butterflycloud Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 My son has been sucking his thumb since he was born and is now 6 years old. I have tried to paint that yucky stuff on his thumb but it doesnt seem to help- he sucks it regardless. What else could I try? Im afraid this will mess his teeth up Link to comment
Censored Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Hide it from him. It may mean severing it from his hand, but if that's what it takes............... Link to comment
rockr Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 i had this problem. my mom tied small cloth on the thumbs into so many knots i couldn't remove. she did not remove it any point of time for 2 - 3 days despite me creating hell at home as i have been told. i never sucked thumb again lol Link to comment
lizer Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 okay. now is the time to get him to stop. because i was a thumb sucker until age 12. yeah you read that right. and the only thing that stopped me was getting fake nails put on (for fun)... and for some reason, i never wanted to stick that huge ugly nail into my mouth! and then a week later, when they fell off, i never had a desire to suck my thumb ever again!.. funny story, but true. and for the record, the thumb sucking did ruin my bite. i was sucking my upper palate in. so to save yourself some money from orthadontal trips, i hope he quits soon! perhaps you could google 'stop thumb sucking'. and see what techniques people have come up with that would be more helpful to your son than fake nails. haha. good luck! Link to comment
ryan123 Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 I know this may sound cruel. But put habanero hot sauce on his thumb. My dog used to eat his fecal matter and we would put hot sauce on it to stop him and when he ate it again he snapped and started licking the grass and he never ate his poop again. And yes sucking your thumb can give you buck teeth. Link to comment
Raiden Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Hide it from him. It may mean severing it from his hand, but if that's what it takes............... Um... no. Don't do this. Like ryan suggested, put something foul-tasting on his thumb. Link to comment
ghost69 Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 tell him about the worms under his thumbnail. they eat your brain once they get inside ur body. lol. anything to freak him out. Link to comment
butterflycloud Posted January 28, 2008 Author Share Posted January 28, 2008 thanks everyone, unfortunately I cant cut his thumb off, put hot sauce on it or false nails! LOL So what can I do- Ive tried the yukkie stuff that you paint on but that doesnt seem to help. Ive even tried the stories of braces etc but to no avail- anyone else got some more ideas? Link to comment
lizer Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 i dunno. i think the worms from your fingernails that go into your brain story was pretty good. PLUS you'll save on doctors visits because he wont be putting his hand anywhere near his face which saves you from at least 80% of school illnessses. Link to comment
PixelPusher Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 My boss was telling me just the other day about her daughter and their issues with thumb-sucking. They took her to an orthodontist and he put in this "retainer" thing that can't be easily removed. It is designed to keep them from sucking their thumb. Not sure what it is, but maybe you can research it and find out? Good luck... Link to comment
lizer Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 if its what i think it is (and i had it) its called an expander. and you have a little key and you twist it to widen the upper mouth since its been 'sucked in'... no idea if its the same thing but with that said, i had both an expander/braces..AND a retainer and i sucked my thumb through all of it. ahahah. where theres a will theres a way! she really just needs to freak him out. Link to comment
thyroxine Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 My brother was a thumb sucker for a good while until my dad waited until he was sucking his thumb and then grabbed my brother's had and stuck it in the ashes bucket we had by the fireplace. He then refused to let my brother wash his thumb off. It was extreme, but it worked. I used to suck my two middle fingers when I was younger and I just stopped when I had my first sleep-over...just...poof? Link to comment
Mythical_Suicide Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 The retainer that I think PixelPusher was referring to is a retainer called a "Tongue Crib" you put in their mouth and it nearly makes it impossible for them to suck their thumb. My friend had to use one for her daughter because she was still sucking her thumb at 10 years old. It broke her habit in no time, once they get used to doing something else to occupy their time or to soothe them then they forget about it. image removed Link to comment
Robert78 Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Maybe there is some emotional reason she still wants to suck her thumb. I would take her to a therapist to find out why she wants to do this. Link to comment
butterflycloud Posted January 30, 2008 Author Share Posted January 30, 2008 Mythical suicide- thatnks for the advice and the pic. Must admist though that that contraption looks scary!! Robert78, my son started sucking his thumb from two months old so I think it has become more of a reflex reaction rather than an undelying internal issue- but perhapsI should have it checked out anyway! Link to comment
Mythical_Suicide Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Robert, Thumbsucking is more or less a comfort or security object for most kids, and that becomes somewhat of a bad habit instead of a comfort object as they get older and the older they are the harder it is to break. I don't really think it has anything to do with any underlying problems. It is just like anything, once it becomes a habit it's hard to break. I agree the retainer looks scary but honestly, if my friend had never told me her daughter was wearing it I never would have known and of course at first she was alittle weird with it because it was a foreign object in her mouth but after the first couple of days it didn't seem to bother her at all. Link to comment
RayKay Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 I was the same way...including with the yucky thumb stuff - suck long enough and the taste goes away. It does not matter whether it is hot sauce, that yucky horrible stuff.....if you WANT to suck your thumb...you will as you know the taste will go away after a bit.... For me, it was a just a matter of outgrowing it (I did around 6 or 7). Once I went to school, had friends, went to sleepovers....it just was not "cool" to do anymore. My teeth are fine; but you may want to talk to his dentist about his teeth, and some options suitable if it is a problem. Link to comment
Tears May Fall Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 they sell something in pharmacies called Thumz....you just put a lil layer of it on their fingers and as soon as they put their finger in their mouth, its a nasty taste and they will pull it out -Pharmacist Link to comment
Mythical_Suicide Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 they sell something in pharmacies called Thumz....you just put a lil layer of it on their fingers and as soon as they put their finger in their mouth, its a nasty taste and they will pull it out -Pharmacist That doesn't work for alot of kids. Most of the time they just suck on it until the nasty taste is gone. Link to comment
RayKay Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 That doesn't work for alot of kids. Most of the time they just suck on it until the nasty taste is gone. Yup, as I said...sure didn't work for me! Link to comment
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