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My ds-6 sucks 2 of his fingers, and dd1- almost 5 sucks her thumb. I am trying to get at least ds to stop. We have tried putting a sock on his hand, but he takes it off during the night and sucks his fingers. I have noticed that he does it when he is tired or bored.We ask him to take his fingers out and he does but 2 minutes later he does it again. Any advice on how to get him to dtop for good?
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My son is a thumbsucker (19 mo.) I'm not having him quit yet, BUT...I was a thumb sucker when I was little. I think I quit when I was 4 or 5. My parents were encouraging me to stop at that time.
I think I wanted to stop (which is key) so I did not have a problem in the day time. My trouble was that I would suck thumb at night while sleeping. First I gave my parents my favorite stuffed animal saying he made me suck my thumb. But, I still could not stop. So, what we did next was we took one of my Dad's shirts (which was huge on me) ...we tied knots in the sleeves of the shirt and then I wore that a few nights. I found it to be quite comfy and eventually quit sucking my thumb!
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I used something simliar to this. I don't know if this one works.
I used something called STOP.
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My 13 yr old has been sucking her thumb when she sleeps since she was a baby. I don't think she will ever stop.
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I have the same problem my son is 3 yrs old and hasnt stop, I purchased thumb and it didnt work. It is getting bad that he is pushing his teeth forward and his dentist says he might need braces. I will keep my fingers crossed to finding a solution
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I was a thumb sucker, and what worked for my parents (inadvertently at first) was that I got a cut on my thumb & Mom put a bandaid on it. I wouldn't suck it with the bandaid on it & they noticed that, so my Mom just kept putting bandaids on it for a while (even after the cut was healed) until I was over the habit. My youngest son (just turned 1) is a thumb sucker too, but we're not to the point of having to try to stop him yet.
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Originally Posted by Happymom
My 13 yr old has been sucking her thumb when she sleeps since she was a baby. I don't think she will ever stop.
That was me. I stopped when I lived in the dorm at college!!
Now, dd suckes her thumb and ds use a paci. I hope to have dd stopped by the time she starts pre-k & I plan on taking the paci away between 15 & 18 mths. I hope it works.
I'll keep checking back for ideas! Good Luck!
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DS1 does it when he is bored/tired/sleeping, just the thumb. He is 8. His teeth are a disaster. DH and him have quite the battle of wills over it.
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We are trying to get our 3yo dd to stop sucking her thumb because it is affecting her teeth. We've tried the bandaid thing, my dh even put hot sauce on it for a while (then she started liking hot sauce). Yesterday I started a new tactic - I hung up a piece of paper and ever time we catch her without her thumb in her mouth we get to put up a sticker. She is pretty excited about it now... hopefully it will work. I don't want her beautiful smile to be ruined.
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I sucked my thumb until I was six and still had even teeth. My dad tried all kinds of cruel things. To this day I cannot stand the smell of Tobasco. Imagine sleeping innocently and waking to either a burning mouth or eyes. DON'T DO IT - IT IS CRUEL!
It is possible that those w/ teeth moved forward could be predisposed to it - I'd asked my dentist about it.
My feeling is to just leave it alone. There are worse comforting measures out there. My sister used to rock herself to comfort while digging in her side.