Paisley has taken a liking to her thumb lately. I freaked out for a couple days and tried ‘redirecting’ her by removing said thumb and inserting her pacifier. This would usually work for a couple seconds, before she’d spit it out and return to chowing on her thumb again. After doing tons of research (and getting lots of advice from FB friends) I decided it wasn’t the end of the world if she sucks her thumb. Sure, it’ll be harder to break that habit than paci-suckers… (you can’t just slice her thumb off, or make it disappear overnight). But the upside is that it’s one less thing I have to keep track of. Can’t argue with a built in self-soother!
As an in-your-face gesture, my mommy posted this lovely photo of yours truly on my FB. I guess thumb-sucking is a family trait. I’m pretty darn cute, no? And check out those kicks!
Did you, or do you have any offspring, that sucks their thumbs? I’ll be asking for advice about a year from now on how to break this habit!!!
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well advice from a dental assistant. thumb sucking and binkies/bottles/fingers. GOOD. let them stear their course. however, if you care for your childs teeth, ween them from it around age two. or sooner. we have seen many a child with teeth that don’t come together in the front and these poor kids end up unable to bite food. their molars are fine but front teeth form around thier thum or whatever they suck continuously. they also usually have a very bad lisp caused by learned to talk around a binky/thumb and don’t know how to form them right with an empty mouth.
break the habit around age two should prevent future dental problems ie. braces, talking and chewing problems. thumb sucking is not an issue really,it’s how often it’s in their mouth until they are forgeting to say a word right because they’re used to talking around a binky/thumb.
i say give them their thumb until teeth and talking come around.
My oldest (now 12) sucked her thumb for a very long time, but only when she had her friend Bear. The solution for us was to take Bear away for about 6 months. This sounds cruel, and for 2 or 3 nights it was tough, but she had to have an appliance to correct her teeth due to said thumb sucking, so it was necessary. We gave him back after she was finished with her appliance, and she never sucked her thumb again.
I was a thumb sucker until I was 12!! I never needed braces and turned out just fine. But I will say, I did worry about my kids wanting to do it. They never did and only sucked paci’s but it wa a VERY hard habit to break and it did prevent me from going to sleep overs and things because I was embarrassed. But in the end I am fine :). I started sleeping with gloves on and that is how I broke the habit!!
My oldest grandson (now 5) sucked his thumb as a baby and toddler. When he was just barely 3, my daughter bought a chidren’s storybook about thumb sucking. I don’t recall the name of the book (maybe she would), but it basically talked about how the thumbs get scared when they have to go into the dark space (the mouth), but the book tells the story in a kind way…not scary way. My daughter read the book to Ethan ONE time and he stopped sucking his thumb. It was amazing how that book affected him. Certainly no guarantee it would work that well for every kiddo, but it sure did for him.
I have 6 kiddos 3 were tumbsuckers and 3 were not. I found that my first tumbsucker only sucked her thumb when she had her baby doll. So when she was 5yrs. old we took her baby doll away and she stopped sucking her thumb. We gave the doll back to her 6 weeks later and she started sucking her thumb again so we took the doll away and gave it to her for her 6th Birthday and that is how it ended. As Paisley grows look for why she sucks her thumb is it boredom, tiredness, when you find the reason try taking it away so she sucks her thumb less and less. My second thumb sucker wasn’t as easy to find why she sucked her thumb. So when she turned 4yrs. Just like a soother we talked about when she turns 5yrs. she needs to stop sucking her thumb. Her reasoning is she needs 5 fingers to hold up for her age and she couldn’t hold up 5 fingers if one is in her mouth. LOL Anyways she stopped when she turned 5 every once in awhile we would catcher and reminder she was 5 and she should stop and she would take it out of her mouth. Now we have our 3rd thumb sucker and she is 3yrs. so we’ll see. I can’t get her to potty train so I’m pretty sure I have hit Grand parenting in my parenting skills she probably won’t be as easy as the first two. 🙂
My second daughter had a pacificer until she was two years and one-half years old. When she was three, I started working parttime. She went to the babysitter where all the kids there sucked their thumbs. Guess what? She took that up! She continued to suck her thumb until kindergarten when she quit on her own. I was totally confused how to handle this one so I just let her figure it out. She had figured it once before so I was hoping she would do it again! She was one for the books!
My son just started on his thumb too and he is 5 1/2 months. I did the same thing you did at first and then came to the same realization you did after a few days. Great minds think alike, aye? 🙂
All three of my babies have sucked some part of their hands. My oldest it was her middle two fingers, my son it is his middle two on opposite hand, and my youngest sucks her thumb. My oldest quit sucking her hand when my youngest was born 2 1/2 years later. We have tried everything to get them to stop and I can’t have another baby to get my son to stop. I finally gave up trying and I hope they will quit before Kindergarten.
I was a finger sucker… For way to long. I would go to the dentist & he would tell me it would ruin my teeth when I grew up, I didn’t care.
What made me stop, was when I went to the doctor & he told me I couldn’t wear my pretty nailpolish if I was going to suck my finger.
I stopped that day.
= )
My little Brady was actually trained by her NICU nurses to suck her fingers…babies need to be able to self soothe. She did continue on for about a year and a half. Then one day we were looking at her baby book, came across a picture of her sucking her fingers, and wondered- when did she stop doing that? My nephew sucked the same two fingers, and gave it up just as easily. NO WORRIES OR MOMMY GUILT ALLOWED on this one 🙂
I was a thumb sucker, my daughter was a thumb sucker. Far longer than age 1 or 2! She was such an easy baby. She broke the habit herself. She does not need braces, I did not need braces. She did not suck her thumb in public and handled it well, except she kept it longer than I wanted her to. In hindsight, it does not seem like a big deal. I think checking in with the dentist to see if she is affecting her jaw is good, otherwise enjoy the blessing. Beth
I sucked my 3 middle fingers on my left hand until I was about 6 and cut my index finger. Then it went down to the other 2 fingers until I was 12 or so. I have no memory of anybody trying to stop me ever and I eventually grew out of it. 🙂
I was a thumb sucker. Until I was 9! In my defense I got leukemia at age 7 so I think that prolonged my need for it.
Now all three of my children were suckers too!My oldest now 10 quit around age 4 on his own with no prompting. My two girls ages 5 & 7 are still sucking. The seven year old is more concious of it in public now and talks about quitting all the time. I don’t pressure them. I turned out fine =)
It was much easier as infants and toddlers to have a thumb sucker imo. I had friends call me in panics looking for paci’s that got lost or left behind. I never had to deal with that.
I also never had braces, I have perfectly strait teeth. My view on it is that there are millions children each year who get dental work done who never sucked their thumb! So there. Off my box now =)
She looks ADORABLE sucking her thumb!! Ahhh!!
My baby girl (8 months) is a thumb-sucker and the first one of my three girls. I tried to get her to take the paci, too, but apparently the thumb is so much better! I’m loving it for right now but it is going to be so hard to break! Everytime someone sees her sucking her thumb they tell me how old so and so was when they stopped! I’m just going with it- what can you do?!
Uh, thumb suckers don’t always give it up on their own..my brother sucked his thumb till the day he left for Navy boot camp!! But at that point, he only did it when he was really REALLY into a tv show or something.. My husband was a thumb sucker(gave it up on his own around kindergarten)and my son is also a thumb sucker. He’s now 7 and has given it up almost completely…except for when he’s really REALLY into a tv show;)
my daughter is a thumb sucker or should i say was she broke herself at age 2! don’t let ppl hate on you for letting her, i got it all the time its so annoying
DON’T worry!! Thumb suckers just one day give it up without any intervention from their parents at all. She looks absolutely precious!
Our older two girls were binkie girls, and Anna (6 mo.) surprised me with being a thumb-sucker…and to my delight, it has meant MUCH more sleep for me since I don’t have to go fishing for binkies in the middle of the night under the crib! So at this point, I am very PRO thumb 😉 but, like you said, I’ll be listening in on the advice you get in a year to ditch it! 😉
i was a thumbsucker. My mom didn’t force me to break the habit, but it just happened on its own around starting preschool. Eventually she’ll find other ways to soothe herself and she’ll let it go on her own. thumbsuckers sure are cute!! i think a thumb is way cuter than a paci in a babe’s mouth! 🙂
HA! good catch Cassidy… i fixed it 🙂
I think you mean you *can’t* just slice her thumb off 😉
I was a thumb sucker and so was my dad but apparently it skipped my little man.
Those pictures are precious!The look on Paisley’s face is precious like “See Mom this isn’t so bad.”