I have a 7 yr old & she still sucks her thumb. She only does at night but it drives me nuts. ?

Question

Is there anything out there to buy to make her stop? Or any other advice?

Answer 1

I totally agree with what the other responders have said. I wanted to give you a different prospective though. I was the child that sucked her thumb for a very long time! The first time my mother ever saw me I was sucking my thumb. I am sure if they had done an ultrasound they could have caught me in utero sucking it! (Ultrasounds were after my time! LOL!)  I can remember my mom trying everything to get me to stop sucking it starting at Kindergarten age. She put hot sauce on it. I got up and washed it off. She put something from the pharmacy on it that was supposed to taste bad but I loved it! She even tried a sock on my hand... I took that off. She tried a splint where my arm wouldn't be able to bend... I cried and sucked the other thumb! It didn't "taste" as good but it soothed me. I think I was around 10 when I finally quit. Even when I slept over at someone's house I sucked my thumb until about that age... My daughter was a pacifer baby although I tried to get her to suck her thumb. My theory was if she needed to comfort herself it was as the other poster said built in! She would scream blood curdling murder if we lost a binky! I remember very vividly how awful it felt to be nagged about something that was so natural to me. I only sucked my thumb when I was tired... and my daughter got so that she only wanted her binky when she was tired. BUT because I remember what it felt like to have something taken away and going through physical pain with the splinting.. I refused to make her give up her binky... and everyone yelled at me for it! But she stopped on her own once the whole big deal and fuss about it stopped! :-)  

Answer 2

I sucked my thumb until I was twelve, and I stopped because I got braces and my teeth moved so it didn't feel the same. Mum tried heaps of things to get me to stop. One of her methods was putting Tabasco sauce on my thumb, or rewarding me after two weeks of no thumb-sucking by buying a reward. There's really no problem with thumb-sucking if you're hands are clean, except that excessive sucking can give you bucked teeth.  

Answer 3

I sucked my thumb untilI was 9. She only does it at night, so she will probably stop on her own fairly soon.  

Answer 4

Think about it from her perspective-- she's sleepy and needs comfort, so she sucks her thumb. If she is only doing it at night, I don't know if it's worth it to try to make her stop. I'm not sure anything would work, and it would just create problems between you two. I sucked my fingers as a baby, and then at night until I was at least that age and I turned out OK. My parents never made an issue of it. It's nice that she has something built in that makes her feel safe. If you're worried about her teeth, talk to a dentist and she what he/she thinks. But otherwise, I'd say choose your battles!