Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 1755 Location: Essex, England
Thumb Sucking!! Posted: 07-09-07 07:00am
So .Lucas turned 3 in .May and he is a
hardcore thumb sucker!!! My last son had a
pacifier and at 3 it was quite easy to
make him understand that he didnt actually
need it anymore and it was gone within a
few weeks. Oh my .Lucas is sooo different.
I dont want to stop it just yet as the
baby is due in 4 weeks and I think putting
him through giving up his comforts at this
time would be cruel but I need some ideas
for the future.
He goes to playgroup 2 mornings a week and
after summer break in september he will
start going 4 mornings. This is when I
plan to start trying to break the habit!!
He has his blanket too, which (in
september) I am going to keep to the
bedroom, So (apart from if hes sick or
going on long day trips) he just has it at
bedtimes. How do I stop the thumb
though??? I cant leave this upstairs too!!
I truely have no idea how to stop him!!
Any advice would be hugely grateful!
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oh_mommy
Supporter
Joined: 04 Sep 2005 Posts: 3727 Location: vancouver island, bc canada
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Posted: 07-09-07 13:03pm
im sorry i cant help much.. but i use to
suck my thumb until i was like 12.. my
parents tried to get me to stop but you
cant really, i mainly did it at night
thou..
you could try taking his thumb out of his
mouth and say yucky or something and tell
him its bad or something
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mamaTT
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 03 Jan 2007 Posts: 2020 Location: Illinois, USA
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Posted: 07-09-07 13:11pm
I'm not sure how to help either. My
stepdaughter will be 5 at the end of the
month, and has just started sucking her
thumb!! Yep, you read that
right...J.U.S.T .S.T.A.R.T.E.D. Anytime I
see her with her thumb stuck in her mouth,
I pull it out and tell her she's too big
to be doing that. She is going to be
starting kindergarten in about 6 weeks, so
I hope she stops before then.
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AyaMiyaki
Especially EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Jun 2006 Posts: 8330 Location: Floating on a cloud, United States
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Posted: 07-09-07 13:11pm
My daughter is a thumb sucker too. I had
originally planned on starting to break
her when she hit 1, but now that she's 11
months I know she's too young to
understand. I was thinking of trying it
when she was a bit older, maybe around 1
1/2 or 2?
Hearing about .Lucas makes me kind of
nervous for .Alyvia though... let me know if you
find something that works for him!
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young Girl
Especially EHEALTHy
Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 13932 Location: everythings better in, texas USA
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Posted: 07-09-07 13:18pm
make a chart or something and everytime he
goes a day without sucking his thumb put a
check mark
if he gets X amounts of checkmarks then
tell him he gets a reward like an ice
cream cone or a happy meal or something
taht will make him want to stop
maybe taht will work?
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arcadia
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Joined: 06 May 2006 Posts: 4470 Location: Illinois,
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Posted: 07-09-07 13:19pm
gabe already sucks his thumb like a maniac
& he's not even 4 months old
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AyaMiyaki
Especially EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Jun 2006 Posts: 8330 Location: Floating on a cloud, United States
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Posted: 07-09-07 13:30pm
arcadia
wrote:
gabe already sucks his thumb
like a maniac & he's not even 4 months
old
krissy krissy krissy krissy krissy!
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Jolie_3110
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 1755 Location: Essex, England
Posted: 07-09-07 13:56pm
the reward charts a good idea thanks, the
only problem is though alot of the time I
dont think he realises he's doing it, if
he gets tired or watches some t.v in it
goes. hmmmm. this is going to be a hard
one.
My health visitor thinks I should just
leave it and he will top himself as he
gets older esp. as hes a boy and realises
its not exactly a cool thing to do!
I dont want to leave it though, I am
worried about his teeth and jaw. He
already has a big overbite where his top
jaw is in front of his lower. I have
consulted his dentist on this and she
seemed to think it wasnt so bad as long as
he had stopped before his secondry teeth
come through, as often this sorts out the
problem. Maybe I am worrying to much?!
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AyaMiyaki
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Posted: 07-09-07 14:07pm
Maybe you could put a bandaid on it every
day? That way, when he's tired and it
slips into his mouth, he'll immediately
notice and take it back out? Or, I don't
know, something like that?
It doesn't always affect the teeth's
development, my boyfriend's sister has
sucked her thumb all her life & she
has beautifully straight teeth. I think
the thumb she sucks is slightly smaller
than the other one though
*edited to add, I didn't post this to
scare anyone, the person I'm referring to
has sucked her thumb for 23 years, so it's
bound to do *some* damage after all that
time.
Last edited by Zanny on 07-09-07 17:40pm; edited 2 times in total
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rasuyoung
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 17 Jan 2006 Posts: 464 Location: Long Island, NY
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Posted: 07-09-07 17:23pm
I don't have any advice, because I sucked
my thumb till I was 11! Yes, I had
thousands of dollars worth of orthodontic
work done, but it was because my mouth was
too small and my teeth were crowded. Btw,
the thumb I sucked is the same size as the
other one. My parents didn't
pressure me to stop sucking my thumb and
I'm grateful they didn't make an issue of
it. I stopped when I was ready to. I don't
think I would have stopped sucking my
thumb even if my parents had tried to get
me to. I understand you being worried
about his teeth and jaw, but he's not
hurting anyone and it's a great source of
comfort for him. With the new baby coming
(congrats!), worrying about him sucking
his thumb is probably the last thing you
need.
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oh_mommy
Supporter
Joined: 04 Sep 2005 Posts: 3727 Location: vancouver island, bc canada
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Posted: 07-10-07 13:47pm
hmmm... have you ever heard of the stuff
to stop biting your finger nails? maybe
put that on his thumb so it taste
horrible?
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Eyes Wide Shut
Especially EHEALTHy
Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 7892 Location: *UPTOWN*NEW ORLEANS*, La
Posted: 07-10-07 14:03pm
oh_mommy
wrote:
hmmm... have you ever heard
of the stuff to stop biting your finger
nails? maybe put that on his thumb so it
taste
horrible?
my mom did that to me. it was a clear
liquid. One night, I woke up, and poured
it down the drain and replaced it with tap
water. I was 7 at the time.
I was 9 when I stopped and have an
overbite because of it. it's not severe,
but it's there.
thumb sucking is something I refused to
let .oni start. it's just sooo much harder
to break than a noonie!
Sarah
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Jolie_3110
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 1755 Location: Essex, England
Posted: 07-10-07 14:21pm
rasuyoung
wrote:
I don't have any advice,
because I sucked my thumb till I was 11!
Yes, I had thousands of dollars worth of
orthodontic work done, but it was because
my mouth was too small and my teeth were
crowded. Btw, the thumb I sucked is the
same size as the other one. My parents didn't
pressure me to stop sucking my thumb and
I'm grateful they didn't make an issue of
it. I stopped when I was ready to. I don't
think I would have stopped sucking my
thumb even if my parents had tried to get
me to. I understand you being worried
about his teeth and jaw, but he's not
hurting anyone and it's a great source of
comfort for him. With the new baby coming
(congrats!), worrying about him sucking
his thumb is probably the last thing you
need.
lol, you make me sound like an pushy
parent!!
I would never pressure .Lucas to do
anything and I dont think I am really
making an issue of it. I was just looking
for a few ideas, I think the reward chart
and just abit of general encouragment are
probably what we will do. We would never
just whip his comforts away from him, as I
said after september he can keep his
blanket to his bedroom, this isnt taking
it away this is just adjusting him to the
fact he is growing up and doesnt need it
all the time!. He needs to learn to cope
without it because at playgroup he cant
have it to hand all day!!.
I have no issue with children such as
yourself being left to decide for yourself
when enough was enough, I sucked my thumb
till I was... pretty old too !!
but to be honest I dont really want lucas
doing that. If I was talking about a
pacifier I bet people would be horrified
if I talked about letting him have it for
as long as he wanted to. Whats the
difference with his thumb??. Plus if I
thought it was going to be a huge problem
I wouldnt do it around the time the new
baby was born
let me know if you
find something that works for him!
My parents didn't
pressure me to stop sucking my thumb and
I'm grateful they didn't make an issue of
it. I stopped when I was ready to. I don't
think I would have stopped sucking my
thumb even if my parents had tried to get
me to. I understand you being worried
about his teeth and jaw, but he's not
hurting anyone and it's a great source of
comfort for him. With the new baby coming
(congrats!), worrying about him sucking
his thumb is probably the last thing you
need.
!!
but to be honest I dont really want lucas
doing that. If I was talking about a
pacifier I bet people would be horrified
if I talked about letting him have it for
as long as he wanted to. Whats the
difference with his thumb??. Plus if I
thought it was going to be a huge problem
I wouldnt do it around the time the new
baby was born 