6-year-old thumb sucker - HELP!

[codygirl5150]

My DD6 (turns 7 in april!) still sucks her thumb. DH and I have tried everything. We make her stop when we see her, but she is old enough now to know to hide it when we walk out of the room, when she's in the back seat of the car, when our backs are turned, etc... If I put something that tastes bad on her thumb, she just goes and washes it off. I even tried to explain how her friends might think she's a baby if they knew...so she sucked her thumb in front of them at school and came home happy telling me they didn't even care! I had the dentist talk to her and tell her she needs to stop but it didn't help. This girl is strong willed, and way too smart for her own good!!!

I have tried to just let it go when she was younger, thinking she would grow out of it, but it seems a little more serious now that the new front teeth are growing in. She already has a divit in the roof of her mouth where her thumb rests and her thumb gets chapped from it being wet. I've tried to reason with her (yes, tried to reason with a 6 yr old! ) by asking her why she does it--she says she likes her thumb to be wet. I know its out of boredom and its comforting but it really needs to stop. I get so tired of berating her all the time. Any suggestions?? Please help!

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I sucked my first two fingers until a dentist told me I woud like Goofy. It did get me to stop, but was also fairly traumatizing, it absolutely terrified me. We did not go back. Yes, I did have an overbite later on, though how much of it was due to the finger sucking I don't know. No, I did not look like Goofy.

 

[SwedishMeatball]

A band-aid worked for both of my kids.

 

[Calliaz]

I think with smart kids that explanation can really work. I know that I can talk my smart kid into lots of things just by explaining the reasons why something needs to happen.

I really liked this article on the topic:

http://www.drgreene.com/21_856.html

 

[CookieDiva]

Have you tried enticing her with some "grown up" activity?

I think that we bribed one of our DDs to stop sucking her thumb by allowing her to get her ears pierced if she stopped.

 

[maelstrom]

Chicken Pox.

I sucked my thumb until the end of kindergarten, when I caught the chicken pox. I got a big one right on my thumb, and my mom told me that if I continued to suck my thumb, I would get chicken pox in my mouth. I quit thumb-sucking cold turkey.

 

[chattyann]

My little boy sucked his thumb until he was seven. Then he just gradually quit doing it. It seemed like the more we got on him about it, the more he would do it. When we started ignoring it, he just quit. On the other hand, my friend's son is going on 11 years old and still sucks his middle two fingers and tries to hide it by putting his other hand on top of the hand he is sucking his fingers on.

 

[MrsKreamer]

An expander.


I sucked my thumb until I was 8. At that point my parents took me to the orthodontist and they installed an expander (to widen my mouth before they added braces). I couldn't wear the expander and suck my thumb at the same time.

 

[Aimeedyan]

I sucked my thumb at night until I was pretty old. I stopped on my own. Nothing my parents did would deter me from it and my dentist told my parents that. You know what broke me? Embarassment. I wouldn't dare do it at a sleepover or something and the older I got, the more nights I spent with my friends and I just got used to not.

Honestly, my teeth are just fine and no one is scarred.

 

[Ohiodislover]

An expander.


I sucked my thumb until I was 8. At that point my parents took me to the orthodontist and they installed an expander (to widen my mouth before they added braces). I couldn't wear the expander and suck my thumb at the same time.

This is what they had to do with my niece. I'm not sure it was an expander, as this was 20 years ago, but it was an orthodontic device. She was 7, or 8.

 

[aprilgail2]

This is what they had to do with my niece. I'm not sure it was an expander, as this was 20 years ago, but it was an orthodontic device. She was 7, or 8.

My friends daughter was a major thumbsucker and it was screwing up her mouth/pallate so the dentist installed this appliance in the roof of her mouth that would prick her finger every time she sucked her thumb- she quit pretty quick!

 

[bellebud]

I sucked my thumb till I was in 5th grade, and the only thing that made me stop was getting my braces on. I had a HUGE overbite (from the thumbsucking). My mom tried everything to get me to stop. Looking back, it was a comfort thing, and boy did I need the comfort.

 

[clarabelle]

You can order a device off the internet called a thumb guard. It worked for us -but we had to stay vigilant with it.

It might be worth a try.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

I sucked my thumb at night until I was pretty old. I stopped on my own. Nothing my parents did would deter me from it and my dentist told my parents that. You know what broke me? Embarassment. I wouldn't dare do it at a sleepover or something and the older I got, the more nights I spent with my friends and I just got used to not.

Honestly, my teeth are just fine and no one is scarred.

Ditto!

 

[freckles and boo]

I don't know if this will work with thumb sucking but my older daughter had a behavior that was equally inappropriate in public (no, it wasn't picking her nose ). We gave her the times and places she was allowed to do it and we used a positive reward system for following the rules. She stopped doing it at school the very first day and it only took a few more days to snuff it out at home, although every once in a while when she is tired she slips back some. The positive reward system works SO much better than punishments or threats.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

I didn't think my dd would ever stop sucking her thumb! Of course by the time she got to school it was mostly at night, or when she was upset at home.

She finally stopped (on her own) around the age of 9. I'm really glad we let her stop on her own, because the more we mentioned it, the more defensive she got, and the more she needed the thumb. Does that make sense?

 

[Pooh's Pixie]

My DH is a pediatric dentist, and I know they install appliances for thumb suckers...you can't see it but it is like a retainer...it does work. And trust me, there are lots of dental issues down the road for thumbsuckers!

 

[MickeysMommy]

I sucked my thumb till I was 11(only when I went to bed)...leave her alone, she'll stop.

 

[TennisGirl80]

I got my DD to stop at 3 with a reward system. I make a calendar, and put a penny in each day. Every day she DIDN'T suck her thumb, she got to keep the penny, and could buy something with her "earnings" at the end of the week. It totally worked right away! Good luck!!

 

[Mrs.Toad]

My friend's dd stopped after three weeks with the thumb guard. Her doctor said it takes three weeks to break a habit (I've heard that from other sources, too), so she had to wear it three weeks, and if she cheated and sucked her thumb, she had to start the three week time period over again.

After two weeks, she nearly cheated, but the thought of three more weeks with that thing when she was down to one stopped her. After that, she was done.

Good luck!