Any advice to quit sucking on finger/thumb?

nrb4576 · May 2013

DD#1 is constantly sucking on her index finger, especially when she's tired (which I get - it's a comforting thing). We continue to remind her to take her finger out of her mouth (per suggestion of our pediatrician), but it still continues... I feel like she's already causing her teeth to move and would love this habit to end sooner than later. She also loves to rub the tags on things while her finger is in her mouth...so it's definitely a sensory/comfort thing for her. Any ideas that have helped others? We've tried the nail biter nail polish, band aids, etc. They work for about 10 minutes... : )

Smores730 · May 2013

Have you tried making her wash her hands every time you see it in her mouth?

nrb4576 · May 2013

Smores730:
Have you tried making her wash her hands every time you see it in her mouth?

nope! That's a new one! Thank you!

AmericanInOz · May 2013

I would just keep encouraging her not to do it and 'big girls don't suck their thumbs' My dd is a big thumb sucker too, and I remind her all the time that big girls don't do that sometimes she stops, sometimes not I've heard that it's best to just gently encourage them not to, but don't stress about them stopping until they are old enough to fully understand (5/6) If you try to force them to stop now you could actually just encourage them to do it only in private, which then could continue on MUCH longer and cause much bigger dental issues, etc

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Any advice to quit sucking on finger/thumb?

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