My youngest dd is 16 months and loves to suck her thumb. Most people who have had kids who suck their thumbs tell me nothing worked, as far as getting them to stop. In fact, my niece at age 8 still does at night when she is sleeping out of habit.

DD sucks her thumb when she is tired, bored, in need of comfort. My oldest dd used a pacifier but I weaned her to crib only and then took it away at about 15 months.

Does anyone have some solutions that worked for your kids???

By Truestori on Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 05:33 pm:

Well, I'm not sure much will work. I have sucked my thumb all of my life! Hubby swears I still do during the night. go figure....*BLUSHING*

By Melanie on Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 05:46 pm:

I read somewhere that something like 90% of kids will stop sucking their thumb on their own by the age of 5. My son is 5 and has recently decided to stop sucking his thumb (completely his idea). He asked us to remind him if we see him with it in his mouth. I see him sometimes start to put it in and then remember, and put his thumb down.

My only advice is not what your looking for. Don't worry about it-she'll probably stop without intervention within a few years.

By Mechelle on Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 06:06 pm:

Well, We had this problem with DS until a few months ago. He's turning 8 Sunday. He has messed his teeth up so bad!! They are *bucked* out in the front, not really bad, but it made his speech worse. His mouth is a Orthodontist *dream come true* LOL
We tried using some stuff called "THUM" it's *hot*. You can get it at Byrd Watson Drug.
My parents used it on me when I was little I sucked my thumb, It stopped me.I hate anything spicy soooo....... DS it didn't help. He loves spicy things so that was right up his alley. We tried Hot Sauce, didn't work, Hair spray (sprayed on his thumb as he was sleeping, he'd stick his thumb in his mouth (make horrible faces, but sucked it off! We tried colonge too, we tried telling him his teeth would fall out like Grandpa's (have to wear Dentures) Nothing worked, until He was ready.
Id say for being so young, that "Thum" stuff might work for ya. Good Luck!

By Trina on Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 07:06 pm:

At her age I wouldn't worry about it. It's a source of comfort for her. Here's a good article:
http://www.parentcenter.com/refcap/25482.html

I was a thumb sucker and my parents tried everything to get me to stop. In fact, Mechelle's post brought back some memories! LOL! Nothing worked, and in fact it only made me want it more. I gave it up on my own in Kindergarten. My teeth are fine. I've never needed any orthodontic work whatsoever.

My DS (6) still sucks his fingers, but only when he's tired and/or sick. It has become less frequent with age. Our dentist said it hasn't effected his teeth at all. (Lucky for us!) We have never made a big deal about, but only given him gentle reminders.

By Annie2 on Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 09:39 pm:

I also sucked my finger until second grade. I loved it! No matter what my siblings said to me, etc I continued to do it. My parents NEVER did anything to try and stop it. By the way, my father was a dentist!LOL I did have to have braces but so did two of my brothers and sisters. They did not suck their thumb or fingers.
Now when I am 37 I remember the good feelings and comfort sucking my finger gave me. Your baby is young. IMHO, I would let this go for a few more years at least.
A friend of mine has 5 kids (5 out of 5) that suck a finger or thumb. Her dentist told her about a "guard" type thing that can be placed in the roof of the mouth which doesn't allow a comforting sucking action. You may want to try that route if you insist on breaking her of this habit.

By Mechelle on Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 10:39 pm:

Your too lucky Trina!! I had a over-bite from thumb sucking, had to wear good ole braces. Poor Ds that boy sucked his thumb when I was pregoed with him, got an ultra sound pic of him on his back sucking away!

By Cat on Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 10:51 pm:

My son will be 9 next month and still sucks his thumb while he's sleeping mostly, but occasionally while he's awake and tired, upset or bored. Yes, he may need braces but I'm the dentist has said he probably would have needed them anyway. Sorry, no help about getting your dd to stop, but I have to agree with some of the others that your dd's still very young. Don't stress about it.

By Luv2fly on Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 11:42 pm:

Thanks ladies, I appreciate all the input. Mu dh stresses about it and makes me feel like I should worry about it too. After reading all of your posts I think I'll worry about something else instead.....

By Trina on Friday, September 13, 2002 - 07:11 am:

LOL, Laura!

By Anonymous on Friday, September 13, 2002 - 04:07 pm:

My husband sucked his thumb until I was pregnant. His teeth are straight and never needed any orthodintic work. He only did this when he was overly tired, or sleeping. It used to bother me even though it didn't see it much. But someone said something to me about although it isn't nice looking, wouldn't it be nice if we could all comfort ourselves that easy? With that, I let my kids do the paci or thumb until they stopped. I eat for comfort, some of us smoke, and on and on. Good luck.

By Pamt on Saturday, September 14, 2002 - 07:35 pm:

I am a speech pathologist and most professionals recommend trying to get your child to stop thumb-sucking at about 5-6 years of age if they haven't given it up already on their own. At your dd's age you will merely be fighting a losing battle. There is a wonderful device that I would recommend when the time is right. Go to http://www.speechdynamics.com and enter "thumb guard" in the search box. It is a plastic device that slips over the thumb AND that little ones can't take off that keeps them from sucking. For now...just let her soothe herself and maybe you'll get lucky and she'll break the habit on her own.

By Lauratom on Tuesday, January 21, 2003 - 02:41 pm:

Our Son still sucks at age 9 and doesn't seem to want to stop nor take the responsibility for the sucking. We have him down to sucking only at night and we make him wear a sock to bed but about twice a week he decides to take off the sock. Tape on the sock hasn't helped either.

How can we get him to stop?

We threatened to make him stay home from hockey and followed thru when he tested us, and then moped around all night when he was supposed to play. This made us think we had something going until 5 nights later he was mad at us and took his sock off during the night again. In fact he took it off twice as we woke him up and put it back on.

We've tried to praise him and now we are trying negative consequesnces but they don't seem to rememdy the situation. What next?

By Cat on Tuesday, January 21, 2003 - 11:00 pm:

Welcome, Lauratom! Since this post has come back up I'll give a little update from my September post. My now 9yo son has stopped sucking his thumb on his own! He finally decided it was something he wanted to do and we just supported him best we could (provided cool batting gloves to wear at night). It took about four nights (back in December) and he's done. He's probably still going to need braces. :P He doesn't have a terrible overbite, but the teeth didn't come in all the way like they're supposed to. So if he closes his mouth with his teeth together there is a gap where his thumb used to be, but it's not an overbite gap. KWIM??? Anyway, welcome again to momsview. I know you'll love it here.

By Mechelle on Tuesday, January 21, 2003 - 11:23 pm:

LauraTom........
You will like it here...........it's fun, and interesting.
Any question you have, someone here has an answer.
Were goofy at times, and at others we are down right serious.
It's like a *home away from home here*
Hope you enjoy these boards as much as we do!!

BTW Ds has stopped sucking his thumb. it's 6 months now!! YEAHHHHHH!! We took him to an Orthodontist, and the Dr. told him about a device he would have to get to put in his mouth, can't chew gum, eat candy. or anything crunchy with this in his mouth ( my DS is an eater this news broke him LOL).......The more Ds thought about this the more he wanted to stop, and he did!! I am so proud of him!!

By Feona on Wednesday, January 22, 2003 - 07:51 am:

I wonder if sucking the thumb is a security issue?

Isn't there some sort of controversy about making a child stop sucking his thumb?

By Mechelle on Wednesday, January 22, 2003 - 01:14 pm:

99% of the time, sucking a thumb is a security blanket to kids.......then it can become a *habit*
Thats what happened with my Son....it became a habit more than anything.

Trying to stop a child at a very young age, does cause controversy with Doctors..

By Anonymous on Monday, April 27, 2009 - 09:31 am:

my son dhaisam has stopped thumb sucking. on his own he new that it was not so good .. i just gave him some links to follow from computer.its related to some disadvantages of that.. he is so happy that he has stopped it.

By Loopy on Monday, April 27, 2009 - 09:37 am:

my son dhaisam has stopped thumb sucking. on his own he new that it was not so good .. i just gave him some links to follow from computer.its related to some disadvantages of that.. he is so happy that he has stopped it.

By Northcountrymom on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 - 12:52 am:

Loopy,

Your child is so young that its very common to have them thumbsucking still. I went looking for a summary that was true to our experience with our children. Sounds like you looked around online but the BabyCenter had an article that I think reflects facts and some helpful practical advice:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_thumb-sucking_11574.bc

Keep us posted and share some of what you found.

By Himalmom on Thursday, May 6, 2010 - 10:52 am:

If your child is under 3, let them thumb suck. It is a comforting thing. But if your child is over age 3, it is time to break the habit. I am a therapist and have worked with a lot of kids on this issue. There is a fun and unique product for moms/dads and their little thumb suckers! It is called Thumbuddy To Love and it helps children stop thumb sucking in a fun and positive way without shame. Thumbuddy To Love comes with an illustrated story book, adorable thumb puppet and success chart. Kids love it because there is Fireman Fred for boys and Ballerina Sue for girls. Dentist recommended and it even won a Mom’s Choice Award. The American Dental Assoociation recommends stopping thumb sucking at an early age because it pushes teeth forward and changes the roof of the mouth….eventually leading to braces. It is also available on Amazon and dentist offices...or google "Thumbuddy To Love". Always rememember to praise your child for the little accomplishments.

By Mommy3girls on Thursday, May 6, 2010 - 11:45 am:

Thank you Himalmom! I will have to look that up. Stopping thumb sucking is Easier said than done! My 8 year old still does it on occasion. Ive had her to several pediatric dentist & inquired about the guard....just keep thinking she will stop on her own without me having to install a contraption in her mouth....not yet! Ugh!!!

By Bethr on Thursday, October 21, 2010 - 09:31 pm:

I know this discussion is a bit old, but I wanted to let you know about a great book: David Decides About Thumb sucking (http://www.daviddecidesaboutthumbsucking.com). It has a section that you read to the kids and a section for parents. It gave us some great ideas on how to approach breaking the habit.