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Thumb sucking?

warriormomerinwarriormomerin
in Cincinnati Babies

DD's a thumb sucker and she's relied on it a lot to help her with everything she's been through. She only does it when she's tired, anxious, worried, etc. Out dentist has said not to be concerned until she loses her teeth and the new ones start to come in.

Well, she's getting close to losing her teeth and we need to start working on breaking her of it if it's even possible. Her therapist says it shouldn't be a problem as long as she's not showing major signs of aggression.

So, any ideas on how to break her of it? Rewards don't seem to entice her. She complains about doing it without even thinking about it so we obviously need to work on getting her aware of when she starts it.

I feel like such a meanie. As much as I'd love to let her continue to use it for comfort I really don't want to mess her teeth up.

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Re: Thumb sucking?

  • hav2runhav2run
    What about a cute thumb ring to remind her that she doesn't want to put it in her mouth.  I know you may need to get two, but that is all I can think of.  I hate the pepper oils and etc that some people use.  I fear that DD will sub the thumb for the paci.  I am interested to read the replies. 
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  • hav2runhav2run
    And I am digging your siggy photo.  I need a whole bottle of that right now.
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  • JLPT830JLPT830 member
    I don't have any ideas for the actual thumb sucking, but my cousin gave me a good idea for my DS that may help with the "comfort" aspect.  Maybe she would think it's too "baby" though???  Anyway....take her to the fabric store and let her pick out whatever kind of fabric she wants that can be easily cut without fraying.  My cousin got fancy and sewed 2 different pieces together so there was a front and back, but that wouldn't be necessary.  Cut out a heart shape and let her decorate it.  My cousin wrote "I love you" on it for her son, or maybe you 2 could come up with a motivational phrase.  Then she could carry it in her pocket and have it with her whenever she needs comfort instead of sucking her thumb.....you know like a reminder that you will always be there for her.  Just an idea.....
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  • mcmann05mcmann05 member

    I don't know whether you've googled it or not but these are the two main ones I found.

     https://www.metrofamilymagazine.com/thumbsucking-strategies-for-older-children

    https://www.associatedcontent.com/article/7971/thumb_sucking_cures_for_older_children_pg2.html?cat=25

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  • CincyBride08CincyBride08

    As a reformed thumb sucker, who sucked her thumb well past age 6 and had to live 2 years in braces plus a retainer afterwards, stop her now, she will eventually appreciate it.

    As for what worked and didn't work for me when I was younger, I really had to just make an effort to not suck my thumb. Embarassing enough I was probably about 11 when I finally kicked the habit, but by that time I was mostly doing it at night without knowing. The one thing that helped with that was to sleep with my hands under my pillow instead of next to my face. If I would sleep with my hand next to my face, my mother would find me sucking my thumb in the middle of the night. To this day I still sleep on my stomach with my hands under my pillow.

    The special nail polishes didn't work. I think they even tried having me wear gloves so I couldn't suck my thumb which didn't work. Rewards didn't work either, because like I said, in the end I would do it without knowing so I couldn't really stop. I don't think they ever tried putting a ring on my finger, but that was a good idea by the pp.

    The other thing that helped in the begining was that I had a blanket with satin binding and thick stitchin that I could "scratch" at. I can remember scratching at my blanket and sucking my thumb and just being able to still scratch at the blanket was helpful when I couldn't use thumb sucking to calm down.

    Good luck with it. I know I was a major PITA when my parents were trying to break me of thumb sucking but I eventually got over as I'm sure your DD will too (hopefully before you need to shelling out thousands in braces).

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