What is the best way to get my 7 year old to stop sucking her thumb.?
Question by Richard F: What is the best way to get my 7 year old to stop sucking her thumb.?
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18 Responses to What is the best way to get my 7 year old to stop sucking her thumb.?
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just keep tellin her no. n to get them out of her mouth..I have a 14 yr old who only suck’d his 2 middle fingers when he was small….n wait he still does..n he twirls his hair too..I have to remind him to stop..
devil_queen_biatch14
November 27, 2013 at 8:11 am
I would think maybe covering her thumbs with something could sort of stop it, but doesn’t have the best chance of working. Or, you can put something in her hand, maybe a lollipop, but she might like it to much. Maybe just stick somethign healthy in her hand and she’ll be okay.
vtnp v
November 27, 2013 at 8:14 am
Dude when i was little they put hot sauce on my thumb which taught me not to and that actually stops kids doing that.
C
November 27, 2013 at 8:20 am
I sucked my thumb until I was 12
I am now 19… and honestly I have been told that i do in my sleep sometimes
She will stop when she is ready. Don’t force her
if you didnt then u dont understand. its a sort of security…
its like a comfort… be supportive..
she wont do it in school when she is picked on… if she does it home just ask her why… but dont MAKE her stop… leave it be…
and if u are worried about teeth… i have perfect teeth… and i never had braces… it has no affect on the teeth..
you wish you knew me
November 27, 2013 at 8:29 am
I sucked my thumb till I was 7. They tried it all, bandaids ( which I took off), bribes, painted yucky stuff on my thumb (I washed it off). What worked, my mom gave me a back rub every night until I feel asleep. I feel asleep without my thumb in my mouth and a new habit was formed. It takes two weeks to form a new habit.
noellemt
November 27, 2013 at 8:51 am
Wrap a bandaid around her thumb and put a little bit of tobasco sauce on it. Just the reminder of the bandaid being there with the sauce is usually enough to remind them not to suck it.
bio mom
November 27, 2013 at 9:35 am
It is really difficult to break that habit as the kids tend to do that in their sleep. There is a product that has been on the market for years, it looks like nail polish but non-toxic…you just paint it on the thumb and it tastes terrible. Some kids respond to that, others don’t. Some dentists will install a wire retainer of sorts to make thumb-sucking uncomfortable, if not impossible. Again, kids find a way around it in their sleep and literally pull out the dental appliance that you spent a lot of money on. Then there is another group of kids that will continue to suck their thumb until it becomes socially unacceptable and peer-pressure makes them stop. It is not that uncommon, actually, and kids will usually stop when they are good and ready. Punishment and bribery just doesn’t work at all and only results in frustration. Most childhood behaviors such as thumb-sucking, bed-wetting, etc., disappear before they hit their teens. You could try introducing an orthidontically correct pacifier for night-time to try and save damage to the teeth if that is your biggest concern. The behavior itself will go in its own time.
$1200 mistake
November 27, 2013 at 10:16 am
show her a picture of a child with buck teeth,and ask her do you want to look like that?because this is what happens to a child who constantly sucks her thumb.seven years old is too old to be sucking the thumb.
MUMBLES MAMMA
November 27, 2013 at 11:06 am
Please! when ever you find a working answer to this thumb problem please! email me my almost 7 yrs old still suck her thumb too!!
Devon T
November 27, 2013 at 11:10 am
Let her outgrow it.
Sage
November 27, 2013 at 11:19 am
DEAR SIR
DOES IT BOTHER YOU SHE DOES THIS? JUST LOVE HER WHILE SHE IS LITTLE AFTER SHE GROWN SHE
ETHER GONE TO COLLAGE WITCH YOU WILL PAY BIG BUCKS FOR ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT SHE WANTS TO BE ? IF SHE DOES NOT GET A SCHOOL
SCHOLARSHIP’S ARE MARRIED AND A REALLY BIG WEDDING LIKE 30 THOUSAND DOLLARS WITH BIG
LIMOUSINE’S 7 LEVEL CAKE 3500 DOLLARS DRESS 900 PERSONS TO FEED SIR PLEASE RENT STEVE
MARTIN IN THE BRIDE MOVIES WHERE HE WAS IN JAIL FOR TELL EVERY ONE HOW MUCH IT COSSETTED FOR
HIS LITTLE GIRLS WEDDING NOT TO BE CRUDE RUDE HEART LESS HURT FULL ARE ANY THING I AM NOT LIKE
THAT I AM A VERY GOOD RAISED YOUNG MAN WHO ALSO SUCKED HIS THUMB TOO JUST LEAVE HER BEE
AND RENT THE MOVIES ASAP OK. FATHER OF THE BRIDE PARTS 1,2 OK
TAKE CARE
styree
November 27, 2013 at 11:31 am
put hot sauce on it
Aisha o
November 27, 2013 at 11:34 am
Something that might work would be a sticker chart. For every day she doesn’t suck her thumb (and get her teachers involved too) she gets a sticker on the chart. At the end of the week if she has at least 5 stickers she gets a small treat, such as an extra half-hour of TV or playing outside. Don’t make it a food treat though because that could cause other problems later. At the end of the month you could celebrate with perhaps a video of her choosing or a special outing. If she knows she has something to look forward to by not sucking her thumb she might give it up for good.
Pink1967
November 27, 2013 at 12:08 pm
since she is in school and u cant be with her all the time just keep band aids on her thumbs and when she goes to suck them it will have a horrible taste and she will remember that mom says NO SUCKING THUMBS
h2o
November 27, 2013 at 12:42 pm
Here are some tips from the American Dental Association
1) Praise children for not sucking, instead of scolding them when they do.
2) If a child is sucking their thumb when feeling insecure or needing comfort, focus instead on correcting the cause of the anxiety and provide comfort to your child.
3) If a child is sucking on their thumb because of boredom, try getting a child’s attention with a fun activity.
4) Involve older children in the selection of a means to cease thumb sucking.
5)The pediatric dentist can offer encouragement to a child and explain what could happen to their teeth if they do not stop sucking.
6) Only if these tips are ineffective, remind the child of their habit by bandaging the thumb or putting a sock/glove on the hand at night
There are also commercial products available over the counter to make the thumb taste yucky, or you could try vinegar or something else yucky-tasting. You may have to switch occasionally though, as your daughter may develop a taste for whatever you use.
annabel1023
November 27, 2013 at 1:18 pm
i don’t know if this can apply to your kid, but a friend’s daughter who still used to suck her thumb at 5 was told by an ostheopath that she’d had a bone in her head that was not well sealed after birth, so she subconsciously tried to fix it pushing her thumb onto the palate. she had some sort of massage done to her head for some months which fixed the bones, and she gradually stopped sucking her thub spontaneously.
sounds weird, but this is what i was told by my friend.
amanda
November 27, 2013 at 1:19 pm
give her something else to suck…probably a lollipop…or a gum…she will “satisfy” her need for sucking (a sensory need)…
christina
November 27, 2013 at 1:31 pm
We’re going through this right now with our 8 year old. For all of you that say “just love your child” you don’t understand the destruction thumb sucking does on the child’s teeth, jaw and pallet. After trying all of the ones already listed, I took her to a dentist that will now fit her with a “crib.”
italiangirl
November 27, 2013 at 1:34 pm