Thumb Sucking...

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mummytobesep08 Members Profile Find Members Posts Senior Member Joined: 04 February 2008 Location: Christchurch Points: 654	Post Options Post Reply Quote mummytobesep08 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Thumb Sucking... Posted: 26 January 2011 at 9:44am
	2 and a bit years ago, DD 'found her thumb' and fell in love with it. I didn't encourage it, nor discourage it, but secretly thought it was quite cute. Now? Not so much! Her teeth are started to get a bit damaged from it, with the top teeth being pulled forward and the bottom ones being pushed back. Argh! How do you go about getting them to stop sucking their thumbs? I have said a few times to her that it's just for sleep time but whenever I mention it, she immediately pops in her thumb and gets annoyed if I talk to her about not doing it, so I wonder if that tactic is just not gonna work. Any tips, advice, or your stories would be greatly appreciated!
	Angel babes '07 & '10- <3 <3

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EmDee Members Profile Find Members Posts Senior Member Joined: 01 January 1900 Location: Waikato Points: 4407	Post Options Post Reply Quote EmDee Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 26 January 2011 at 10:43am
	I have 2 thumb suckers (and I think it's very cute in babies too). My oldest is 4 and a half and I've found that he mainly sucks his thumb when tired and when he has his 'blanky'. Our rule is that he only gets 'blanky' at bedtime and this has minimised the amount of time he is sucking his thumb (though it still happens if he is tired or bored). Does your DD have a 'blanky' or special toy that might be associated with thumb-sucking? I was also a thumb-sucker and didn't stop until I was 8 or 9. Nothing my mum did helped to stop it completely any earlier. DS also has an extra tooth pushing his teeth out of alignment so we are already prepared to have to fork out for braces anyway! Not sure if any of this helps, sorry!
	DS 8 DD 6 DS 4 DD 2

busymum Members Profile Find Members Posts Senior Member Joined: 01 January 1900 Location: New Zealand Points: 12236	Post Options Post Reply Quote busymum Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 26 January 2011 at 2:53pm
	I have the same thing here. One suckles two fingers with no probs. Another used to have a dummy as a baby but was weaned early and has suckled her tongue since then (I know that sounds weird, but it's long and she doubles it over). No probs with that either. Then the next one curls over her finger knuckle and that is causing issues with her teeth buckling. She associates it with blankie use as well, and we have also limited that only to bedtimes. I considered putting her onto a dummy, even though she is 4 now, but it may at least give her something to suckle which is correctly positioned. But I'm not sure of my chances of breaking the habit. I used to suck my thumb until I was 12. My top front teeth are a little forward but that's just cause I have a small mouth, there's nowhere else for them to go.


MummyFreckle Members Profile Find Members Posts Senior Member Joined: 08 February 2007 Location: Auckland Points: 4120	Post Options Post Reply Quote MummyFreckle Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 26 January 2011 at 5:32pm
	We have two adult thumb suckers in my immediate family and a 3yr old finger sucker too! The adults have had no problems with their teeth at all, one had a "plate" as a teenager to correct a slight overbite, the other nothing. I should stress that they both have lovely teeth. I am not worried about DS sucking his fingers - I would rather that than a dummy as this age. He will grow out if it! ETA - I dont think its so bad when its their baby teeth anyway - I guess its a real concern if its their "big" teeth and they are starting to look wonky! Edited by MummyFreckle


mummymonster Members Profile Find Members Posts Senior Member Joined: 11 September 2009 Points: 849	Post Options Post Reply Quote mummymonster Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 26 January 2011 at 7:30pm
	My sister's daughter is 8 and a thumb sucker, it's damaging her teeth, and the top palette. From what my sis tells me after the orthodontist appointments - apparently not all thumb sucking is equal, different techniques = different levels of damage. Sis now wonders if she should have given her a dummy. A few years ago she tried that yucky tasting finger nail polish - the one to stop kids biting their nails. It made the child sick and she never tried it again. Now my sis is tring the 'ignore it and it will go away' technique, TBH that's not working either but that's another story. My DS is 1 1/2 and a dummy sucker - haven't found the strength to do battle of removing it yet.


mummytobesep08 Members Profile Find Members Posts Senior Member Joined: 04 February 2008 Location: Christchurch Points: 654	Post Options Post Reply Quote mummytobesep08 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 28 January 2011 at 10:47pm
	Thanks for the advice! DD has a favourite toy, Raffie the Giraffe, and the thumb automatically goes to the mouth when she cuddles with him. He usually goes everywhere with us but maybe if I try and keep cuddles with Raffie just for bedtime, that might reduce the amount of time that thumb is in the mouth! I guess once she's older too it will be easier to explain to her that it's not good for her teeth...maybe...or she might ignore me lol. Yea I wanted to stay away from those gadget things (like the nailpolish- eek that's scary that it made her daughter sick!) til I've tried other stuff first...I just didn't have any idea of what that might be. I'll try the thing with Raffie though
	Angel babes '07 & '10- <3 <3

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