Thumb Sucker - Depew, NY

hey, here's something she might love, and it makes her feel grown up, and may stop her! nail polish!!!! it's a fun way of trying to prevent it, because she will see how pretty her nails are, and if she sucks her thumbs, it'll wear off quickly, and she might enjoy the way it looks, and admire her nails instead of sucking the thumb. secondly, if you get the cheap nail polish, it usually tastes pretty nasty, thus making her not want to suck the thumn so much.

HELLO, S.
I HAVE A NIECE THAT USED TO SUCK ON HET THUMB AS WELL, AND FOR THE LONGEST TIME, MY SISTER TRIED ALL SORDS OF THINGS, AND NOTHING WORKED, UNTIL SHE TRIED THE BANDAGE TRICK. SHE RAPPED A BANDAGE AROUND HER LITTLE GIRLS FINGER EVERY DAY, AND BECAUSE IT FELT WEIRD, SHE DIDN'T LIKE IT. MY SISTER EXPLAINED TO HER THAT FROM SO MUCH SUCKING ON HER FINGER, SHE HAD GIVEN HERSELF A BOOBOO, THAT ONLY MOMS COULD SEE, AND THAT THE BANDAGE WOULD REMAIN ON HER FINGER, UNTIL THE BOOBOO WENT AWAY. SHE WENT TROUGH OPNE AND A HALF BOXES OF BANDAGES, BUT THE CHILD STOPPED SUCKING ON HER FINGER. I'M NOT SURE THAT IT WORKS FOR EVERY CHILD, BUT I THINK IS WORTH THE TRY... DON'T YOU???
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR LITTLE ONE, AND BE WELL.

Hi there. My daughter has had two habits that i have had to address. She is 5 and when she was 3 had a terrible habit of twirling her hair which is fine except she liked to twist until it pulled out. I was frustrated but found online a site that said not to punish but to restrict the behavior to one area of the house. So that second I called her into the computer and told her it wasn't a problem that she twisted her hair but needed to do it in the downstairs bathroom only. Honestly..it worked, she went in 3 times in two days and has never done it again. She is also a finger sucker since she was 3 months old. That has been a battle but the same concept worked, she is only aloowed to suck her fingers in her room. The only time i have to remind her otherwise is when she is stressed or tired. I know the frustration and I'm a nurse so the germ factor is huge with me but she will outgrow it in her own time and I have since realized there are more things to worry about that will far more affect her then sucking a thumb or finger. Best wishes

Morning S.,

I know you want the thumb-sucking to stop. You feel she's old enough and of course the thought of all those germs going in her mouth. But, to be quite honest she will stop when she's ready. This could go on for a few more years and one day she will just stop. The need and desire will no longer exist.

But, I will warn you trying to make her stop by telling her stories, using remedies to put on her finger, covering it with bandaids, punishing her because of it, etc., etc. will only increase the desire to continue. Your best bet is to say nothing, do nothing, and let her get over it in her own time.

Give your daughter my best as a fellow previous thumb-sucker. :)

S. - Thank you for the ideas of the worms. My son sucks his thumb every single second. It's so frustrating as he is 3.5. He drools so much it gets all over his face and shirt. So sad. Please ANYONE respond to us!
Thanks

Well Welcome to the club my daughter is four years old and she sucks her index finger. It all started at about four months old when I took away the pacifier. She started sucking her thumb and i was horrifired that it would continue. I put little baby mittens on her hand while she slept and she cried all night. I tried giving her the pacifier back but she didn't want it. Eventually as time passed she took off the mittens and started sucking her index finger.And as she got older I told her as many stories as I could. I used thumb nail polish, aloe vera, vinegar, and nothing worked. she would suck her finger anyway. So you just have to try and ignore it maybe she'll grow out of it.