what age should a child stop sucking their thumb???

[minnieandmickeymouse]

My daughter just turned six and is STILL sucking her thumb !!!!
I want it to stop, but not sure how too. I have told her to, the dentist had mentioned it to us and her several times.
She is the only one of my 4 kids that is a thumb sucker.
HELP!!!!

 

[Bob Slydell]

18

 

[Annette_VA]

Have you tried those deterrents or just plain old hotsauce? Or, if you want to go high-tech, there's thethumb guard

A friend of mine told her ds his thumb would turn green & fall off if he continued to suck it. Then, we he didn't stop, she dyed his thumb green during his sleep one night. Sounds mean, but it worked.

 

[letfuller]

My DDs both suck their thumbs. DD7 quit once kindergarten began. I am hoping that DD4 will also quit at that time. Usually my oldest just sucked her thumb to fall to sleep, but she did stop at 5. I have more of an issue of biting their nails. That drives me crazy

Perhaps you could create a reward chart for her? Or just let her be. She may quit without the reminders. Easy enough for me to say.... now if I could only follow my own advise.

Good luck



~Linda

 

[Kallison]

I let all three do it on their own. I don't even remember now what age? I think my oldest son took the longest and was in 4th grade but would only do it at night in his room when he was tired. All three need braces!!

 

[Aimeedyan]

I quit when I was 13 and heading to youth camp, no kidding.

I didn't want anyone to catch me sleeping with it, so I forced myself to quit. I have never had a dentist or anyone mention any damage, but I know its not good for little mouths. I only sucked it at night at that point...

I would talk to your pediatrician and see what their best advice is. Mine just told me parents i would grow out of it, and they didn't really do anything to stop me... just ignored it.

Embarassing, but true

 

[luvindisneyworld]

Originally posted by Annette_VA
Have you tried those deterrents or just plain old hotsauce? Or, if you want to go high-tech, there's thethumb guard

A friend of mine told her ds his thumb would turn green & fall off if he continued to suck it. Then, we he didn't stop, she dyed his thumb green during his sleep one night. Sounds mean, but it worked.

I just Love that idea.That is something I would definetly do.

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

My dd3 has sucked her thumb since she was 9 months old. I asked her dentist last week when she should stop. The dentist said that she only has about another year to year and a half before it screws up her bite. As it is, her teeth have already started to misalign. Before we left the office, the dentist said to dd, "Can you do me a favor and only suck your thumb at night? Can you do that for me?" DD nodded her head. Well, she still sucks her thumb a lot, but not as much during the day anymore. I hope she stops soon.

 

[missypie]

DD was a major thumb sucker. I tried a few things to no avail (they don't sell that stuff you paint on their thumbs anymore, BTW). Then, the day after she finished kindergarten, she quit on her own...totally cold turkey. I'd look in on her while she was sleeping...no thumb sucking. I have no idea how she broke a habit of 6+ years in one day, but she did!

 

[minnieandmickeymouse]

A friend of mine told her ds his thumb would turn green & fall off if he continued to suck it. Then, we he didn't stop, she dyed his thumb green during his sleep one night. Sounds mean, but it worked.

I just might try this one tonight

 

[MickeysMommy]

I was 11 when I stopped sucking my thumb and the reason I stopped then was I was starting to have dental work done to get ready for braces. My mom says that she thinks children who suck their thumbs are more content and that I definitely was.

 

[KarenC]

I sucked my thumb when I was a kid and I remember that the more people bothered me about it the harder it was to give up. My daughter sucked her thumb, and I just didn't make a big deal over it. Yes she needed braces, but she had other problems with her mouth and would have needed them anyway. My advice is not to worry about it, he'll give it up when he's ready.

 

[NMAmy]

I sucked my thumb till I was probably 8 or 9 (at night). My mother used to embarass me terribly about it and that sure didn't help me stop--kids do it to soothe themselves, you don't give them more stress to get them to stop. One thing that helped me stop was a bedspread that I could put between my fingers. I'd just hang on to that bedspread all night.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Originally posted by Annette_VA
Have you tried those deterrents or just plain old hotsauce? Or, if you want to go high-tech, there's thethumb guard

A friend of mine told her ds his thumb would turn green & fall off if he continued to suck it. Then, we he didn't stop, she dyed his thumb green during his sleep one night. Sounds mean, but it worked.

that is kind of mean, but as my DMIL (mother of 7) says, "whatever works!"

My DS6 still sleeps with a blanket, and only sucks his thumb when holding the blanket. It's the darnest thing, he can be running around like a maniac(normal for him!) and if he lays his eyes on the blanket, he stops dead in his tracks, the thumb goes in and all is quiet. So do you think that I want to put a stop to this??

He still has his baby teeth, and he only sucks for a few minutes before going to sleep, so for now I'm gonna let it be. I don't know what's going to happen to the peace and quiet around here-little that there is- when he stops!

When I was little my pediatrician told my mom about the hot sauce trick. She says all I did was suck it off my thumb, then hold it out for more! To this day, I like things spicy!!

 

[Towncrier]

My mom tried everything to get me to quit. I eventually did when I was 13yo. I finally grew out of it, I guess.

 

[bubie2.5]

30

 

[Snoozan]

My youngest DS came out of the womb with a callous on his thumb so he was quite addicted to it from day one! I wouldn't recommend the way my DS stopped sucking his thumb - my DH accidently shut his thumb in a door on the way into the babysitter's when he was about 3. From that day on he never sucked his thumb again! Of course, his true "lovey" was his pillow, which he's still quite attached to - at age 19!!(yes, I have changed his pillow, but he still gets attached to each one!)I have taken several trips to WDW with his pillow in his carryon!

 

[Snowwark]

Another former thumb sucker here! I sucked my thumb until I was 7-8.

My parents tried putting a glove on my hand, also coated my thumb with some vile tasting liquid, but it didn't stop me, neither did the constant scolding, and threats of bad teeth. I just stopped on my own, and my teeth are fine....see...

I also rolled my head from side to side while I sucked my thumb. That was a problem, as my hair would be a tangle of knots in the mornings. Oh, I stopped doing that also!!

 

[BrerMom]

I remember a girl in 1st or 2nd grade that used to put her head as far in her desk as she could and suck her thumb. She thought we didn't know what she was doing!

I understand the parents that don't want to make a big deal out of it because most kids do stop. I have had six high school girls in the last two years that suck their thumbs during class. Only one acted embarassed at all. The first one really threw me for a loop (a 16 year old sucking her thumb in public???), but I didn't blink an eye by the last.

I'm so lucky that our kids didn't suck their thumbs. All three were very attached to their pacifiers, but didn't resort to thumbs when the pacifiers were gone. Now if anybody wants cute ideas on how to get rid of pacifiers....

 

[Towncrier]

DD Sarah was our pacifier baby. We managed to get her to stop using her pacifier when her cousin Gabe was born. We told her that Gabe needed the pacifiers now and she wrapped up all of her pacifiers in a pretty little box and gave them to her Aunt Susan for the new baby. On the way home from their house, Sarah asked for a pacifier. We reminded her that she had given them all away to the new baby and she never asked for one again.