Thumbsucking - Columbia,SC

The more you bring it to their attention the more they will suck thier thumbs, Ingore them and they will stop sooner it's like kids saying bad words don't act like you hear it, when they get no response from you they want say it any more it gets them No ATTENTION. Mother and Grandmother of 5, 4 sucked thier thumbs. ____@____.com

Do you live in Newberry? If so let me know.

My litte girl (now 4) sucked her two fingers until she was 2 yrs old. One day I suggested we paint her fingernails and told her that she could not suck her fingers or her "pretty" polish off! Something so simple, but it worked. I reminded her throughtout the day and that is all it took for her! I was amazed. Needless to say I kept her fingernails polished for about 2 weeks straight. Make it a big deal. Polish them a couple of times, different colors.

Hope this helps, A.

put hot sauce on it she want suck it any more

I feel your pain, my 20 month old daughter sucks her first two fingers. I am a dental hygienist and tried my best in the beginning to stop this habit. We have recently started using this liquid finger nail paint that came highly recommended by others. It is called Mavala STOP. It was ordered online. So far so good. My daughter even gets her fingers near her mouth and she pulls them back. We have started recommending this at the dental office for our patients. Thumb or finger sucking past 3 years old will definately have adverse affects on the development of the palate as well as the teeth. Looking into a solution at this time is admirable and I think will save you(me too)lots of headaches in the future.
J.

My youngest daughter sucked her thumb up until the time she went to school. In fact, she still sucks it when she is very stressed out or there is a thunderstorm at night. She does not have "buck teeth" and in fact, the dentist is very impressed with her teeth, as she has never had a cavity. And I want to mention that she is 18 years old. Don't force the issue, and if you are really concerned, try distracting her when you notice that she is sucking her thumb. Give her a toy that takes 2 hands to play with, or give her a sippy cup. But don't stress about it. If she only sucks it when she is tired, there shouldn't be a problem, because it is just a comfort tool for her.

Hi N.,
I was a thumbsucker myself and only quit when the dentist threatened to put a device in my mouth. That worked! I can tell you that even after 7 years of thumbsucking, I've never had to have corrective dentistry! Right now, your toddler needs the thumb to self-soothe....nothing wrong with that. Don't try to get her to quit until she's old enough to understand your reasons....peer pressure will decrease her habit and eventually it will fade away!

No worries!
J. in Suwanee

Hi, my brother sucked his thumb until he was 6 the teasing didn't stop him. The dentist sent him to and orthodontist he put this metal thing in his mouth with little spikes so each time he put the thumb in was uncomfortable. He never had buck teeth because he stopped around the same time as his adult teeth were coming in. I hope this helps or at least eases your mind.

My son now 17 1/2 was also a permanent thumb sucker! We nursed, but his thumb was his best friend, as mine was for me when I was a child. Our Ped. said to tape a toilet paper roll around his arm when his was a baby. He wouldn't be to reach his thumb and consequently would stop sucking in a short period of time. My husband & I thought wow, that seemed cruel, plus it soothed him when he was upset and he stopped screaming. Well,in hindsight, at 4yrs Korey was still sucking his thumb. We talked about it, we read books, we tried rewards for not sucking. By the end of elementary going into middle school it was night habit only pretty much, but the permanent teeth were already in need of braces. I guess it was middle of 6th or 7th grade, it was time-Orthodontist, appliance, braces and retainer. The appliance was painful, degrading made him talk funny, but it sure broke the habit! If there is anything you can do and I have no idea what you can do, but if it doesn't physically hurt the child I'd try it! you'll save a ton of money and belly aching later. Good Luck. The sooner you can accept that kids will cry and try to get their own way anyway, just be strong & do what is best for them despite what they may want. You'll all be better for it! Good Luck again! J.

All three of my children have sucked their thumbs. When my oldest was 4 and my middle child 2 1/2, the dentist advised us to stop the habit. He recommended a product called Thum that Walgreens carries in the baby section. You paint it on the child's thumb/fingernail or fingers and it is a spicy. After two nights our middle child age 2 1/2 at the time never sucked his thumb again. It did not work with the four year old, she is now nine and we have tried everything including buying Thumb guards for $75, which she bends off in the middle of the night. Our youngest will be 3 in may and we bought the same product again and started using it last week, it is working with her also. We are attempting it with the oldest again. For us it appears that between the age of 2 and 3 is the magic time. Good luck to you.
V. E

My daughter sucked her middle two fingers (same difference as a thumb in respect to damage to teeth and bite). I received mixed messages from doctors at the time and chose to let her suck, hoping for peer pressure to end her desire. She didn't stop until her 13th birthday when I told her she would have to stop before I would pay for getting braces to straighten her teeth. This was an expensive way to go!

I would suggest a reward system. (Go without sucking the thumb for an afternoon and get extra time with Mom - reading stories or playing games) Fix a chart with stars for days that the thumb is not sucked. At the end of the week, have special activities as a reward.

I perceive thumb sucking as a comfort behavior. Making punitive consequences will only add to the stress and need for comfort.

M. K

My daughter was 2 years old when she started sucking her thumb after seeing her cousin doing it... She stopped at about 5.... I guess when she went off to school... She is now 22 and has beautiful straight teeth without the aid of braces.... On the other hand, my son who never sucked his thumb, needed braces..... don't worry about it... when she needs/wants, she'll stop.... sometimes you make things worse when you fuss about them..... LET IT BE....

When I was a child I was a thumb sucker. My parents tried to put perfum, lotion, and any other stinky things on my thumb to get me to stop. I stopped when I was ready. Thankfully my parents gave up after awhile. I did have to have braces but that was not because of thumb sucking. I believe I stopped about 2ed grade. It was soothing to me, it helped me fall asleep. My sister was a finger sucker and she never needed braces. My 3yr old had a binky until she was 1 when I took it away. My current 16mo is a thumb sucker and she will stop when she is ready. I cant force something she needs to sooth her self.

It's funny that I read this today; I was just looking at a couple of websites that sell the "Thumbguard." My daughter has sucked her thumb since she was a baby, and she's almost 6 now. What's more annoying than that is that her thumb goes to her mouth, and the index finger has made a habit of finding a nostril. Not to pick her nose, but just- it's a hole to stick it in while she sucks her thumb! So it's doubly embarrassing. I've tried positive enforcement, disciplining, bribing, constant reminding- nothing has worked. And anyway, I refuse to get overly excited and praise her 5,000 times a day when I catch her without it in her mouth. I want a solid solution that can help me help her stop sucking, even when I'm not there. So google "Thumbguard" if you're interested. It may be covered by your insurance, and it has lots of colorful bracelets the child can pick from for the day. It won't hurt her hand or her mouth; it just prevents a latch. I hope you find a solution! :)

My 3 year old was also a thumbsucker since she was in the womb. We didn't worry about it until we took her to her first dentist appt at 2 and a half and he said that we should definitely try to get her to stop soon because it could cause problems with the pallette of her mouth and her teeth. We used the hoof, no bite polish from Wal-Mart and it worked wonderfully. It only took a few days and she stopped. We still put it on her to be on the safe side but I'm about to stop as it says to co it for 3 months and it's been almost that. I wouldn't worry about it to much until she's closer to 3 but I would definitely suggest the polish. We also have an 11 month old boy he is the same way and when he gets closer to 3 I will use it with him also.

there is this stuff they sell at walmart that you but on there nail like palish and when they put in there mouth i promiss you they will take it out my 2 year use to bite her nails and that is what i put on her nails im not sure what its called

Good luck. My mother put tabasco sauce on my little sister's thumbs -- and she developed a taste for tabasco sauce. She was much older than your daughter is when an orthodontist finally put in a metal thing in her mouth that basically stabbed her thumb when she put it in her mouth. That seems so extreme, though, and really was a last option. (she had reshaped her entire soft pallet with her thumb-sucking.)

I'm hoping your daughter will outgrow it or find another security thing. Ask her dentist. 19 months seems a little old to still be sucking her thumb but I know I've seen kids that age and older sucking their thumbs...

My daughter was a thumbsucker too, however at this age I wouldn't even mention it to her yet, we never made a big deal out of it never mentioned it to her ( we figured that would just draw attention to the habit and make her more reluctant to give it up) and she stopped all on her own 1st we noticed less frequent thumb sucking in the day as she played then eventually naps and bedtime. She will be 3 soon and it's been at least half a year since she has needed to suck her thumb. So my advice is wait a little bit see if it's something she will outgrow by herself sometimes at that age it's really for comfort and instinct but something she will outgrow. However when she's older if the habit is still there you may need to take other steps to break the habit, as for now I'd wait and see before you make an issue out of it, it might just stress her out and make her want to suck her thumb more.

Try using No Bite fingernail polish, should do the trick. Good luck!

All three of my girls were thumbsuckers in utero and afterwards.... none of the three require braces, and they stopped sucking their thumbs on their own around 5 years old. Do not punish the child for this source of comfort, encourage the use of another snuggly. The less pressure you put on the child about quitting the more likely they are to stop on their own. My girls are now 21 and 19 (twins)- your little one will be fine!

I wouldn't worry about it at this young age. As she gets older you could try bad tasting polishes (like THUM that you can get at the Walmart pharmacy) and reward systems (like taking out a penny from a jar each time she sucks her thumb and letting her keep what's left at the end of the day), but she seems rather young for that now. Perhaps you could do small things like tell her you will read her a story on your lap as long as she doesn't suck her thumb during the story. Each time she puts her thumb in her mouth, stop the story. Gently encourage her to stop sucking it, but I wouldn't make it a struggle, especially since she just became a big sister.