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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
valiumredhead · 20/02/2012 13:54

Oh yes, put socks and tights on him at night so he can't reach his beloved thumb - what you save in orthodontist fee you'll lose in therapy when he's older Wink

mummymeister · 20/02/2012 14:14

my dd was a thumb sucker and at 5 when she started to get her adult teeth it was clear that they were coming through and sticking out. the dentist had a long chat with her, lots of castes of peoples teeth etc. we then tried stop and grow nail varnish on her thumbs - worked for a couple of weeks then she got used to the taste. we realised we couldnt leave it any longer when she started really biting on her thumb in her sleep (teeth grinding!) and used to wake up covered in blood from it. we bought her mittens which we put on her hands and within a couple of weeks she had stopped. it wasnt pleasant to do but we couldnt let it go on. and no valiumred she doesnt need any therapy but she does have a distorted thumb and will need a brace to sort her teeth out.

dietstartstmoz · 20/02/2012 14:31

My ds was a terrible thumb sucker until the age of 5. We put the stop bite solution on his nails twice daily and that really cut down on it. I felt bad but he had the biggest callous on his thumb from the constant sucking. He did continue a bit until the age of 5 when he had lost his milk teeth and.his adult teeth had come through, and this is when the damage will occur. I eventually showed him pictures of teeth braces (think ugly betty style) on the internet and told him if he continued he would damage his teeth and may need to wear a brace. He was so horrified he has never sucked his thumb since and its been 12 months now and his callous has gone. Tough love!!

SoupDragon · 20/02/2012 14:37

Or, Valium, you could spend 2 solid hours trying to get your 9 year old to put his orthodontic brace back in whist he sobs uncontrollably.

Having done just that, I know which I would choose this time round.

Therapy indeed Hmm

CremeEggThief · 20/02/2012 14:37

I think he is too young for you to stop him now as well. My DS still sucks his thumb at age 9.5, but just to get off to sleep, so it will lessen in time. In fact, I think most children grow out of it completely by 7 or 8. [As both DH (13!) and I (10) sucked our thumbs past this age, it's not surprising DS hasn't completely stopped.]

valiumredhead · 20/02/2012 15:06

Soup I was joking hence the wink. Sorry, thought that was obvious, clearly not.

Yoghurty · 20/02/2012 15:45

Ha! I'm in my 30's and still suck my thumb ; )

My mum tried everything to stop me sucking my thumb, bitter aloes, sticking plaster, Stop and grow- my dad once stuck my thumb in his pipe barrel to make it taste horrible!

I resented all the pressure and sucked my thumb regardless- I got used to the taste of stop and grow and sucked my plasted-wrapped thumb! Incidently, my teeth are fine and I don't have an over bite.

I agree with people who have said positive re-enforcement and praise- don't tell him off too much- maybe a displacement object?

madhairday · 20/02/2012 16:27

No he's not too young, probably the younger the better for trying to help them stop. I wish I had encouraged dd to use a dummy. She is now 11 and her teeth are awful, 1cm overbite and needs extensive orthodontic treatment - but they won't start until she stops sucking her thumb. And she just won't. Believe me, if it's out there we have tried it.

I think gently encouraging at a younger age is better than a child ending up with so many years of painful treatment ahead. There are other ways they can learn to self soothe.

4madboys · 20/02/2012 16:33

i think he is still very young, my ds4 is 3 (will be 4 in march) and he still sucks his thumb, it is mainly when he is watching tv, or going to sleep or when poorly, he will also suck his thumb when in the car. he is doing it less as he gets older, as a little baby i think he sucked it 99% of the time! i do think most children grow out of it and the dentists that i have spoken to say its not a concern until they start getting their big teeth.

i guess you can try and praise him for not sucking it but i do think at this age that you wont make much difference, two of mine were still bfed at that age so the same thing really and they grew out of that eventually!

i think once they are a bit older and you can explain and they understand the issues it may cause with teeth etc try talking to them and encouraging them to not suck it? reward charts etc but at 2yrs i think they are very little and i would leave him be tbh.

i sucked my thumb on and off until i was 19 and had had ds1! my teeth were never damaged by it, they were by my tongue stud tho Hmm

toboldlygo · 20/02/2012 16:54

I was a prolonged thumbsucker and had extensive orthodontic treatment in my early teens. The (severe, ugly) overbite was entirely attributable to thumb sucking. As I understand it it's a lot harder to get braces on the NHS these days and a long course of treatment could be anything up to 5k.

As such, do whatever you can to stop him now! I remember my dad forcibly painting that nail biting stuff on my thumb but I carried on regardless, gagging. Didn't hurt me in the long run.

gremlindolphin · 20/02/2012 17:00

I sucked my thumb until I was about 14 although not in public from after about 5.

You can't explain the comfort it brings to someone who isn't a thumbsucker! Sometime even now if I am ill, I feel like doing it although I don't. I have great teeth and have never had a brace. I do remember my Mum and I talking about it and I got used to not resting my thumb on my teeth. I have a high roof to my mouth which apparently helps.

I have been looking forward to my children sucking their thumbs but neither of them do.

madhairday · 20/02/2012 17:42

Thing is, obviously some children don't do any damage to their teeth and so there are those pp saying leave him alone, it will do no harm, leave it until he can understand and talk about it etc.

But for those children who do do damage it can be done early. The baby teeth thing is a myth. My dd did damage very early and had her overbite before she got adult teeth. FWIW op I don't think it's worth taking the risk of leaving it. Saying that when children are older and can understand and can be talked and cajoled out of it with sticker charts etc is all very well but in many cases just doesn't work at all. But helping them when younger - just as you do with children with dummies - is much more painless and in the long term far better for them.

Original poster
KatyJ26 · 20/02/2012 18:25

Wow, way more controversial than I thought! To the person who asked if it was because it annoyed me- no, I just worry about his teeth. He has a clear overbite and I sucked my thumb til I was a teenager and in braces, so I do appreciate the comfort thing... I genuinely have his best interests at heart- even if some of you think I sound a bit heartless!!!! I will continue to watch the debate unfurl with baited breath!

P.s think hd is too little for the paint on his nails stuff

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