How Do I Get My 2 Year Old to Stop Thumb-sucking?

2 is a good time to start weening her from the thumb. My daughter really struggled with this and didn't stop her night time sucking until she was 6 or 7. The dentists were going to have her wear an appliance at night and didn't think she could stop on her own. She did have a severe open bite and has finally had her braces off (temporarily) after 3 years of wearing them. Yes, this was caused by the sucking (I think she was also sucking her thumb in the womb :) We prayed together about it, and I asked her permission to remind her if she was doing it (it really doesn't work to nag). I came up with a silent signal (a thumbs up and I'd tap my lips with the thumb) and she'd get the hint...she wanted to stop. At night she'd tuck her thumb under the pillow, but by morning it had worked its way back into her mouth. The final blessing that helped her conquer it, was a severe head cold and she couldn't breath if she was sucking her thumb at night. It took care of the problem and the dentists were amazed and happy to skip that part of the treatment plan and we were happy not to have to pay for it. You know what your daughter responds to. Go with your insticts. And Good Luck!

Have you taken her to a pediatric dentist? They can tell you if the thumb-sucking is really affecting her teeth and can give you a guard to help her lose the thumb. Both my kids are thumb-suckers. Our pediatrician said that kids usually ween themselves off by age 4. If I can't understand what my kiddos are saying, I asked them to take the thumb out of their mouth.

Good Luck!

I would suggest you not focus on it. All of my aunt's children sucked their thumbs at bedtime, they tried everything known to man and nothing worked and they all have great teeth. The child is stressed and when the stress diminishes, so will the thumb sucking. No point in adding to her stressors.
My daughter -no braces, perfect teeth- is 38 and was a champion thumb sucker. My in-laws told her she couldn't visit if she sucked her thumb so my husband took the other two and she and I went on an adventure. People will criticize. Stand up for the kid. Kids are oral at this age and if that works for them, I say great. Would that we all had such stress relief at hand.
Ignored it disappears, focused on it becomes another stressor thereby increasing the need for thumbsucking.

If at 3 she is still a champ, you might ask her to suck her thumb in her room as she must be tired. They will limit it to bedtime. Based on our experience with our daughter, we gave our son a pacifier. It was never allowed out of the bedroom and we lost it the morning of a trip and he never missed it! so they can give it up. you will see her doing it less, that is a good time for a kitty or some other stress reducer.

My daughter sucked her thumb also. Right before her third birthday we ordered a product called Thumb-Guard online. It worked like a charm. She wore them for 30 days and when we removed them, she was cured! It is a product worn on the thumbs attached with a plastic bracelet which is changed daily. Yes, they can still put their thumb in their mouth, but it does not form a suction when they suck, so it doesn't give them the satisfation they are looking for. Two of our friends tried it also and loved it. You might want to look into it...Good luck.
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Not exactly the same but I'm in the same boat. My youngest son still takes a pacifier at night (still sucks for self-soothing). I took him to the dentist at age 2 and the dentist said the damage was basically already done and would need braces (as most kids do), so not to bother taking it away yet. I guess I've let him keep it because when he doesn't have it, he sucks his thumb. I have a cousin who sucked his thumb. His upper front teeth protruded a good amount due the damage caused by his thumb-sucking. I know of some adults who still suck fingers... There are some things you can put on her finger to make it taste bad, but if she wants it bad enough, she'll lick until it doesn't taste bad. Or, she'll switch fingers. I would talk to her pedi or a dentist. If it goes on, I would see a therapist, that's what we're doing. Good luck I know it's a tough things to deal with. We want our babies to be happy and self-soothed, but at what cost? I figure he would probably need braces anyway, so no he'll probably for sure need them.

This is one that I tried and it worked for me, every time I saw him doing this I would take it out. When I checked on him at nap time and at night I again would take it out. This seemed to help and he stopped on his own later. Good luck.

I was always told that he would do it when he was ready but I could help it along by talking about being a baby versis being a big boy. Does she have a blanket or stuffed animal that goes along with the thumb sucking? If so try to ween her off of that. My son had a blanket that I started reducing down to him only having it for bed time. We eventually packed them up because he was a big boy. It wasn't until he was about 4 but it was something we built up to. Several months before his birthday we started talking about how when he turned 4 he would be a big boy and only babies used blankets so a day after his birthday we packed them up and put them away. My suggestion is to completely get rid of them because every now and then he'll find one and want to keep it and sometimes he gets upset when I tell him no and make him put it away. Then I have to find another hiding place. He hasn't sucked him thumb since and he's now 7 1/2.
Good Luck

I agree with the other posters - talk to your dentist first. At this age, they really still need to be able to self-soothe. You don't need to worry about the tooth issue until she's older and her permanent teeth are coming in. My 3.5 old still sucks his thumb when he's tired or sleeping. My dentist is happy that he's knocked it down to nighttime only and says most kids stop on their own by age 5. You still have a long ways until then.

She must have a very strange sucking position because my daughter sucked her thumb until she was about 13 and it certainly did not effect her speech. She did have to wear braces, but not because of the thumb sucking. When I asked her dentist about it, he said not to worry. If you try any of the products that go on the thumb to make it taste bad, just be very careful. I tried one with my daughter when she was about four and it made breathing hard. Have you talked to her dentist about it? That's what I suggest.

My youngest son was a big thumbsucker. His dentist said it wasn't a big deal for a while and that it wasn't affecting his teeth yet. (he was about 5 then). I tried to talk him out of it, encouraging him to be a big boy, rewards, etc. Nothing worked. What did work? The dentist said "I would like you to stop sucking your thumb as it will eventually affect your big boy teeth when they come in. (he was about 5 1/2). He stopped cold turkey. Very surprising!

I don't think you have anything to worry about at this age but if it is a concern for you and you think it is effecting her teeth and speech, take her to a ped dentist.

The good news is that the thumb-sucking will not permanently affect her teeth at this point. There are a lot of old wives' tales out there, but the fact is that until her permanent teeth come in, you're in the clear. Unfortunately, I have absolutely no idea how to get her to stop but I would recommend avoiding any of the more traumatizing methods such as hot pepper, sauces, etc. Have your spoken to her pediatrician for suggestions? I'm sure there are some books on the subject. Brazelton is one of my favorite authors and he's written on almost every subject. Good luck!

Hi S.,
We also have a 3 yr old son that had the same issue. In my opinion you really can't do much. They will eventually grow out of it. My son stopped sucking his thumb from one day to the next. He would suck his thumb whenever he would watch tv or was in the car. Like I mentioned he stopped relying on the sucking and he looks so grown up (he is our baby). Don't worry your child will stop eventually.

Good luck,
Elisa M

My 2 year old sucks his thumb too. We recently took him to a pediatric dentist. He said that as long as he stops by the time he's 3 or 4 the damage should reverse itself, and even if he doesn't it's easy to fix the problem he's creating. He said it's virtually impossible to make them stop at this age. If we wanted to try, he suggested just gently telling him not to, but not pressing the issue. I've decided to let it go, at least until all of his teeth are in. I think he needs it to sleep when his mouth is hurting.