OT--Thumbsucker questions!!!

[las3888]

DS has grown fond of the thumb since about 6 mos. He is now 20 mos. He sucks his thumb hard, there are often bite marks on it. He sucks when he is in stroller, carseat, in unknown company, gymboree etc., while watching videos, and most likely when falling asleep.

When asking our pedi, he just mentions that the ages of 1-2 and 2-3 are stressful and it's normal to suck one's thumb, and there's not much to be or should be done. I buy that well enough, I'm just wondering what others have experienced more down the road with thumb-sucking. When are they supposed to give it up? Do they tend to let go on their own or are there decent methods for stopping once that time has come? Just wondering what lies ahead!!!

Thanks

 

[MSSANDRA]

I see most kids stop by the time they are about four. I think that most dentist say that as long as they stop by 6 that teeth are not an issue. I think to try to stop a 22 month old would be a loosing battle. My only concern now would be keeping his hands clean to try to prevent so much exposure to germs.

 

[monorailsilver]

My dd started sucking her thumb at about 11 months old, just at the time when she was only nursing once a day.

She was my first so I never thought much of it other then it was cute.

Two years later I didn't think it was cute anymore.

However I did find out what caused her to suck her thumb, other then being tired. She sucked her thumb if she was bored, watching TV or holding her dolly & played with it's bow.

She used to carry dolly around every where so I put a stop to that & said dolly was only allowed in her room at bed/nap time.

I did get Thum/Thumb (I forget the name) but it is the nail biting stuff to put on her thumb & she hated the taste of it. I think just the threat of putting it on her made her not suck it as much.

Her thumbs got really icky looking too so a few times she had bandaids on so she couldn't suck.

Finally as she cut down on thumb sucking we did brivery & went to the toy store to let her pick out a train she wanted. We didn't buy it but we told her when she stopped we would & very shortly after that she got her train.

I did find her sucking her thumb a few times after she stopped & reminded her not to do so.

She is now 5+ & doesn't suck her thumb anymore.

 

[Twingle]

I think most children will stop on their own, when they don't "need" to suck their thumbs anymore.

My older twin started sucking her thumb around five months or so. She mainly did it when she was tired, or falling asleep. She was never one to just walk around with her thumb in her mouth, usually just when she was tired, or sad about something.

She's three now, and pretty much gave up the thumb in April/May or so. She will occassionally suck her thumb, but it's usually right in front of my DH or I, and she says she's a baby and laughs really hard.

I've heard that alot of people had good luck with the stuff you paint on their nails - it's supposed to taste really bad. I've heard alot of negative feedback on the thumb guard that you put over their thumb - PM me if you want to know specifics. I know if a child is still sucking their thumb when their adult teeth are coming in a dentist can put an appliance in their mouths that will make thumb sucking hurt.

Good luck - personally, I wouldn't be too worried about it at 20 mouths, especially since from your post it seems that he is sucking his thumb either when he is tired or in stressful (to him) situations.

 

[crzyred]

coming from personal experience, i sucked my thumb until i was in kindergarden. my parnents tried everything...except bribing... to get me to stop. the one thing that finally worked was using some weird awful tasting stuff on my thumb. however it did take a little bit for that to work too. eventually i saw that no one else my age was sucking their thumb and basically stopped. please don't worry about your child sucking there thumb right now, they will get over it in their own time.

 

[belle&beast]

My DD5 started sucking her thumb shortly after birth and we even have an ultrasound photo with the thumb in her mouth. She still sucks her thumb to go to sleep, and we have talked about stopping and she does try occasionally to go to sleep without her thumb. She has been going to a pediatric dentist since 18 months, and he is not worried about it at all. He checked her teeth and they are not affected and I even had my orthodontist look at her and he has no concerns. However, both the dentist and orthodontist agree she should stop sucking her thumb when her baby teeth get loose. We found that she sucked her thumb more frequently when she had her blanket, so now she can only have her blanket in bed and that has drastically decreased the amount of time the thumb is in the mouth. Don't worry- it won't last forever!

 

[HooKooDooKu]

I had a baby sister that sucked her thumb until about age 6. I can remember my parents trying to do everything they could to get her to stop.

That's why I've instead encouraged our kids to use a pasifier rather than ever allow them to get used to sucking a thumb. Pasifiers can be taken away, but legally, you can't get rid of the thumb.

Of course our 4yo is still using a pasifier when he sleeps at night. We're thinking about trying to break that habit by "accidently" leaving them at home on our up-comming WDW trip.

 

[lyzziesmom]

I sucked my thumb until I was 9. There, I've admitted it. DBF did it until age 12. Neither one of us has had any problems arise as a result. My DD8 stopped last year, after she noticed that none of her friends still do it, and the one who does "looks funny". I personally don't have much of a problem with it, as long as it's only at night and the kid is not 'plugged in' all day.

 

[isla bonita]

Our son stopped on his own around 6. I never made a big deal out of it and he stopped on his own. Not sure if that is how all children do it though.

 

[gillenkl]

Our DD age 6 still sucks her thumb- I'm not really concerned because she still has her baby-teeth. But when they start falling out my dentist suggested wrapping a piece of tape around her thumb or getting the icky tasting liquid. Or he said we could go to an orthodontist and have a special piece made that would fit in her mouth and prevent the sucking (of course, we don't have the money for that expensive suggestion).

 

[martyshoney]

I had a baby sister that sucked her thumb until about age 6. I can remember my parents trying to do everything they could to get her to stop.

That's why I've instead encouraged our kids to use a pasifier rather than ever allow them to get used to sucking a thumb. Pasifiers can be taken away, but legally, you can't get rid of the thumb.

Of course our 4yo is still using a pasifier when he sleeps at night. We're thinking about trying to break that habit by "accidently" leaving them at home on our up-comming WDW trip.

Okay, I have to come out and ask this, why on earth does a 4 year old still need a pacifier???? My DS just turned a year and I am having a fit b/c I just don't think he needs it anymore, that sucking is what babies need to comfort themselves but big kids can find other ways of soothing themselves. I am afraid my DS will be like yours and 4 and still sucking one!! I am not meaning to be ugly by asking this, I am just really curious in case my son is the same as yours! People know how strongly I feel about pacifier use after a year old and they keep telling me to give it to Mickey Mouse but I can't imagine dealing with that while on vacation, OMG, what a nightmare that would be!

 

[lizally]

I don't have any advice for you...just a little story...

One of my 2 yr old twins is a thumbsucker. She has a big orange callous on her thumb from it. Well, one day she must have cut a hole in it with her teeth or something, because the thumb got infected! I took her to the doctor and she had to be put on antibiotics to clear the thumb infection up. It had never crossed my mind that this could happen. It was kind of gross, but her thumb is okay, and she is still a thumbsucker. There is no way I could stop it now, so I don't try. I think the social stigma will cure her of it when she gets a little older.

 

[KelsiesMommy]

My youngest DD has sucked her thumb from day one- she's 22 months old now. She taught her big sister to suck her thumb at age 2... she had just given up the binky, and realized if baby sister could suck her thumb, so could she. Oldest DD is now 3 1/2... her ped mentioned that it didn't appear she was sucking hard enough to cause much problems with her teeth, and we all had a discussion there in the office that when she turns 4 years old she can't suck her thumb anymore.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Okay, I have to come out and ask this, why on earth does a 4 year old still need a pacifier????

Why? I can't really answer. I guess for the same reasons some children contiune to suck thier thumb up to age 5 and 6.

To the best of my recollection, we started weening DS from the pacifier around age 2. We slowly limited the times which he was allowed to use the pacifier. It didn't take long until the time period had been cut back to only while sleeping.

Since then, we've been wanting to completely get rid of it, but DS hasn't been ready. Even at the age of 3+, we would sometimes catch him in the act of sneaking into his room to take a 'hit' off the pacifier.

So up until now, we've decided it hasn't been a battle worth fighting.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

I sucked my thumb until I was 9. There, I've admitted it. DBF did it until age 12. Neither one of us has had any problems arise as a result. My DD8 stopped last year, after she noticed that none of her friends still do it, and the one who does "looks funny". I personally don't have much of a problem with it, as long as it's only at night and the kid is not 'plugged in' all day.

Thank you, thank you! I thought I was the only who had thumbsuckers over the age of 5. Out of 7 children I only had two who sucked their thumbs, but they are dedicated thumbsuckers. Both were sucking their thumbs in my ultrasound pictures. Ds is 6 and dd is 7 and they don't suck them at school (peer pressure) but they both suck them while watching tv, sleeping and usually in the car. So far no problems with their teeth. I just have a hard time really putting my foot down because it seems like such a comfort zone for them.

 

[Aliisa]

Okay, I have to come out and ask this, why on earth does a 4 year old still need a pacifier????

My DD was also 4 when she finally got rid of the pacifier! She stopped the bottle at 12 months, never had a special blanket of stuffed animal- just her "binky"! She only needed it at night and after she fell asleep it fell out. I never stressed about it- I knew she wasn't going to take it to college. One day she just said, "I want to cut my binky" (that was one of the tactics we used before that didn't work) and that was it- cold turkey- and she never asked for it again. They all outgrow this stuff, I wouldn't stress. At our playgroup I have seen some brutal temper tantrums, a little boy who would hold his breath till he passed out, and another boy who would bang his head on the floor so it shook- so on that spectrum her binky was really no big deal- don't worry they all outgrow it

 

[HooKooDooKu]

...At our playgroup I have seen some brutal temper tantrums, a little boy who would hold his breath till he passed out, and another boy who would bang his head on the floor so it shook- so on that spectrum her binky was really no big deal- don't worry they all outgrow it

OK, so I've heard of children holding their breath like this, but I've never actually seen it. I think I'd find it quite amusing. First heard about it from my biology teacher (decades ago) who told us not to worry about this as future parents since the child will start breathing again once he passes out.

I still don't know if it's been luck or parenting style, but our 4yo has NEVER thrown a temper tantrum.

 

[mousefanmichelle]

2 of my 3 kids are thumb suckers. My 10 year old quit earlier this year when the orthodontist said he had to. The dr. suggested that if he couldn't do it on his own to put a batting glove on his had at night when he went to bed. We thought it was an excellent suggestion but never had to do it. He just stopped. He would only suck it at night (bed time) when he had his puppy and blanky (2 things he had as a baby -a beanie dog and a very loosly crocheted blanket) He gave those 2 things up as well. I guess he just reached a point where he didn't need the comfort anymore. My dd who is 7 still sucks when she goes to sleep but not as much as she used to. Again the dentist told her she needs to stop and she is working on it. I wouldn't worry so much - I am learning not to sweat the small stuff and it helps my sanity!