am I the only one who wants

CaitlinJ22

a thumbsucker? Seriously, I see nothing wrong with it. Plus I wont have to go in a put a paci back in his mouth if he sucks his thumb.

 

robertsgrl

Careful what you wish for. You may eat your words when you're paying for braces and fighting with your child to get him to stop sucking his thumb when he's 8 years old. Having a thumbsucking child can be much worse than all the hassles that come with pacis

flbaybunny

I feel the same way. I watch DD in her crib as she tries to self-soothe just hoping that she'll stick her thumb, and not her entire hand as is usually the case, in her mouth. I sucked my thumb and I'm a completely normal adult.

Carrot303

Nope - I'm completely with you on that one.  I'm trying to get him to self soothe.

CaitlinJ22

robertsgrl:

Careful what you wish for. You may eat your words when you're paying for braces and fighting with your child to get him to stop sucking his thumb when he's 8 years old. Having a thumbsucking child can be much worse than all the hassles that come with pacis

iris427

robertsgrl:

Careful what you wish for. You may eat your words when you're paying for braces and fighting with your child to get him to stop sucking his thumb when he's 8 years old. Having a thumbsucking child can be much worse than all the hassles that come with pacis

I agree

pixiedustie

Yup I hope she finds her hands soon!  I sucked my finger until I was in 2nd grade and never needed braces, my teeth are very straight and my bite is fine also.  I also stopped all on my own, my parents didn't need to battle with me about it.

CaitlinJ22

robertsgrl:

Careful what you wish for. You may eat your words when you're paying for braces and fighting with your child to get him to stop sucking his thumb when he's 8 years old. Having a thumbsucking child can be much worse than all the hassles that come with pacis

my sister sucker hers until 4 yo, and she never had braces. I dont think it causes issues in all kids. Some of that i believe is genetic. I also know many kids who didnt suck their thumbs and they had braces.

kelbrian

With a pacifier, you have the option of taking it away. Yes, it is hard, but it is doable.

With a thumb, you can get yourself into a mess trying to stop your child from sucking on it. Personally, I hate it when kids suck on their thumbs. I work at a daycare, and the kids who suck their thumbs are constantly sick and spread their germs everywhere.

I don't think it's cute to see an almost four year old sucking their thumb. 

J+O

DS is a thumb sucker.... and so was I, until I was 10. ?It was a big struggle to stop and believe or not if I put my thumb in my mouth to this day that whole "comfort, soothing" feeling comes back. ?I kid you not!?

Edit: And I did need braces b/c of it. ?Bad.?

userdeleted

kelbrian:

With a pacifier, you have the option of taking it away. Yes, it is hard, but it is doable.

With a thumb, you can get yourself into a mess trying to stop your child from sucking on it. Personally, I hate it when kids suck on their thumbs. I work at a daycare, and the kids who suck their thumbs are constantly sick and spread their germs everywhere.

I don't think it's cute to see an almost four year old sucking their thumb. 

All children put their hands in their mouth and spread germs around, regardless of whether or not they suck their thumbs.

Carrot303

kelbrian:

With a pacifier, you have the option of taking it away. Yes, it is hard, but it is doable.

With a thumb, you can get yourself into a mess trying to stop your child from sucking on it. Personally, I hate it when kids suck on their thumbs. I work at a daycare, and the kids who suck their thumbs are constantly sick and spread their germs everywhere.

I don't think it's cute to see an almost four year old sucking their thumb. 

I completely agree with you so hopefully I'll be able to break the habit if DS does become a full blown thumbsucker.  I do appreciate it, however, when he shoves his fingers in his mouth all on his own in the middle of the night.  I heard that it was a myth that thumbsucking causes braces (as long as the kid isn't wayyy to old for it).  Almost everyone has braces regardless.  Hopefully I won't eat my words.

kelbrian

Rach03k:

kelbrian:

With a pacifier, you have the option of taking it away. Yes, it is hard, but it is doable.

With a thumb, you can get yourself into a mess trying to stop your child from sucking on it. Personally, I hate it when kids suck on their thumbs. I work at a daycare, and the kids who suck their thumbs are constantly sick and spread their germs everywhere.

I don't think it's cute to see an almost four year old sucking their thumb. 

All children put their hands in their mouth and spread germs around, regardless of whether or not they suck their thumbs.

Obviously, but when a kid is sucking their thumb constantly, they are going to spread germs much more frequently than a kid who just puts their fingers in their mouth occasionally, KWIM? Just saying this has been my experience and I am glad that DD doesn't suck her thumb.

KayLee77

id rather go for the paci. ?i think it would be easier to break them from a paci then their thumb. ?my cousin who is in her first year of college still sucks her thumb. ?and so does my niece who is 12

ibbym

It would be nice to not have to always search for a paci or put it back in DS's mouth 10 million times a day, but when it's time to break the habit, you can just take it away.  It's a bit harder to take away the thumb.

Skipperg82

My DS sucks his thumb (see siggy!) and I am THRILLED!! I never thought I would be that way because I too, worry about the whole "sucking his thumb when he's 40" thing...but he would never take a paci, believe me I tried! And I was so happy when he was finally able to soothe himself - his sleep improved exponentially when he was able to self-soothe.

When he's 3 or 4 then we will work on getting him to stop, just the same as any parent would do to get their kid to stop sucking on a paci, yes it will be more difficult but most kids do outgrow it.

FWIW, I needed braces and all that jazz and I never sucked my thumb...?

KMR816

DH and I have said the same thing. ?I was a thumb-sucker until 1st grade and never had any problems. ?Didn't need braces, etc. ?My sister sucked her thumb and did need braces. ?My brother didn't suck his thumb and still needed braces.