How do you feel about thumbsucking?

tina623 · October 2008

I have been told by all the women in my family NOT to let my dds suck their thumb. Katie loves her hands in her mouth and she's so little, I just clean them constantly and let her do what she wants. Karly loves her thumb. I have pacis for both and try to push that but they want what they want. Do you care if your child sucks their thumb? I think it's kind of cute but I understand that breaking them of this can be horrendous.

Melymel80 · October 2008

I didn't really have an opinion about this until I started my current job a year ago. There is a woman who works with me...she is 32 years old and sucks her thumb. Very smart outgoing woman...but if she's alone working in her cubicle on her computer and you walk by you will see her sucking her thumb. After seeing that, yes I think I would have an issue if my child did it just bc I would be afraid I'd have this situation on my hand. That being said, this little one isn't here yet and I don't know what I would do if faced with it...but that is just too much.?

mrsnemitz · October 2008

Call me strange, but I'm all for it. It's the way that DS soothes himself, so once he started sucking his thumb I could put him to bed drowsy but awake, and he didn't cry in the middle of the night anymore.

I feel like some kids are meant to be thumb suckers, and others just don't ever catch on. I don't really think we have much say in it.

joyco · October 2008

My mother never let us suck our thumb or even use pacifiers. She said it causes an overbite (probably just another of her old wives tales though), so now when I see kids sucking on their fingers, it creeps me out and makes me worried for their dental bills! My husband's brother has a serious overbite and he tells me that BIL sucked his thumb for a long time as a kid, so maybe there's merit to that...

There was a girl I played with when I was a pre-teen and she sucked her 2 middle fingers until she was in high school. Very weird! Plus, since she sucked the 2 middle ones, she had marks on her face from the other 2 resting up against her cheeks.

I do not think I'll be letting my children suck any fingers and I'll limit pacifier time too. We'll see how that works though!!

Rose.9.6.03 · October 2008

Having one of my DDs suck her thumb was a lifesaver!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, with twins, having a baby that is able to self soothe is a godsend. She still sucks her thumb and it's a habit we'll eventually have to break when she's old enough to understand, but kids learn new habits all the time. I know many people who were thumbsuckers/fingersuckers as kids and managed to give it up without emotional scarring or an overbite.

nicole&carl · October 2008

I probably won't due to dental issues the child may face later on. My friend says that she sucked her thumb for years and ended up having braces for 5 years in junio/high school because of it.

yankee42 · October 2008

i'm all about it...it soothes them, and ronnie wants nothing to do with his paci now..so he needs his thumb..

i sucked my fingers until i was 7, my sister sucked her thumb until she was about 9...

i hope i will be able to break them much sooner than that..but we turned out just fine, so i think i can deal with it..

oh and both of our teeth are just fine..i never had braces, and people are always amazed at how straight my teeth are?

jennie13 · October 2008

My opinion is that everyone who tells you not to "let" your child suck their thumb, doesn't have a child who found her thumb on her own and spits out a pacifier after a couple seconds! The baby chooses, not the parent! I have yet to figure out how you get them to stop sucking their thumb, since I have no intention of standing over her crib all night.

I also like the fact that DD can self soothe and has always been a good night sleeper.

Rose.9.6.03 · October 2008

I'm loling reading over this post a little b/c all the people who aren't against thumbsucking have kids. Smile

I'm not saying that people who have children yet to be born won't stand their ground on the issue of thumbsucking, but I will say that I personally thought that I'd never use a pacifier until I found it was one of the few ways I could comfort my non-thumbsucking baby. In some cases (certainly mine), the priorities of a happy baby and getting some sleep took precedence over the desire to keep a baby from using pacifiers/sucking her thumb.

TheSkimmy · October 2008

The pedi and I discussed this and decided to push the pacifier instead of the thumb. He has a need to suck and I'd rather him not use his hands because of germs but if all else fails... suck away on your thumb baby.

I put him to sleep with his pacifier but I have realized that over time he needs it less and less. I can get rid of a pacifier but not his thumb!

kittylove · October 2008

DH and I agree that we won't let our child do this because I was nearly imposable to break of this habit. A paci can be taken away but a tumb can't.

mrsolsenk12 · October 2008

I am a teacher in the primary grades and I still have kids in 1st grade who suck on their thumbs or on their fingers in school. I have been trying to break the habit at school but they have been allowed since they were little to do it at home. So personally, I don't agree with sucking thumbs or fingers because it is so hard to break and can last even when the children go to school and that is not soothing or sweet anymore, it is just gross.

beebaby · October 2008

i am all for thumbsucking/fingersucking/pacifiers. ?self-soothing is a very important tool for babies to learn. ?it seems cruel to deny that very strong instinct they have to suck. ?i understand that it may be difficult to "break the habit" later in life, but i will cross that bridge when i get there. ?for now, i want my baby to be happy and feel safe, secure and satisfied and if sucking thumbs, fingers, or pacifiers does it, then i am all for it.

?

skoorbnibor · October 2008

I am all for it! As far as kids thumb sucking at school, I sucked my thumb til I was about 12, but I learned early on to save it for home, and I have PERFECT teeth! No dental issues at all, my thumb has a permanent bump on it, but overall, I promote it. It helps E to self soothe and he is so content. as opposed to the paci, which just ticks him off!

howleyshell · October 2008

Thumb sucking at age 2 years and thumb sucking at 3 months are TOTALLY different things.

At 3 months a baby is just gaining control over their arms and hands. Their mouths are the best exploration tool they have. It's a develpmental milestone of sorts for them to shove their hands/fists into their mouths. Toys in the mouth come next. Then when they're crawling it's every tiny bit of lint or nasty food you didn't get cleaned up from under the table. This is all normal stuff....

I personally think it's boarderline cruel to remove their hands from their mouths at this stage.

Now.... trying to encourage a toddler to stop? I totally get that. I'm not a big fan.

FWIW - both my boys couldn't get enough of their hands/fists/thumbs at this age. Neither of them went on to become thumb suckers. AND..... neither of them used paci's either.

Try not to worry too much about it. I'm sorry you're getting that kind of advice and pressure.

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