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Thumb-sucking - Giving up the thumb

It’s happened. Your child has discovered that sucking her thumb is even better than her favourite stuffed cat and Winnie the Pooh blanket when it comes to comfort. She sucks her thumb while falling asleep, while watching TV, when she’s scared, when she’s upset. And maybe up until now it hasn't been an issue, as she was only using it for a few minutes at a time to soothe herself, but now you’re thinking it's time to try to cut this habit out. While it’s perfectly reasonable to want your child to stop, it might be good to know that some of the perceived dangers of thumb sucking might not be based on fact.

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Featured

 Don’t Worry Too Much About Your Little Thumb-Sucker

Babies who soothe themselves with their fingers are champion sleepers, and dental problems often self-correct.

 Thumb sucking is like crack for kids…..

When kids suck their fingers and thumbs, turns out there’s a bit of a Chemical Party that happens, and boy is it pumping! All of these dudes called Dopamine, Serotonin and Endorphins rock up and create happy chilled little person who you can barely get any sense out of they’re so zonked out!

 Thumbs up

You shouldn't let her do that," said a short, round woman as we were leaving the hardware store. "Thumb-sucking is bad for her." My protests were silenced with a dismissive "You'll learn." Well, I haven't. Two years on, my seven-year-old daughter is still sucking her thumb, and I'm still defending her right to do so. So what is it about thumb-sucking that makes perfect strangers feel at liberty to admonish someone else's child and, occasionally, even to try to prise the guilty thumb from an infant's mouth?

Articles of Interest

A Thumb Sucking Action Plan

I have a newly turned 6 year old daughter with a pretty major thumb sucking habit. She started sucking her thumb pretty much as soon as it’s even physically possible to do that, and my husband and I were all “Awesome! No more lost pacifiers! Sleep for us! Win!”, and at that point, it was. But here we are 5 and a half years later and now we’re worried about permanent teeth and braces and long term consequences, oh my.

Busting Common Myths about Thumb Sucking

When it comes to thumb and finger sucking, everyone seems to have an opinion. So let’s dive into busting some of the most common myths surrounding thumb sucking habits in children.

Does Thumb Sucking Damage Teeth?

Many parents are concerned about damage to a child’s teeth from thumb sucking. Even those who have helped their children stop thumb sucking remain worried about the long-term effects on oral health. The good news is that research shows, that damage to teeth can be stopped, and even reversed, but proactive action is needed.

My 3-Year Old’s Thumb Sucking Drives Me Crazy

My daughter is 3 and has sucked her thumb since she was an infant. She does not do this while playing or otherwise active, but during any quiet activity (i.e., listening to a story, watching TV, or during circle time at school), the thumb goes right in, as it does to help her go to sleep. She also twirls her hair, sometimes with the same hand that she’s using to suck her thumb, sometimes with the other hand, and sometimes with both hands! It drives me insane.

My Son Won’t Stop Sucking His Thumb! Which Would Be One Thing if He Were 4, but He’s 12.

I need advice on a clear parenting fail that we don’t know how to rectify. My son is a thumb sucker—which isn’t the end of the world, except that he’s almost 12. Yes, we should have dealt with it earlier, yes to all the things we should have done instead of thinking he’d grow out of it (or peer pressure would end it). I sucked my fingers as a kid, and I’ve mostly tried to be sympathetic, but at some age I think it’s not unreasonable to have at least some concern.

Scientists Discover One Surprising Possible Benefit Of Thumb-Sucking And Nail-Biting

The first thing I think of when I see a thumb-sucking kid old enough to ride in a front-facing car seat--that would be age 2 or 3, at least--is pity for the parents, who could be facing a whopping orthodontia bill in a few years. So an intriguing new study on the subject got my attention. Turns out thumb-sucking, not to mention that other popular finger-in-mouth habit, nail-biting, might actually have a previously unrecognized benefit:

The Unbearable ‘Cuteness’ of Thumb Sucking: things every parent should know about oral habits, mouth & face development

Thumb finger and ‘dummy’ or pacifier sucking is an age-old habit that many young children have. By way of clarification; pacifier is the US term and ‘dummy’ is the Australian term, for the same object. Thumbs fingers and dummies are not the only things, some kids go to lip, tongue, hair and clothes sucking, in fact any pattern of behaviour like this lands under the banner of ‘oral habit’.

Thumbsucking: Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

I want to give you peace of mind as a speech-language pathologist and a mama of a thumbsucker myself. Don’t worry about your baby thumbsucking…YET. Many children will stop on their own, whether from peer/sibling influence or just growing out of the habit. However, if you are a mama like me with a nearly 4-year-old thumbsucker, then it’s time to make a plan. Around 4 years old, it does become very important to stop thumbsucking to avoid the long-term consequences. So when the time comes to eliminate thumb sucking, stop twiddling your thumbs and make an elimination plan. Here are some of the important things to include:

What did I Learn About Thumb Sucking at Uni?... Oh, That's Right, Nothing!

It’s no secret that dental professionals know A LOT about facial structure and our technical skills really are incomparable. I mean, we can drill into a tooth by simply looking at the reflection of a mirror the size of a thumbnail, reduce a kid’s anxiety by singing them 400 Disney songs, all the while still somehow managing to keep the field of vision free of blood and saliva. That’s not an easy feat. Since our extraordinary multitasking skills and technical capabilities give the circus a run for their money, you think we’d be able to give advice on something as simple as thumb or finger sucking … right? Unfortunately, not.

When should you worry about your child’s attachment to comfort items?

Many parents will feel a twinge of concern if their five-year-old can’t sleep without his dummy or their teenager refuses to throw out the tattered blanket she’s had since she was a baby. The topic of comfort objects is hotly debated, with some arguing that the attachment to objects from babyhood is childish, unnecessary or even harmful.

Resources

Thumbsie

Approved by the Oral Health Foundation, Thumbsie®, multi-award winning and UK market leaders, design and manufacture fabric, fun & comfy thumb & finger guards to stop children thumb sucking.

Thumbsucking Professionals

At Thumbsucking Professionals, we have BIG solutions for little smiles… Thumb and finger sucking is a cute little habit… for a while. But as many parents know, prolonged habits can eventually lead to bigger and more expensive problems…. don’t worry! We got you!