for YEARS. We would dip my thumb in vinegar before bed, wrap socks on my hands, or put on mittens...nothing worked. Finally one afternoon I had been picking dandellions and the pollon was all over my hands. No matter how many times I washed, the bitter taste would not come off!! That was the last night I ever tried sucking my thumb.

My son is also a thumb sucker (15 months old) and my husband and I are okay with it. He only sucks his thumb when he is going to sleep. As long as he can break the habit around the time he starts school, I probably won't ever say anything to him about his thumb sucking. If he can't kick the habit, I will try to offer some positive reinforcement to help things along.

Some interesting facts about thumb sucking:

"According to the American Dental Association, thumb sucking does not cause permanent problems with the teeth or jaw line, unless it is continued beyond four to five years of age. When investigators looked at this group of late thumb-suckers for common traits, they found that they had one thing in common that distinguished them from other children -- a prolonged history of a strong battle with thumb sucking at an earlier age. It is striking that many well-meaning parents have actually encouraged this behavior by trying to forcibly take the thumb out of their children's mouths"

Answer 3

The great majority of thumb suckers don't have any health affects, teeth wise and otherwise. In fact, thumb sucking has some serious advantages to it: it's legal, cheap, very effective at instilling calm and concentration, not to mention making it very easy to fall asleep under a variety of conditions, available and more.

Why people go nuts over it is anyone's wonder.

Calm down and, instead of attempting to stop a very natural behavior, start sucking your own thumb for a change. Believe me, after a couple of months you, too, will understand.

Answer 4

Praise your children when they don't suck their thumbs instead of scolding them when they do. If they are doing it because they feel insecure or have anxiety, focus more on that problem. Most kids outgrow thumb sucking by age 5.It isn't harmful unless the child is sucking when the permanent teeth are coming in, around 4-6. You could try having a dentist explain to them why they shouldn't suck their thumb. The eldest may understand.The possible effects of thumb sucking for children after the age of three is:

Reshape the jawbone because their jawbones are still soft and pliable

Teeth grow out of aliment and position

Narrows dental arches which cause the next problem

Upper front teeth will flare out and tip upward

Lower teeth will move inward

Affect growth of child's palate (roof of the mouth) causing:


Poor tongue placement

Problems chewing

Problems with learning to swallow properly. The tongue plays a major role in swallowing. For people who don't suck their thumb or finger, their tongue goes up behind the roof of their mouth as they swallow and this causes a seal. But, when trying to swallow while sucking the thumb or finger, the tongue is thrust forward, in between the front teeth. This action makes swallowing difficult and will require re-training to correct
the tongue movement.

Problems speaking

Overbite or open bite

Make tonsils collapse to cause snoring

The skeletal deformities which can develop can lead to insecurities and self-image problems, particularly in children.

Cause infections to develop around fingernails to spread infectious diseases

There is a way an orthodontist can fix the problem. They can put in what is called a "fence." That usually stops the problem instantly. The home remedies often do not work, sorry to say. There is also something called a thumbguard that you can by. When worn properly it is impossible for the child to suck their thumb. My cousin is 20 and she still sucks her thumb. She doesn't have any facial deformalities, but she wore expensive braces for several years. Talk to your dentist, they know what they are talking about.

Answer 5

Maybe give them suckers until they learn to stop. They will stop on there own.

Answer 6

Try having them wear mittens or gloves constantly (esp. at night) for a few days, try putting pickle juice or vinegar on their thumb, try putting socks on their hands if you don't have mittens or gloves, etc
Also, when you see them doing it, try to get them to do something different (look at a book together, etc)

Answer 7

Hit their thumb when they begin. Just slap it a little bit. They wont do it in front of you. Mine was way worse, but everyone in my household warned me, that if they ever saw me sucking my thumb i will be in great trouble. And just like a frightened kid, i stopped (i didn't even know when). The thumb just didn't look attractive to me anymore.

Answer 8

My aunt had this problem with one of her sons, and to this day, he still sucks on his fingers, and hes 24. And his fingers are all deformed from being in his mouth so much.

The only thing that I can suggest is to keep on them whenever you see them in their mouths to get them out.

Thats what I did with my step daughter, and she stopped.

Answer 9

You should rub some garlic on their thumbs so they taste the icky garlic and watch as their habit soon fades away. hope this helps =)

Answer 10

I never let any of my kids suck their thumb. I gave them binkys. Around 1 or 2, I snipped the end off, and there was no suction. They cried and whined. Three days. Done. The end. Your mistake was letting them suck their thumb.