9-Year Old Thumb Sucker.?

Question

I have this friend that has a 9-year old boy. He still sucks his thumb. It primarily only happens when he is getting sleepy. We have no idea how to break it. Especially when in the middle of the night it automatically goes in the mouth. I know she has tried to wrap it and I believe she has soaked it in vinegar as well. Any other suggestions?

Answer 1

My sister still does and she's 18. My cousin does too and she's 14.

Answer 2

I used to do this but when I did, my dad would tell me to get it out of my mouth and I listened. That's what broke it for me.

Answer 3

Talk to his doctor. Thumb sucking can harm his teeth and make his teeth fall out, turn yellow, and more serious things. It also is bad because he is putting germs in his mouth. You need to speak to his doctor before it becomes even worse. You don't want a 15 year old sucking his thumb with no teeth.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

Nothing you can do really, my mom sucked her thumb till she was 12, then one day she just stopped....just give it time

Answer 5

There is a finger nail polish that you can put on there nail and it will be like a little spicy hot when they put there thumb in there mouth.....my mom tried it on me, it didnt work though:) Its worth a try on him!

Dont worry h**l outgrow it eventually!(especially when girls become a BIG intrest!)

Answer 6

i wouldn't worry I'm 11 and i still suck my thumb and my mom is well old and she still sucks her thumb!!!!!!!

Answer 7

im 22, 39 weeks pregnant.. and i still suck my thumb

Answer 8

Clear fingernail polish will help and spending time with the boy in social activities. Boosting self confidence and helping him know he can be independant. When I was a littl egirl I us to suck my finger and found out a lot of my friends sucked their fingers too secretly at home. relatives use to say " you  are going to get married withthat blankie aren't you?" But I stopped eventualy and he will too! he might become a smoker or nail biter instead though. LOL! JK.

Answer 9

well first of all don't ever soak his finger in vinegar (it takes his breath away)

but a child uses sucking there thumb very much the same way an adult uses smoking when stressed or scared a child will suck there thumb as a security blanket so to speak

you really can't do anything just let him be he is literally addicted to sucking his thumb

Answer 10

I made my daughter a thumb sucker shirt. She hated it, but it worked well.  I sewed a pair of one size fits all gloves onto a turtleneck and made her sleep in it for a few weeks.  It kept her from sucking her thumb in her sleep, and broke her of the habit.

Answer 11

When I was 5 my mother told me I had to stop before I started school. I wanted to be a big girl so I made myself stop. Just give him a goal like I had. Like 5th graders don't suck their thumbs, so now you need to work on stopping. I'm sure he'd like to quit, if other boys find out at that age they can be horrid.

This way he has time to work on the issue. It worked for me, no pressure from anyone just a goal.

I'd talk to him about it first and find out how he feels.