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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to try and get my son (2yrs10mths) to stop sucking his thumb?

38 replies

KatyJ26 · 20/02/2012 09:38

As above really! He sucks his thumb as soon as he sits down, so, reading, watching tv, watching other children play etc and his teeth are starting to look like he is developing an over-bite (terminology????)

He is a bright button, but also incredibly stubborn! When I try reminding him to stop, he gets really cross and says he needs 'a little rest'. I turn the tv off now when he is sucking his thumb and press 'play' again when he takes it out (but this is very unfair on my daughter!)

Hoping you lovely mnetters have some words of widom miraculous cure
Thanks in advance

p.s. have tried lots of praise etc etc

OP posts:

TroublesomeEx · 20/02/2012 09:54

Will watch this with interest.

DD is 5.5 and a thumb sucker. All efforts to dissuade her have failed thus far.

Not sure what being a 'bright button' has to do with it. I don't think thumb sucking/ignoring parents/stubborness is only the preserve of the intellectually advanced!!

valiumredhead · 20/02/2012 09:58

Leave him to it imo, you are onto a loosing streak. An over bite is when the bottom jaw is bigger than the top one. I think a thumb is less damaging than a dummy iirc as far as teeth are concerned.

PosiePumblechook · 20/02/2012 09:59

Good luck with that!! May as well try to swim upstream in boiling treacle.

valiumredhead · 20/02/2012 10:02

Oh bless him and his 'needs a little rest!'

Just leave him be OP he is self soothing!

Indith · 20/02/2012 10:10

Don't worry too much.

My ds is 5 and a thumb sucker. He doesn't really suck in the day now, just at night and lets face it there is sod all anyone can do about that! M 3 year old still sucks her thumb a lot.

Everyone seems to get told different things by dentists. Mine said it was best if they stopped before heir adult teeth came in, one can but hope! I sucked my thimb for a lot longer than that, had braces but not too much. My sister didn't suck her thumb and had far worse teeth than I did.

laluna · 20/02/2012 10:21

My dd was a thumbsucker. At the age of about 7 or 8 the dentist explained about the damage it could do to teeth development and showed her photos of braces. I wore one of the braces with a neck strap attachment when I was young and I discussed this with her, how it made me feel etc. we started off by restricting thumb sucking to bedtime only, then to actually hoint to sleep (ie not during story time). She then made a puppet out of a sock which she would put over her hand/arm at night. It had a face, name etc and it became a general bedtime comforter. It did the trick! I think this worked cos she was a little older. In some cases it is boredom/habit so keeping him occupied and perhaps restricting it this way, rather than taking away completely may help?

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 20/02/2012 10:23

YANBU but easier said than done. I sucked my fingers as a kid - my mum tried everything even putting bitter alloes (sp?) on my fingers but nothing worked. My teeth were hideous as a result and I had to have a brace to sort them out. Thankfully they are lovely now :)

Sorry, I have no constructive advice for you but good luck!

SoupDragon · 20/02/2012 10:28

Yes, you should get him to stop.

No, there is no miracle cure and it is virtually impossible to do.

[bitter experience]

Grockle · 20/02/2012 10:28

I'd leave it - if you make a big deal out of it, it'll only make it worse. I'm sure as he gets older, he'll stop or at least learn to do it in private. My DS (6) sucks his thumb only when very tired - I can't remember the last time I saw his do it actually

brandysoakedbitch · 20/02/2012 10:31

I would leave it if I were you. I have sucked my finger all my life and have nice teeth. My Dh has never sucked a thumb or finger and had braces when he was younger. Teeth and their shape are as much about heredity as thumb sucking or not. I certainly don't think making a big deal of it now is going to actually help the matter at all, generally speaking as children get more and more independent it goes to night time only and gradually they move away from it as they get older. Of course I am the exception to that rule (but my Mum really made a massive massive issue out of it always) but there we are, I am the one that proves the rule

MsVestibule · 20/02/2012 10:50

I'm 40 and I still suck my thumb!!! In bed, when I'm watching TV, when I'm MNing, occasionally when I'm driving. My older sister is also a prolific thumb sucker, and my younger sister still sucks both thumbs sometimes. I'm sure a psychologist would have a field day with our family.

When we were about 10, our parents tried bribery, blackmail and painting horrible tasting stuff on our thumbs, but nothing worked.

What does his dentist say?

lilbreeze · 20/02/2012 10:50

I didn't try stopping dd1 until she was nearly 4 and it was actually much easier than expected. Two different dentists had commented that her teeth were being affected so we discussed that with her and also talked about painting 'stop & grow' on her nails. We tried plain willpower which didn't work, then putting a plaster on her thumb which didn't work either, then she said we should buy some 'stop and grow' so I did and that was enough of a reminder that she stopped completely. We've since been back to the dentist who said her teeth have improved lot.

Having said all this, I think it only worked because she genuinely wanted to stop and took what the dentists said quite seriously. More recently we've tried using it to stop nail biting and failed completely!

Fuzzywuzzywozabear · 20/02/2012 10:54

dentist said my 6 y/o DS had to stop - Dentists can correct teeth which are pushed forward or teeth that are pushed back but they CANNOT correct teeth which haven't come down properly - dentist wasn't very helpful with methods though. We tried lots of things and in desperation used this www.thumbguard.co.uk/ it worked a treat - within 2 weeks he'd stopped during the day - within 6 weeks he'd stopped day and night

schobe · 20/02/2012 10:58

YANBU.

I was a thumb sucker and found it impossible to stop until I got my first braces. There was a plastic plate on the roof of my mouth so thumb sucking was no good any more and I stopped overnight.

I then went through over two years of painful orthodontic treatment. I am always when I meet parents who say they are encouraging their baby to suck their thumb as they are so anti dummies. So odd.

However, if they start it on their own, it's such a hard one to get them to stop. I would try the stop and grow stuff, good luck.

anniekins · 20/02/2012 11:04

Personally, I wish I'd made more of an effort to stop my son thumbsucking at an early age. He's 10 now and does it all he time he's at home, day and night (apparently he doesn't do it at school).

His dentist says "we'll just have to deal with it orthodontically when the time comes". I didn't really try and break him of the habit until he was nearly 7. I bought a plastic thumb guard and it did work, but I stupidly threw it away thinking it had done the job and when he slipped back into his old habit 6 months later, I wasn't quick enough and the habit took hold again. The 2nd thumb guard I bought he just nibbled away at till he accessed his thumb.

If you feel you could help him break the habit now, I 'd give it a go.

whackamole · 20/02/2012 11:10

My dentist told me that in children so young (my thumbsucker is 3) that it doesn't really matter. It might be pushing his baby teeth around, but so long as he has stopped by the time his adult teeth come through then there shouldn't be a problem.

I used to suck my thumb, I just stopped at some point - although I don't remember when.

Lemonylemon · 20/02/2012 11:11

I sucked my thumb at night until I was 10. No dental problems either. I'd just leave him to it. He'll grow out of it in time.

Original poster

KatyJ26 · 20/02/2012 12:41

Thanks all for the replies - some more constructive than others! It's nice to know it's not just me! I don't want to just leave it because I have awful teeth as a result of thumb sucking and want to stop that for my son (I think that's understandable!) The dentist has commented on it, but hasn't given any useful suggestions though.

valiumredhead I know he is self-soothing, but I would like him to find an alternative way - i,e, one that will not require a lot of orthodontic treatment or goofy teeth when he is older. And also, I think a dummy would have been less damaging, becuase I could have taken it away. I'm desperate, but hadn't considered amputation!!!

FolkGirl being a 'bright button' was relevant because he understands that sucking his thumb is making his teeth stick out. I did not imply that I thought

"thumb sucking/ignoring parents/stubborness was only the preserve of the intellectually advanced!!"

OP posts:

SoupDragon · 20/02/2012 12:52

"Dentists can correct teeth which are pushed forward or teeth that are pushed back but they CANNOT correct teeth which haven't come down properly "

DSs orthodontist can. Provided they get to see the child when they are about 7 and you have £5k to spend.

The myth that it doesn't matter until their adult teeth come through is just that, a myth, as it can be affecting how the jaws grow (because, with a thumb in the teeth/jaws are never closed together). However, it's nt that clear cut as this can happen even if there is n thumb sucking and your child sits like a slack jawed yokel or has problems breathing through their nose and uses their mouth :)

If you are going don the route of stopping, DSs orthodontist advises a pair of long socks - right up to the armpits - at night. It needs to be both arms so it i far more difficult to remove the one on the Thumb side. A pair of childs tights, put with the opening at their back, would do the job nicely.

valiumredhead · 20/02/2012 12:54

He is so little OP, he'll probably do it less as he gets older.

Original poster

KatyJ26 · 20/02/2012 12:54

Oh, thank you - I shall try this tonight and report back (like anyone cares!!!)

OP posts:

SoupDragon · 20/02/2012 12:56

Or, valium, he may do it more.

It doesn't get any easier to stop them when they are older.

ChaosTrulyReigns · 20/02/2012 13:04

A friend of mine was advised by an HV to use the nail bite solution on her son's thumb.

I'm not sure if that is slightly cruel?

TroublesomeEx · 20/02/2012 13:19

Chaos, my mum used that. It was slightly unpleasant initially, but I liked thumbsucking so I just got used to it!

imogengladheart · 20/02/2012 13:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

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