I have three children (a three year old and two year old twins) who ALL suck their fingers. Their dentists told me i needed to break that habit. We have tried everything from olive oil to Pepper (they LIKE hot stuff) to putting socks over their hands (they pull it off no matter how I attach it). I am running out of ideas. This is why we tried doing pacifiers when they were infants and they never wanted to take them.
So any one have any hints?
Thanks everyone for the tips. I am consistently worried about their teeth not only did their dad have to have braces, but so did my sister. I know its not hard on them, its hard on our pocket though!
We have the boys to the point that they only suck on their fingers when they are tired or when they are upset. Celina (the 3 year old) only does it while sleeping.
I just want to make sure that I am doing the right thing by them!
My daughter was a thumb sucker - I told her that her thumb was dirty and covered in germs (she'd been outside playing) and not to put that dirty thing in her mouth. I meant until she washed her hands, but she thought I meant forever...
It worked.
YMMV
LBC
There is this colroless nail polish it is very bitter tasting, it is made specifically for this. paint all of their nails with it and keep putting it back on until they cant stand it anymore. you can find it in a lot of places. Last resort go to a nail salon and ask them alot of them carry it even for adults who bite their nails. Also at their age they understand punishment and reward. try telling them whoever doesnt suck their thumb today gets a .......you fill in the blanks. in our house good behavior gets a star and when you get 10 stars you get to go somewhere special. Nothing big or expensive just an extra trip to the park or a place with slide or something. Everytime you get 10 you recieve a happy face 10 happy faces=100 stars that you have earned. That is a bigger treat. We go to the zoo or something like that. But I have a 2 year old and it works for him and his older sister. Good luck I hope that at least one of those things helps.
V., My daughter has sucked her thumb from 3 months old. She had no interest in a pacifier. I've had many people tell me, "Oh, sorry she sucks her thumb, it will ruin her teeth." as well as two dentists who have said that until she has permanent teeth it's not a problem.
I've told her over the years that she'll have to stop soon, and that it will be a hard job for her to work on. She has tried a few times on her own without my prodding, and we worked for her 8th birthday as a goal for quitting. (She only sucks it to fall asleep.) I have the advantage of a sister in law who tried everything I'd ever heard of as well as many things I'd never heard of to break her daughter's habit of all day thumb sucking, even at 9 years old. She said that the only thing that finally worked is a gadget called Thumb Guard. It's a plastic sleeve that you attach to the hand with bracelets like you get at a waterpark. It's expensive, but she had the good fortune of picking one up at a rummage sale dirt cheap. It comes with an instructional video. It seems to be working for my daughter right now.
I work on visualization with my daughter. I tell her that her thumb sucking is a comfort to her and helps her relax, so when she can't suck her thumb because of the Thumb Guard she should close her eyes, and breathe deeply through her nose and think about things that make her feel safe and happy. You can't do this with a 3 year old.
I wouldn't worry. You'll only cause stress for both yourself and your little ones if you take this comfort away from them, and as a mama of 3 under 4, don't you need all the peace you can find?!? Personally, it's a battle I would not choose to fight because of the small consequence it *might* have on their future smiles.
My girls (3 & 2 yrs) both sucked their fingers from an early age. The dentist told me to not worry about it until they are about 3 because at that point it can affect the way their permanent teeth will come in later. I guess the permanents follow the path of the baby teeth and will come in "bucked". So, we went in stages with my older daughter. We found she did it most when holding her "blankie". First thing was to make it so the blankie could only be in bed and not packed around. We just told her blankets were for bed, not packing around. She was totally fine with it and pretty much immediately stopped finger sucking during the day. After a couple of weeks of that, we started to work on breaking her of doing it while sleeping. The only thing we could do is tape gloves on her. I know that sounds mean, but we got long Hello Kitty gloves that she thought were cool and put them on over long sleeve pajamas. Then ran some masking tape around the sleeve & glove. Not tight of course, but she couldn't pull the gloves off that way. She never cried or seemed bothered by the gloves. We explained to her that it was to help her stop sucking her fingers because having her fingers in her mouth was hurting her teeth. She seemed to totally understand it and never once said that she didn't want the gloves. It took a good 2 weeks to fully break the habit. We tried not putting the gloves on her at nap time after only a week but she put them in her mouth in her sleep and didn't even realize it. So we kept the gloves around for another week and checked on her at nap and she's been perfect ever since. We have not tried to fully break our 2 year old yet. She only does it at nighttime and we are letting her have that "comfort" for as long as possible, but when it's time we will try the same thing with her.
Socks worked for us, with the treat of discipline if he removed them.
Hi V.,
I know a great pediatric dentist, Dr. Stafford, of World fo Smiles in Beaverton. She has a liquid called Mavala that goes on the nails like paint and stops thumb sucking.
Look into that product. If you're out of the area, your dentist may be able to find it.
R. Magby
Have you tried the nail polish for preventing thumb sucking? When kids put their fingers in their mouth its really bitter. My friend did that with her kid years ago and she stopped.
in the baby section at rite aid, i saw some stuff you put on their fingers that tastes icky
Since all of these ideas are kind of negative learning...try something positive like Thumbuddy To Love. It is a thumb puppet that comes with a book and success chart and kids love it! It teaches them to be a big boy/girl.
Give it a try. my kids loved it! You can get it on Amazon or http://www.Thumbuddytolove.com
bandaids on the finger worked for my son.
I use to work for a pdiatric dentist and NO NEDD TO WORRY AT THIS AGE! I have a 3 and 4 yr old who sucked their fingers-my 4 yr old has stopped on her own completely approx 3 months ago and I see my 3 yr old weening back-JUST LIKE ANYTHING ELSE THEY WILL DO IT WHEN THEY ARE READY NOT WHEN YOU ARE! The more u push the worse it is-the more they rebel-THEY WILL STOP!!!!!!! Just encourage DONT DISCOURAGE!!!!!!!!!!! L.:)
V.-
Thumb and finger sucking with the little ones is a form of comfort. You might need to find another "comfort" for your darlings. BTW Mama, my hat's off to you--three under three. YIKES! My son was 8 before he stopped and was only motivated to do so due to a dental accident. He was told he would lose his reimplanted tooth if he did not stop. My not-so-little-anymore guy was adopted from an orphanage where there were no binkies and blankies. Yes, braces are in his future, but I could not find anything that he would accept as an alternative form of comfort. He now chews on his fingernails and cuticles. YUCK! I think I'd rather see him sucking his thumb. (Not really, but what a gross habit.)
S.
