Stopping Thumb Sucking

My friend's daughter just quit at 5, and she said the only thing that worked was her daughter deciding it was time to stop on her own.
One friend gave her daughter a flashlight in bed so she could hold that and fall asleep. She was allowed to turn it of if she wanted to.
I have heard of doing a really big prize like a party, trip or new bike if they stop for one month.
I have binky suckers and that was always a lot easier.

Brooke Romney is an unbalanced mom of three young boys who constantly has too much to do, and too little time. She writes the Mom Beat column for The Gilbert Republic.

It was a behavior pattern that we could not break. My daughter did not completely stop until braces at age 8. She never wanted sleepovers because she was afraid she would suck her thumb in her sleep. The ortho put a contraption at the roof of her mouth and within a week no more sleepy time thumb sucking.

What about a reward of a getting a manicure together since she is a big girl now? Maybe she would be less likely to suck her thumb if they look really pretty.

My sister-in-law just went through this with my neice who just turned 7 and they tried all kinds of things and ended up putting tape on her thumbs at night to get her to stop.

When we were little my parents used that bitter nail polish that you can put on fingernails to get people to stop biting them. It is not harmful but tastes kind of gross.

Hope you find something that works! I have a 2 year old that we are going to have to break of that habit soon enough!

I personally had all my children use a pacifier when they were little because I had difficulty as a child with thumb sucking. My parents did everything to try to get me to stop and I continued to plead that I had to do it to go to sleep. I can not remember exactly what changed, but I do remember being embarrassed about it and not wanting others to know. I do know that once I wanted it badly enough, I just stopped. I am sure she will do the same in no time at all.
In dealing with this experience, I found that allowing my children to have a pacifier made things so much easier. They each stopped using it before they were two years old and there did not seem to be the same attachment issues that I had had when sucking my thumb.

JuneSlager is a discussion leader for arizonamoms.com, raising three children (ages 15, 14, & 11) in Northeast Phoenix.

We had a very difficult time convincing our daughter to quit and her teeth are separated as well. Our dentist told us that unless we were able to get her to stop by 6 that she'd have dental issues. She was about 7 1/2, I think, when she finally stopped.

We tried rewards, begging, pleading, taking her to the Dr and having him talk to her and show her pictures of what would happen to her teeth, pulling it out of her mouth while she slept, having her brother reminder her, etc. Oh, it was so difficult!!

What finally worked was we bought nail polish designed to curb nail biting. (I want to say it was called Bite Stop or something like that. You should be able to find it in any drug store). We had to be very consistent and paint in on every other day (the instructions tell you how often to use it). We got the idea because she was old enough (!!!) to tell me that her thumb "tasted good" and that "it was salty." So, that's why we tried the polish. It took about 3 weeks.

Good luck! I know it's incredibly frustrating.

Mouse_tales is a discussion leader in the East Valley for arizonamoms.com. She is a business owner, community volunteer, and aspiring runner (whew!), who most enjoys her roles as wife & mom. Her children range in age from 4 to 13.

I know when i was little i sucked my index finger. My parents tried so hard to get me to stop. But honestly. i didnt stop until 2nd grade, and i only stopped because i got ortho. work done and wasnt able to anymore.

for my cousin to stop my uncle would tell her not to and he would go in her room in the middle of the night and check if she was, and if she was he put hot sauce on a bandaid on her fingers (poor girl)
I dont think that is right at all and can never imagine doing that to my son, but thats just what they did to get her to stop.

Thanks for many helpful suggestions. We will try them!

However, telling me that I should've used a pacifier instead of letting her suck......well, she started at 4 weeks old sucking her thumb. I had bought her pacifiers before she was even born, sterilized them before the birth and everything. Offered one multiple times every single day from the hospital until over 3 months of age. After 14 weeks of trying to interest her in one, on a daily basis, I gave up. I don't think anyone could/would have done any better.

The reality was/is that some kids don't like pacifiers. As her mom, I wasn't going to change that about her preferences. She is a thumb sucker. It wasn't about me learning I should make a better choice next time around.

I actually remember being bummed at her 1 month birthday that she was a thumb sucker...thinking the pacifier would have been so much easier!
Oh well.....

But I'm super grateful to receive some ideas about how to stop. Perhaps we'll visit that ortho sooner than later!!

Happy2BMommy, is a stay-at-home mom who just turned 40 (argh!) with a 6 yr. old daughter and a 4 yr. old son, and is a discussion leader for arizonamoms.com living in Scottsdale.