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ChrisDee
My Girls
Member since 11/06 9543 total posts
Name:
Christine
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Anyone able to stop their child from sucking their thumb?(NEED HELP PLEASE)
OK, so, I have a 9 old that STILL sucks her fingers(her middle and ring finger, like a bowling ball ) all the time. I have tried EVERYTHING to get her to stop over the years. Nothing worked for any length of time and I have given up.
So, now, I tried so hard to make DD#2 NOT suck her thumb, but to no avail. She is now 2 years and 2 months and is a hardcore thumb sucker.
I was wondering if anyone successfully got their child(toddler or older) to stop thumbsucking. What age were they and how did you do it? TIA
Message edited 7/8/2010 8:15:14 AM.
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Posted 7/8/10 8:13 AM  |
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TaraHutch
True beauty
Member since 10/07 9888 total posts
Name:
Tara
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Re: Anyone able to stop their child from sucking their thumb?(NEED HELP PLEASE)
I have a feeling I will be in the same boat soon and intrigued by the answers! I wish you luck!!
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| Posted 7/8/10 8:22 AM |
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Bops
My 3 wishes
Member since 12/07 13625 total posts
Name:
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Re: Anyone able to stop their child from sucking their thumb?(NEED HELP PLEASE)
My SD is 12 and still sucks her thumb ooccasionally and is now wearing braces because of it  ...She only does it when she is going to sleep though...
They do sell some icky tasting stuff to put on their thumb and One Step Ahead has some contraption that we never tried..
Try a mitten
She might be a little young for it, but what if you fill a jar with coins ( or jelly beans or whatever) and mark off different spots on the jar with "special toy". goodie, fun place.....Take a bean out whenever you see her thumb in her mouth and whatever the jar is still filled up to by the end of the week-she earns it....Leave the more special stuff marked off on the top of the jar and smaller at the bottom
Message edited 7/8/2010 9:36:04 AM.
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| Posted 7/8/10 9:33 AM |
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melbalalala
Little Lady
Member since 5/07 5014 total posts
Name:
Melissa
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Re: Anyone able to stop their child from sucking their thumb?(NEED HELP PLEASE)
If it makes anyone feel better, I sucked my thumb until i went off to college and have perfectly straight teeth  I don't even know how I stopped, I think it just naturally happened.
I had tried EVERYTHING as an adolescent/teenager.. gross tasting nailpolish, wrapping my thumb in gauze/band aids, nothing worked!
Message edited 7/8/2010 9:38:23 AM.
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| Posted 7/8/10 9:36 AM |
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laurenM
LIF Adult
Member since 6/05 1440 total posts
Name:
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Re: Anyone able to stop their child from sucking their thumb?(NEED HELP PLEASE)
dd only sucked her thumb at night by y/o old. At her 3 year dentist appointment, the dentist told me to try anything to have her stop by 4. SHe stopped cold turkey that night. And for three months it was no issue. Blister all gone, asleep without the thumb in two minutes. Suddenly she started laying awake for an hour, singing tryign to keep busy in bed and she would call me in to hold her hand at sleep time and when i didnt, i would walk in and she would pull it out.
I bought the mayela nail polish it seems to have done the trick for now. Occasionally she calls me in for water b/c she tasted her thumb, but other then that she is falling asleep in like 20 minutes or so without her thumb.
Good luck, i know its difficult for mommy and child!
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| Posted 7/8/10 9:49 AM |
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nrthshgrl
It goes fast. Pay attention.
Member since 7/05 57538 total posts
Name:
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Re: Anyone able to stop their child from sucking their thumb?(NEED HELP PLEASE)
Band-Aids helped. "Thum", which is yucky stuff you put on their thumb did too. The promise of nail polish did too. Her own decision that princesses don't suck their thumb even worked...all worked for a month or two.
She's 7 & still sucking on her thumb.
Personally, it's already screwed up her teeth & she's getting braces.
She doesn't do it at school & not in front of her friends. She is self conscious of it & gets that it would warrant teasing from other kids.
So while she wants to stop, nothing I do will make her do it. I ask if she wants help & then we do the bandaids, etc. I made the decision to let it go.
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| Posted 7/8/10 10:19 AM |
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Re: Anyone able to stop their child from sucking their thumb?(NEED HELP PLEASE)
B/f got his DS a "nail polish" that tasted nasty - he was 5 - stopped sucking his thumb in about 2-3 weeks.
I think he got it on Amazon - I can find out the name if you can't find it.
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| Posted 7/8/10 12:22 PM |
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MrsBurtch525
Year for change!
Member since 1/09 6017 total posts
Name:
Taryn
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Re: Anyone able to stop their child from sucking their thumb?(NEED HELP PLEASE)
my brother actually sucked his thumb until he was 14 years old. My mother tried everything, punishment, tobasco sauce (he would just deal with it until the sauce was all sucked off). Nothing seemed to work. It may sound mean but she ended up smothering his finger in Mongolian Fire Oil (spicyier than tabasco sauce) and after doing that everyday for 2 weeks he stopped sucking his thumb. My husband actually loves the Mongolian Fire Oil but he is a little spicey hottness ***** when he cooks but it is very, very spicy.
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| Posted 7/8/10 12:32 PM |
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maiden
Whoa!
Member since 5/08 1814 total posts
Name:
T
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Re: Anyone able to stop their child from sucking their thumb?(NEED HELP PLEASE)
Posted by TaraGotHutched
I have a feeling I will be in the same boat soon and intrigued by the answers! I wish you luck!!
Ditto. DD is a HARDCORE thumbsucker!
Good luck!
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| Posted 7/8/10 12:33 PM |
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TiggerBounce
The Prince & Princess
Member since 7/05 4939 total posts
Name:
J
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Re: Anyone able to stop their child from sucking their thumb?(NEED HELP PLEASE)
I do not have this issue, but a friend of mine from elementary thru h.s. makes these.
Thumb Sucking Guards
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| Posted 7/8/10 2:02 PM |
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wants2bamom
Praying For A Miracle
Member since 10/09 1652 total posts
Name:
L
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Re: Anyone able to stop their child from sucking their thumb?(NEED HELP PLEASE)
Sorry crashing-
I sucked my fingers until I was like in 3rd- 4th grade!!!!! My mom got me to stop sucking my fingers by putting tape on all of my fingers the moment I got home from school!!! I then started sucking my fingers in the bathroom at school during the day to get my fix lol!!! But then of course slowly but surely I stopped.
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| Posted 7/8/10 2:15 PM |
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ChrisDee
My Girls
Member since 11/06 9543 total posts
Name:
Christine
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Re: Anyone able to stop their child from sucking their thumb?(NEED HELP PLEASE)
Posted by nrthshgrl
Band-Aids helped. "Thum", which is yucky stuff you put on their thumb did too. The promise of nail polish did too. Her own decision that princesses don't suck their thumb even worked...all worked for a month or two.
She's 7 & still sucking on her thumb.
Personally, it's already screwed up her teeth & she's getting braces.
She doesn't do it at school & not in front of her friends. She is self conscious of it & gets that it would warrant teasing from other kids.
So while she wants to stop, nothing I do will make her do it. I ask if she wants help & then we do the bandaids, etc. I made the decision to let it go.
This is what it was like with Jordan, my 9 year old. She would stop from time to time for a week or 2 after using bandaids or the Yucky nailpolish. Right before I got p/g with Peyton, when she was 6 1/2, I bribed her with an American Girl Doll. She stopped for about 2 1/2 months. They day we told her about the baby, she stuck her fingers in her mouth and they have been there since. She too, will not do it at school or with friends. But she walks in from school washes her hands and puts them in her mouth until she leaves the next day for school
ETA: she no longer has a desire to stop as she did in the past
Message edited 7/8/2010 2:38:49 PM.
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| Posted 7/8/10 2:37 PM |
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MrsBurtch525
Year for change!
Member since 1/09 6017 total posts
Name:
Taryn
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Re: Anyone able to stop their child from sucking their thumb?(NEED HELP PLEASE)
Posted by Bops
My SD is 12 and still sucks her thumb ooccasionally and is now wearing braces because of it ...She only does it when she is going to sleep though...
They do sell some icky tasting stuff to put on their thumb and One Step Ahead has some contraption that we never tried..
IMAGE
Try a mitten
She might be a little young for it, but what if you fill a jar with coins ( or jelly beans or whatever) and mark off different spots on the jar with "special toy". goodie, fun place.....Take a bean out whenever you see her thumb in her mouth and whatever the jar is still filled up to by the end of the week-she earns it....Leave the more special stuff marked off on the top of the jar and smaller at the bottom
This is a wonderful idea!!
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| Posted 7/8/10 3:26 PM |
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mommyIam
Member since 7/09 9209 total posts
Name:
Shana
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Re: Anyone able to stop their child from sucking their thumb?(NEED HELP PLEASE)
I have another suggestion but your DC may be too old for it. I caught DS doing this when he turned 3m. I really don't like the idea of children sucking thumbs, I much prefer they use a paci if they absolutely have to have something.
Every time he would stick his hand in his mouth. I find a toy and very briskly, stick a paci in his mouth and toy in his hand. He soon forgot how to suck his thumb. But still stick his hands in his mouth when teething, but out of desperation because he can't get teething toys in his mouth easily on his own.
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| Posted 7/8/10 3:36 PM |
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CunningOne
***
Member since 5/05 26975 total posts
Name:
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Re: Anyone able to stop their child from sucking their thumb?(NEED HELP PLEASE)
Both my kids were thumb suckers. DS stopped on his own around 16 months. I think he had a cold and found it hard to breathe and he just stopped!
When my DD started sucking her thumb, I figured we'd have the same luck! Umm, No way! She sucked her thumb a lot! She just turned 4 and a few months ago, I wrote it down on my list to discuss again with the pedi on ways to get her to stop. Nothing was working. On her 4th birthday, I took her to get her nails done. I told her she could get a manicure if she didn't suck her thumb. On the way home in the car, she told me her polish was messed up - yes, you guessed it, she sucked her thumb on the way home.
Then I don't even know when she stopped, I just realized one day that I hadn't seen her thumb sucking  I didn't ask her about it, but I watched her like crazy. When she cried and at night for bed. No thumb sucking! So about 2 weeks after her 4th birthday, she just stopped all on her own. And hasn't gone back yet!
Sorry I can't offer advice, but our pedi always said they just stop when they are ready and she must have been ready!
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| Posted 7/8/10 5:41 PM |
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