XP: How to break finger sucking

gymnst1013 · June 2012

We had N's 1 year appt this morning and the doc said we should try and break him of his finger sucking before it messes up his teeth. We keep taking his fingers out of his mouth and telling him "fingers out please" and trying to redirect his attention and give him something else to hold, but he just keeps putting them back in there. I know it's only day 1 so I'm not expecting a lot right now, but for those of you that had success breaking this habit, any advice/tips? What do you do about nights and in the car seat when you can't keep them out? How long did it take to break the habit?

egpitt22 · June 2012

Is he sucking on them for comfort, or because his teeth are coming in? If it's teeth, then I would just try having something there to replace it...some type of teether, or toy he can mouth.

gymnst1013 · June 2012

Comfort and, now, habit. He hasn't had teeth coming in for a while now but he's sucked on them for as long as I can remember. I know for sure from at least 4 months.

egpitt22 · June 2012

gymnst1013:
Comfort and, now, habit. He hasn't had teeth coming in for a while now but he's sucked on them for as long as I can remember. I know for sure from at least 4 months.

ahh...ok, I am fresh out of advice then Liam uses a pacifier to sleep, which I hope to break soon...but then the other day, he was nodding off while on our swingset, and I saw him pop his thumb in his mouth since there was no pacifier. Soooo....now I'm like, well, do we take away one vice, only to have him replace it with another on his own??

Does N use any type of comfort item (a lovey or blanket or something) that you could encourage him to suck on instead? I know it's still sucking on something, but it wouldn't be damaging to teeth if he just sucked on the corner of a blanket or something.

CantWait2Be · June 2012

Ds forgot how to suck his when he had surgery last month. I don't recommend that though. He used to suck for comfort.

nfrtny · June 2012

The grass is always greener on the other side... DS never took a pacifier, or sucked his fingers. I have always wished that he did. The first three months were awful.

But honestly, the doctor is supposed to tell you that stuff. But, I dont seriously think its going to cause any harm at this point. I dont think it's worth the stress at this age. My brother sucked his thumb til he was nine, and his teeth are perfect. So idk. So much about your teeth is hereditary.

MrsI · June 2012

This may seem like horrible advice so do what you want with it

The only person I know that was able to successfully break the habit quickly used electrical tape. They would wrap LOs fingers so that it wasn't pleasing to suck any more. Thier LO did start sucking the other hand so then they had to tape both for a little while. It worked pretty quickly though. Their LO must have been a little older though because they would let him pick out what color he wanted that day to make it a little exciting...

RingOfFire11 · June 2012

DD is a thumb sucker. She does it at nap/bedtime and during heavy teething periods. I'm not sure I'm ready to stop her though as she uses it to soothe herself. If she starts doing it more, I'd probably try to encourage her to only use at sleep time (like she's doing now). I haven't mentioned to the doctor though... Embarrassed

Jills83 · June 2012

I have no advice for you. V's pedi said we don't need to worry about stopping him until he is older - like 3ish. I ask him to take his fingers out of his mouth all the time. He does it, but then 2 minutes later they are right back in there.

He does it a lot more when he is tired or sick. He seems to be growing out of doing it all the time.

gymnst1013 · June 2012

egpitt22:
gymnst1013:
Comfort and, now, habit. He hasn't had teeth coming in for a while now but he's sucked on them for as long as I can remember. I know for sure from at least 4 months.
ahh...ok, I am fresh out of advice then Liam uses a pacifier to sleep, which I hope to break soon...but then the other day, he was nodding off while on our swingset, and I saw him pop his thumb in his mouth since there was no pacifier. Soooo....now I'm like, well, do we take away one vice, only to have him replace it with another on his own??
Does N use any type of comfort item (a lovey or blanket or something) that you could encourage him to suck on instead? I know it's still sucking on something, but it wouldn't be damaging to teeth if he just sucked on the corner of a blanket or something.

No, he isn't attached to any of his toys and doesn't have a lovey or anything like that Just those darn fingers!

gymnst1013 · June 2012

MrsI:
This may seem like horrible advice so do what you want with it The only person I know that was able to successfully break the habit quickly used electrical tape. They would wrap LOs fingers so that it wasn't pleasing to suck any more. Thier LO did start sucking the other hand so then they had to tape both for a little while. It worked pretty quickly though. Their LO must have been a little older though because they would let him pick out what color he wanted that day to make it a little exciting...

Before I read past electrical tape my first thought was putting it over his mouth!! LOL! N does suck fingers on both hands - middle and ring on his left hand and index and middle on his right. Interesting approach though. MH's brother sucked his thumb for ages and his parents ended up painting this anti-thumb-sucking stuff on it - supposed to taste bad and help him stop. He liked the taste so that backfired

cassoppea · June 2012

Try mittens or gloves with ties at the bottom (so he can't pull them off). Sounds mean in the summer, but I've been told by several parents that it works. I've never heard of those yucky tasting polishes working!

While I'm an advocate of stopping habits the earlier the better, I wouldn't stress too much now about stopping it immediately. However, it does only get harder so if you can gradually stop it over the next few months, thats ultimately the best.

babydoll22308 · June 2012

We dont have this problem, but a friend of mine does. She got this ointment or spray that you put on the LOs fingers. Its safe for babies, but tastes awful so they dont want to put them in their mouths.

From a dental perspective, it is good to break the habit early. My Niece has sucked her thumb since birth and is now 7 yrs old. Still sucking her thumb ( mainly at night) and her teeth are terribly messed up. She has an open bite (front teeth and botttom teeth dont touch when you close your teeth together). And that is from her thumb!!! I wish you luck and success!!

gymnst1013 · June 2012

cassoppea:
Try mittens or gloves with ties at the bottom (so he can't pull them off). Sounds mean in the summer, but I've been told by several parents that it works. I've never heard of those yucky tasting polishes working!
While I'm an advocate of stopping habits the earlier the better, I wouldn't stress too much now about stopping it immediately. However, it does only get harder so if you can gradually stop it over the next few months, thats ultimately the best.

I'm glad you chimed in! My biggest worry is that if we're not consistent in getting his fingers out of his mouth all the time (when we catch it) that he'll get mixed signals and it will be harder to break.

cassoppea · June 2012

gymnst1013:
cassoppea:
Try mittens or gloves with ties at the bottom (so he can't pull them off). Sounds mean in the summer, but I've been told by several parents that it works. I've never heard of those yucky tasting polishes working!
While I'm an advocate of stopping habits the earlier the better, I wouldn't stress too much now about stopping it immediately. However, it does only get harder so if you can gradually stop it over the next few months, thats ultimately the best.
I'm glad you chimed in! My biggest worry is that if we're not consistent in getting his fingers out of his mouth all the time (when we catch it) that he'll get mixed signals and it will be harder to break.

Honestly finger habits are the worst and they are one of the issues I have trouble advising because there really isn't any good solution. Obviously in a 5 year old you can reason with them, but you don't want your child sucking for that long. So the only thing that I've heard to work is a physical barrier.

Is he doing it all the time or more when he's tired? One thing a lot of parents say, and this is more as children get older, is that it becomes something they do when they are relaxing or tired. So the barriers really help at bed time or quiet time. For a baby, it's much harder because it is hard to be consistent! And I don't know if you want your kid walking around with gloves in the summer!

Is it specific fingers or will he do any fingers? You could try tape or bandaids. I think right now the only thing that's going to work, since you can't take his fingers out of his mouth 24/7 is going to be putting something over his hands or fingers.

gymnst1013 · June 2012

cassoppea:
gymnst1013:
cassoppea:
Try mittens or gloves with ties at the bottom (so he can't pull them off). Sounds mean in the summer, but I've been told by several parents that it works. I've never heard of those yucky tasting polishes working!
While I'm an advocate of stopping habits the earlier the better, I wouldn't stress too much now about stopping it immediately. However, it does only get harder so if you can gradually stop it over the next few months, thats ultimately the best.
I'm glad you chimed in! My biggest worry is that if we're not consistent in getting his fingers out of his mouth all the time (when we catch it) that he'll get mixed signals and it will be harder to break.
Honestly finger habits are the worst and they are one of the issues I have trouble advising because there really isn't any good solution. Obviously in a 5 year old you can reason with them, but you don't want your child sucking for that long. So the only thing that I've heard to work is a physical barrier.
Is he doing it all the time or more when he's tired? One thing a lot of parents say, and this is more as children get older, is that it becomes something they do when they are relaxing or tired. So the barriers really help at bed time or quiet time. For a baby, it's much harder because it is hard to be consistent! And I don't know if you want your kid walking around with gloves in the summer!
Is it specific fingers or will he do any fingers? You could try tape or bandaids. I think right now the only thing that's going to work, since you can't take his fingers out of his mouth 24/7 is going to be putting something over his hands or fingers.

It's allllll the time. If he doesn't have something in his hands, those fingers are in there for sure. It's his index and middle fingers on his right hand and his middle and ring fingers on his left. And they are always upside down so the palm of his hand is pointing away from him.

helenejr · June 2012

Good post - I was only just thinking this. C sucks his 2 middle fingers for comfort and when teething (he's like a little rick star giving us the rock sign) - My Dr said it isn't going to casue any teeth problems as milk teeth fall out - if though he is still sucking when his adult teeth come through there may be issues.

pull his fingers out and distract him during the day - but there's not much i can really do short of taping them as suggested by a PP.... i'm just going with it for now and will address it at 18months.

11kacey · June 2012

Molly sucks her first two fingers on her right hand and the middle two on the left hand (like a hook 'em horns). But she only does it when she is hungry/tired and she doesn't sleep with them in her mouth, but they may help her get back to sleep. I'm not going to worry about it. Both my husband and I had horrible teeth. She's bound to need braces.

gymnst1013 · June 2012

11kacey:
Molly sucks her first two fingers on her right hand and the middle two on the left hand (like a hook 'em horns). But she only does it when she is hungry/tired and she doesn't sleep with them in her mouth, but they may help her get back to sleep. I'm not going to worry about it. Both my husband and I had horrible teeth. She's bound to need braces.

N sucks his to fall asleep and then they come out. But during the day it's all.day.long! MH and I actually didn't need braces so I guess here's to hoping genetics wins out.

MammaBear81 · June 2012

D1 sucks her thumbs and DD2 sucks her fingers. All we did to break the habit is take the fingers out, over and over and over and over again whenever we saw it (didn't say anything, didn't give a mean look, just pulled them out and went on with life). It took a long time, 6 weeks maybe?! before we saw a marked decrease in how many times per day we pulled them out, but it did get better and eventually stop over time.

I say they currently suck their thumb/fingers because they still do at night, which I don't think is a huge deal, but I'm trying to figure out how to break it.

P.S.- this is why I've always pushed the binky! All of my boys took a binky and it was so much easier to get rid of, the girls wanted nothing to do it with! Stick out tongue

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