Thumb Sucking Problems

My son is 3 1/2 and sucks his thumb. It is getting less and less, so rest assured. Everything I have read says it is not worth trying to stop before age 4 due to all of the emotional/developmental changes children go through while young. So ... I have a challenge right around the corner, huh?! :)

Anyway ... He too used to end up with severely dry, cracked skin. When it got really bad I would use the ointment that mothers actually use for cracked nipples from breastfeeding. It was suggested to me because that is formulated so that it is not harmful for baby (or child). I can't remember what it is called because it has been some time since we had to use it, but they kind I bought came in a purple tube.

Now from time to time we use baby aquaphor healing ointment. He doesn't suck his thumb nearly as often, so the worry of him ingesting it isn't as big at this point.

Good luck!

Back when my son was younger, he was a thumb sucker... He's 11 now. His thumb would get dry and scaley. I put caster oil on it. It helped alot, safe if he did put it in his mouth, and made his skin softer again. He didnt like the taste, and soon his thumbsucking stopped.

My son just recently quit sucking his thumb, and I think it was because the orthodontist scared him (sort of intentionally/unintentionally). I tried everything, but like you mentioned, nagging/bribery/talking to doesn't work. Our dentist told us that it had to be his decision for it to stick. I started telling him that I wasn't going to let him play with friends because I didn't want him touching them with his germy thumb, and I told him not to hold my hand if he had it in his mouth. Those tactics didn't work either. I finally had to make an orthodontist appt because his bottom teeth weren't meeting the top ones. He told us that it was due to his thumb, and he told my son that he had an abnormal thrust to his tongue from sucking his thumb for so long. He told us about this thing called a tongue crib (I think another mom called it a cage) that would train his tongue to stay back, but he had to stop sucking his thumb for it to work. Otherwise he had to have surgery to realign everything. My son stopped that night (back in December) and now he has the tongue crib which looks a little bit like a retainer. His teeth are starting to close the gap and the orthodontist says that everything is on track. He'll have to wear this for a few more months probably, and may need braces in the future still. Sorry this is so long, but I just wanted to stress that while thumb sucking is usually innocent and can go away on it's own, if it continues too long it may result in some mouth trouble. Now, in your case, she's too young to understand all the grossness, so keep putting lotion all over it every chance you get and maybe she'll eventually outgrow it like most kids.

my daughter is almost 3 and still sucks her thumb. Last winter her thumb got so bad that it looked like raw hamburger meat! It was so gross but she didnt care she kept on sucking it. The dr told me that if it bothered her she would let me know and stop sucking it and not to worry about it. The only thing I found that worked was letting her wear gloves. I would put the lotion on and then gloves on and she would let it be. I would also try to distract her everytime I saw what she wanted to do. We would color or play hand games. It worked long enough to let her hand heal but unfortunaly I didnt have enough time to keep up on her to give it up all together. I hope this helps and goodluck!

HI T.! As a former/reformed thumb person and the mother of one that did and two that didn't I can tell you that your right, you can't stop it at this age and shouldn't try. Use a baby friendly lotion for now when you think she needs it...even a light coat of vasoline or chapstick will work. Don't get the flavor kind though! As she grows older (around the age of 3-4 if she is still sucking) encourage her gently to keep her thumb sucking to her room. PLEASE don't do the ucky stuff on the thumb...it doesn't work! Nagging, yelling, bribing....won't work. If she is still sucking by the age of 9 ask your dentist about a "cage". This is an appaliance they can put in her mouth to train her tounge to stay in the proper position while at rest and will make it impossiable for her to suck her thumb. Most dental insurance will cover at least half the cost of this up to a certian age (in our case 14) and it works really really well and quickly. They usually leave it in for about 6 months to make sure that the child won't "regress" and start sucking again as soon as the cage is removed. If you have any more questions or just want to talk futher just leave me a message here and I'll be happy to talk to you more about it since I have been on both sides of the thumb!! Best wishes

T., We used a product called a thumb guard. Ordered it directly from their website at ThumbGuard.net. That was 4 years ago but it worked great. After a month my son quit sucking his thumb altogether. Although we did have 2 moves in 2 years so he had started again. We are back at it and he is not very happy about wearing it but I know it will be better for him. The earlier the better to stop this habit. Now that he is older it is more of a challenge. I hope this helps. I looked up the website it is $67. Well worth the money.
L. R

My daughter ended up cutting her thumb so we had to put a band aid on it. She wouldn't suck her thumb as long as the band aid was on there so we made sure to keep one on for a few days. By the time we stopped, she had no interest in sucking her thumb any more. Unfortunately, she still chews on her blanket...eww.

My one son is 4 and still sucks his thumb - only when he is tired and falling asleep. My other son is 5 1/2 and sucks his two fingers - only when he is tired and falling asleep. We have tried to get them to stop, but figure they will stop when they are ready. They don't do it in public, just at home when they are ready for bed.