[Brandie]

Originally Posted by madcanner

Now it's becoming a serious problem, though. Her teeth are showing noticeable signs of malformation. I'm really worried about her long-term health if we don't get this stopped now, but nothing we've tried has helped at all.

One of the reasons, and I think the biggest reason, is that this is comforting to her. She does it when she's upset and when she's falling asleep. I think if we're going to stop this she's going to have to learn another way to self-soothe, but I don't know what to try to switch her over to.

What do your children do to calm down when they're upset or tired? Does anyone have any suggestions on what I could teach my daughter to do instead of sucking her thumb? (She also plays with her hair at the same time.)

I have no advice for you. My soon to be 4 year old is the same way. She sucks her thumb when she is tired, upset, sad, scared, etc.
I have strangers come up often and tell us how to fix it though @@ I know they mean well, but it is aggravating.
She has sensory issues and an oral component is part of her issues. I gave up the battle honestly. We tried several things - letting her only suck her thumb in one special chair and while she was doing it she could have no other toys; constantly remindering her to take her thumb out; telling her she could only do it at night when trying to fall asleep - nothing worked.
The dentist told us we could buy some weird appliance for like 100 dollars that would stop it, but even he thought it was a bit extreme.
I don't know. I'm laying off for a while and hoping to reapproach the subject with her soon.
Sorry I can't help more! But never fear, you are not teh only one with a determined thumb sucker out there!

[maxresonance]

As an alternative to panic about a thumbsucking child, some of you might find an 'adult thumbsuckers' site of interest:

http://groups.msn.com/adultthumbsuckers

As a writer focusing on stress-reduction techniques, I've been looking for information on the 'sleep-nursing' mouth movement that infants make.

Although not an adult thumbsucker, I do upon awakening in the morning make a point of sucking on my uvula/soft palette about 200 times. Try it. You might find it informational.

(Father of three grown sons, with 4 grandkids)

[maxresonance]

P.S. Maybe someone could try suggesting to their child to 'sleep nurse' on their soft palette/uvula while awake? I think perhaps it could be called 'pretend suck' and the parent could demonstrate. Just an after-thought.

[thadkiewel]

I found the best cure for thumbsucking. It is guarenteed to work.....For my child it was overnight. It is a guard made of soft plastic worn over thumbs...I think they have one for fingers to. More Info @ reesekiewel@yahoo.com

[Gchildren]

My wife and I were very concerned about our youngest daughter because she was a thumb sucker.

The only time that she would have her thumb in her mouth was when she was tired which was usually at night.

We talked to doctors and dentists because we could see that her front teeth were turning in. They all told us that she would grow out of this stage and her teeth would be fine. She sucked her thumb until she was seven.

So we decided to follow the advice of the professionals and let her grow out of it. The end result was that the doctors and dentists were right. And she was the only one of our daughters that was NOT recommended to have braces.

Go figure.

Waiting is such a difficult thing to do with our children. There are so many good ideas here. Pick the one that you are the most comfortable with and give it a try. Waiting worked for us but it is not always the best option.

Good luck,

John

[beth]

Originally Posted by Gchildren

My wife and I were very concerned about our youngest daughter because she was a thumb sucker.

The only time that she would have her thumb in her mouth was when she was tired which was usually at night.

We talked to doctors and dentists because we could see that her front teeth were turning in. They all told us that she would grow out of this stage and her teeth would be fine. She sucked her thumb until she was seven.

So we decided to follow the advice of the professionals and let her grow out of it. The end result was that the doctors and dentists were right. And she was the only one of our daughters that was NOT recommended to have braces.

Go figure.

Waiting is such a difficult thing to do with our children. There are so many good ideas here. Pick the one that you are the most comfortable with and give it a try. Waiting worked for us but it is not always the best option.

Good luck,

John

The same thing happened with my daughter. She was an avid thumb sucker till around 6-8. We were told all the dire stories as well. My psychology training made me think that this seemed to be a natural thing for babies and children to do, so I ignored the dentist. She is now the proud owner of a beautiful set of teeth and a lovely smile. I later learned there is no established link between crooked teeth and thumb sucking. As John says, wait and they will stop.

[Rissa812]

My 1 year old son sucks his thumb. He does it before he fals asleep annd before bed when he is cranky. We also saw him sucking his thumb in utero. One night I slept with his blanket to put my scent on it. The next night i laid him on it in his crib. He does not work all the time, but it is an idea. Good Luck!!
fficeffice" />>>