Ive got a thumb sucker

laurenb89 · November 2012

And we cant get her to stop sucking it! She started sucking her thumb when she was about 6 weeks old and hasnt stopped yet. We thought that she would probably stop on her own but its gotten worse. I have tried to tell her to take it out every time she puts it in and thats working about 50% of the time. I want her to stop since she touches 567 million different things a day and then puts that germy little thumb in her mouth.

So, moms to thumbs suckers how did you get your child to stop or is it a lost cause at 2?

tabaskoa · November 2012

I have a finger sucker. And I don't' try to stop him at all. He'll give it up when he's ready, I've heard most kids give it up by 4. Until then...we just deal with the germs. I do carry antibacterial around and try to use it often and lots of hand washing.

Jen&Len · November 2012

DD sucks her thumb, but only when she's sleeping. I think all kids wind up sticking their fingers in their mouths even if they're not thumb suckers. I watched in horror as DS touched a frog at a birthday party and then not knowing where to wipe his slimy fingers, stuck them in his mouth to clean them off!!!! I was too far away to stop him in time. He was fine!

The great thing about thumb suckers is that they have a built in self-soothing mechanism. I didn't have to train DD at all. Most kids outgrow it themselves.

islelily · November 2012

DS is a thumb sucker as well. He doesn't do it constantly, and has actually reduced the amount of time he uses it. I am not worried about getting him to stop until maybe sometime next year. He does it mostly when falling asleep, or when he gets tired.

TiffanyBerry · November 2012

Sometime, a few months after two years, DD started sucking her thumb less, and she was a huge thumb sucker. I was just talking to her about it, for months, saying that she'd need to eventually learn to stop sucking her thumb because it would hurt her teeth. Now, she just does it in the middle of the night when she tries to get back to sleep.

I don't know if that helps or not, I think talking to her about it on and off for a long time was important for my DD, but we'll see how long before she's *totally* broken the habit.

(She's going to pick up those germs anyway...)

MNgirl326 · November 2012

Lob sucks his thumb, and at this point I'm not really doing anything about it. If he's still sucking by 4 I will be more concerned, but right now in not letting it bother me. He will stop when he is ready.

Angela814 · November 2012

I'm trying to get my 6.5 yo to stop sucking her thumb. Her adult teeth are already growing in crooked because of it. My current plan is to wait until she gets braces. I'm pretty sure it will be impossible for her to suck her thumb then.

AmericanInOz · November 2012

my 2.5 year old sucks her thumb when she has her sleep bunny, I've started weaning her off having it during the day, then she rarely sucks her thumb

but she is still very dependant on thumb sucking to get to sleep for naps and at night time

I'm not going to worry about it til she's 4 - I've heard that's when it can really cause issues for teeth, plus by that age you're able to reason with them more

my friend came over the other day and her 5 (nearly 6) year old was talking about how she's stopping sucking her thumb. She's concious of it now, and when she starts to do it as a habit thinks about it and stops. That was reassuring to see

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