How do I get my 8 year old to stop sucking her thumb?
Question by Melissa B: How do I get my 8 year old into stop sucking her thumb?
I have an 8 yr old that has sucked her thumb since as early in life as i can remember & twirls her hair…She says this is the only way she can sleep so we let it pass, but at present it is affecting her development teeth wise her front teeth are pushed out incredibly & starting into get crooked do into her thumb sucking, We have tried taking pictures of her doing this & showing people into stop her & tried into put socks on her hands & mittens even in warm weather, & of course we have scolded her numerous times in attempt into break her of this habit but nothing is working , we took her into the dentist & they told ehr if she doesn’t stop at present she will have a very ugly mouth & possibly be teased in the future which still isnt helping ….Any other possible ways into help please give me your opinion….I’m desperate if this doesn’t stop soon my entire pay check will go towards dentist bills.
Best answer:
Answer by spanky
give her something else into SUCK
What do you think? Answer below!
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September 4th, 2010 at 11:16 am
LISTEN LADY: U MAY NOT LIKE THIS WAY, OR THINK ITS INNOPRPITE BUT 4 SURE IT WILL WORK! SAME PROBLEM WITH MY BROTHER. PUT PEPPER, SALT, HOT SAUCE OR ANYTHING ELSE ON THIER! FOR SURE SHE WILL GET DISGUSTED. WELL I HOPE SO! EVEN IF SHE WASHES IT OFF THE SAME AND TASTE WILL HOPFULLY BE ON THIER.
September 4th, 2010 at 11:52 am
go to the drug store and buy something called THUM
its made for this exact reason..you put it on the fingers and it tastes kinda gross so hopefully it will deter your child from thumb sucking.
September 4th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
Cut her thumbs off.
LOL
Sorry, a sick joke.
Seriously, have her wear gloves. Sucking the thumb of a glove and taste awful, and can break her of the habit.
September 4th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
http://www.nothumb.com/about.html
http://www.bchealthguide.org/kbase/topic/mini/hw170183/overview.htm
Try these.
September 4th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
Ask her to suck her little finger for awhile because she’s wearing out her thumb and will regret it when she’s older.
September 4th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
put hot sauce on her thumb and tell her if she continues shes going to look like a mole rat and show her a picture of a mole rat.
September 4th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
Put something bitter on her thumb…a few times will take care of it. This is a tested Indian remedy to stop breast feeding by babies.
September 4th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
you can buy this icky stuff that paints on the nails, my mum did this for me!!! Ask the chemist I think it’s called stopbite or something like that!
September 4th, 2010 at 4:11 pm
I don’t know if this would work with an 8 year old, but I’ve heard that putting something that tastes awful in her finger would make th child stop putting it in his mouth.
September 4th, 2010 at 5:01 pm
8 years from now, she’ll be 16 and will break out of the thumb sucking as she’ll move on to bigger and better things
September 4th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
try using that no bite stuff.
or set up a reward system for not doing it
September 4th, 2010 at 6:04 pm
how about you give her a lollipop or something. Make up something like you can suck your thumb off. IDK! wait i do know! this might be stupid because i read it in a bearstean bear book when i was little. Give her a quarter every day you dont see her suck her thumb. hey it worked in bearstein bears
September 4th, 2010 at 6:06 pm
check this product out! http://www.whatshebuys.com/90312.html
September 4th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
Hi there. I can understand your frustration. I think if you really try hard to ignore the fact she is doing it and not draw attention to the habit she will eventually grow out of it. Patience I think, if you see her doing it try to distract her by asking her a question or getting her to focus on something else. Like any habit the more you draw attention to it the more it seems to persist. If in doubt or worried ask a family health nurse at the local docs surgery.
September 4th, 2010 at 6:47 pm
there is things in the store called thumb that you can use but its very hard to find..also you can try putting something hot and sour on her finger so when she puts her hands in her mouth shell learn not to
September 4th, 2010 at 6:53 pm
OMG… Do you have my daughter??? lol
My daughter is 8, sucks her thumb and twirls her hair to sleep and like you is having problems with her teeth!!
she just had a dental appointment yesterday and they fitted her for a plate that will be on her pallet to break her out of the habit.
I certainly hope it works!!!
Good Luck!!
September 4th, 2010 at 7:42 pm
Put a band aid on it. Don’t try to belittle her with pictures or scolding. You just have to explain (she’s old enough), that this is unacceptable behavior for a young lady, and she needs to stop this for her own good. The band aid will help as a reminder that she should not do this. At her age, she is the only one who can stop this.
September 4th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
this is strange total opposites…you cant get yours to stop sucking her thumb…while my husband and i MAKE our daughter suck hers whenever she is acting like a brat and wont listen…it really works too.she gets embarrased and straightens up…especially in public….
September 4th, 2010 at 8:55 pm
Hot sauce,or consult her doc.,there are ointmints you can put on her thumbs that will taste nasty to her.It worked for my niece.
September 4th, 2010 at 9:00 pm
well what i told my sister to do with her child is to rub something bitter or some kind of spice on the thumb she sucks…and once she sucks that thumb…the taste that u rubbed on will force herself to take it out and will learn her lesson after a few times of doing so…i hear she cant go to sleep without it…so give her a bear or some kind of other soft or soothing thing for her to sleep with……OR u can also tell her a little story of a girl who sucked her thumb and something bad happened…make sure the story realtes to her life and so then she will be a little frightened to suck her thumb…well thats all i got
GOod Luck!!
September 4th, 2010 at 9:23 pm
As a former thumbsucker until the age of 7, I can give some first hand experience on this. You have to find somebody who can convince her it is worth it to stop. When I was 7 my great grandma told me that I should stop because thumbsucking was for little babies. I took a few days but I just gave it up myself. Maybe I have too much willpower. I just needed the direction of the right person I think. Anyway, as far as that stuff about your teeth being pushed about, I say that is a load of hogwash invented to sell you braces and multi-thousand dollar trinkets of no use for your mouth. I never had a single tooth go crooked and as I said I sucked thumb until age 7. If you want more proof, look at a picture of Jack Lambert the Steeler’s linebacker from the 70s. Look at his missing front teeth. Notice how in his earliest years, the gap is the same as when he retired? If the dentists are telling the truth, wouldn’t Jack Lambert’s gap have slowly closed or his other teeth noticeably moved over those years? Trust me, its hooey.
September 4th, 2010 at 9:53 pm
i saw a rerun ov dr phill today and they were talkin about this subject.. his advice is.. when evr u see her not suckin her thumb.. give her a treat or a little present.. and say ur a big girl or somthin.. thats all i remeber..
i thout ill just share the wisdum
September 4th, 2010 at 10:10 pm
I was a thumb sucker, I am 60 now. I stopped on my own when I was 16. Everything my parents tried failed. The bad tasting stuff, the humiliation, the bribery, I did want to stop, I was humiliated. I did have a mark on my thumb and hated it. The teeth thing did not really prove to be true in my case. Even to this day, I keep my tongue on the roof of my mouth which gives a similar feeling. I do not think that she wants to be a thumbsucker, she just is. When she is an adult she can pay for her own teeth to be straightened. Stop worrying about it. Let time and nature take it’s course.
September 4th, 2010 at 10:38 pm
put hot stuff on her thumb and let her get a taste of that betcha she wont stick that thumb in her mouth again
September 4th, 2010 at 10:45 pm
There is a product that works very well at helping kids regain control over this habit as well as helping nail-biters too. It is called Mavala Stop and can be purchased online. My next door neighbor has tried this and it worked in less than 10 days, stopping her six year old from thumb sucking.
September 4th, 2010 at 11:34 pm
explain to her she does alot of things with her hands plays outside with toys and things that are not clean wipes her bottom (even if she washes after ) most kids at 8 yrs old still pick their noses and tell her every time she is sucking her thumb ALL of those germs are going into her mouth and she can get sick this is how i got my three yr old to stop putting her fingers in her mouth you just have to make sure you are telling her every time you see her sucking her thumb good luck ( i call it “butt fingers” sounds gross but it keeps her fingers out of her mouth)
September 4th, 2010 at 11:48 pm
Hi, i believe its a big problem for you. Please don’t spank her and don’t try to put her down before other people, its really bad and ineffective way! Try things that others suggested. If it wont help, than visit a child psychologist, she may have some emotional problem. Sucking her thumb gives her a feeling of safety. Is there something in her life that causes stress? Ask her, kids often perceive some situations that are “normal” for adults as stressful and they make them afraid. So, try to talk with her about this. Be calm, patient and empathic, her fears are REAL and STRONG for her despite they may seem stupid for you.
Good luck!
September 5th, 2010 at 12:07 am
What you do is you sit down for a heart to heart, hold her little hand in your and gently explain that if she doesn’t stop sucking her thumb, she will get raped in the night by Beelzebub. It worked for me!
September 5th, 2010 at 12:53 am
my mom wrapped my brothers thumb up in bandages. And even though he would try to take them off she was persistant. She did the same at night. It worked for her.Good luck.
September 5th, 2010 at 1:29 am
TOO FUNNY
sounds like my sister – SHE’S 44 YEARS OLD
yes, you heard my correctly. 44.
my mom tried everything (and so has she) from hot sauce to that no bite stuff for nails to the mouth plate from the orthodontist. nothing has worked. she even sucks the sand off of it at the beach. it’s no longer embarrassing to us. it’s just part of her that we all can laugh at and enjoy.
September 5th, 2010 at 1:57 am
put something bitter on her thumb
September 5th, 2010 at 2:27 am
To be honest the more you moan about it, the more she will do it, as with most things, kids will do it all the more if the know it upsets you, or it gets a big reaction, which it obviously is!
I used to do it, but I grew out of it, but every so often even now I will wake up sucking my thumb lol, it just makes me chuckle.lol.
Yes it does affect your teeth, but she is not going to understand that yet. Maybe if she has a brace fitted that in itself will stop her.
I would advise that you try not to stop her maybe she will stop on her own accord if she doesn’t get a reaction.
September 5th, 2010 at 2:47 am
first of all, take her to a different dentist and get her teeth fixed. if u have to work overtime or get a 2nd job to pay for the bill then just do it. That’s your child!! don’t complain about bills, u knew having children isn’t free. i raised kids working minimum wage so i know how it is. now i’m in a better place financially. that dentist had no business telling her she would be ugly. 2nd leave her alone about sucking her thumb, it comforts her. would you be happier if she over- ate? was bulemic? i think you should worry about other things like her emotional stability and not how she will look…
September 5th, 2010 at 2:55 am
make her keep using both of her hands
September 5th, 2010 at 3:53 am
let me tell u i suck my thumb in till i think my eighth birthday becuz i went to da dentist and got mouth piece dat will help me stop suckin my thumb and i did and den i got braces and naw my teeth r perfectly straight so i would jus go to da dentist
September 5th, 2010 at 3:56 am
there is a clear nailpolish that i think it called no bitez or something along those lines if you put your fingers in your mouth with that on it tastes horrible. you can give that a shot. or if she wants to stop you can always see if she will try sleeping with mittens on for a while. (does she keep her thumb in her mouth when she’s actually asleep? if she does you could try removing it when she’s asleep that might help too.)
September 5th, 2010 at 4:18 am
She has to want to stop too… my daughter was a thumb sucker. And together we tried different things.. When they get to a certain age, .. my daughter never wanted to spend the night somewhere for fear that someone would see her sucking her thumb. But she only sucked it at night time, so there might be a difference. After all kinds of advice, she ended up solving it on her own. She simply decided that she was not going to make her thumb accessable at night. she put a sock on her hand.. haha.. took a bit but she don’t suck her thumb anymore.