Thumb sucking can be difficult habit for a child to break. Understand what you can do to help your child stop sucking on their thumb.

Thumb sucking is a common habit among children. At some point tough, you might think, “Enough is enough”. Here’s help encouraging your child to stop.

Why do some children suck their thumbs?

Babies have natural rooting and sucking reflexes, which can cause them to put their thumbs or fingers into their mouths- sometimes even before birth, after 15 weeks from conception. Because thumb sucking makes babies feel secure, some might eventually develop a habit of thumb sucking when they’re in need of soothing or going to sleep.

How long does thumb sucking usually last?

Many children stop sucking their thumbs on their own, sometime during the toddler years- between ages 2 and 4. For kids who continue to suck their thumbs, peer pressure at school usually ends the habit.

Remember, though, even a child who’s stopped sucking his/her thumb might revert to the behaviour when in stress or anxiety.

When should I intervene?

Thumb sucking isn’t usually a concern until a child’s permanent teeth come in. At this point, thumb sucking might begin to affect the roof of the mouth (palate) or how the teeth line up. This is more likely to occur if a child sucks vigorously, as opposed to passively resting the thumb sucking can cause problems in baby teeth.

What can I do to encourage my child to stop thumb sucking?

A. Talk to your child about why this habit is bad. Talking alone won’t help to break the habit, but can be helpful for the child to decide that he/she wants to quit. Positive motivation to quit is half the battle.Some things to talk about with your child includes:-

1. Germs: thumb and finger sucking spreads germs and makes people sick.

2. Teeth: sucking pushes teeth forward and can make you look funny, and then you might need braces.

3. Teasing: other kids will think you are still a baby or might tease.

4. Speech: As long as you suck your thumb, it is hard to learn how to speak the right way. You might sound funny.

B. Youtube: Sometimes kids just really need to hear about bad habits from someone other than mom or dad. Youtube is a cheap and easy way to make your kids understand and know about what could be the end results of their habit.

C. Chewelry: Jewelry that you can chew, or chewlry, is a good substitute to help a toddler stop the sucking without losing the true pleasure they get from oral stimulation. There are many options in many colours on Amazon.com and other sites.

D. Find your child’s favourite thumb sucking times: Watching TV and sleeping are two common times when kids fall back into their sucking habits. If night time is a problem, try putting socks on hands before bed and attaching the socks to pajamas sleeves with safety pins. If watching TV is a problem, try turning off the TV for 5-10 minutes every time a child is caught sucking.

E. Reward: Provide lot of praise and positive rewards for success. At first, praise and reward for every hour he/she goes without sucking. Consider setting alarm or reminder on your phone.

F. Bad tasting nail polish: These products are primarily intended to stop nail biting, but many people find they help with thumb and finger sucking too. There are many different brands, don’t stick to one, as the pungent taste could be accustomed after few days.

Advantages with nail polish-

1.       Affordable

2.       Clear, quick drying, with little mess

3.       Effective reminder for the kids who are motivated to quit but need a reminder

4.       Hands-free- no obstruction or annoyance like with gloves or devices

5.       They areprivate- no one needs to know that you are wearing yucky-tasting nail polish

G. Plastic thumb or finger covers: Dr. Thumb, Dr. Finger, and TGuard are the leading brands of plastic thumb or finger covers. Highly rated and kids can’t get them off. If you keep them on for about two weeks, your child will have kicked the habit.

The problem with covers are that they inhibit hand use, making it hard for kids to play or feed themselves. To overcome this problem simple thumb/finger gloves can also be used. They are less expensive.

Can the Dentist help?

A dentist knows what are the worse effects of thumb sucking, like, changes in teeth, palate, tongue, speech, and facial profile.

For some kids, a chat with the dentist about why it’s important to stop thumb sucking is more effective than a talk with mom or dad. In other cases, the dentist might recommend a special mouth guard or other dental appliance that interferes with sucking.