.....to fit plastic thumb guards onto my 2 year old, to stop thumb sucking?

[stoopstofolly]

First time poster, long time lurker.

I?m having an argument debate with DH about DS?s constant thumb sucking. He?s just 2, and sucks his thumb for hours a day. The dentist says it?s affecting his jaw, the audiologist says that his speech is delayed because his thumb is in all the time, and sometimes his thumb is so sore it bleeds.

On Sunday I watched him try to eat Sunday lunch without removing his thumb! My doctor said that normally she?d recommend leaving it in the hope he grows out of it, but because it?s so extreme, she suggested this:

www.thumbguard.co.uk/

I fitted it 2 days ago. He doesn?t seem bothered by wearing it BUT he?s unhappy because he's not able to suck his thumb. He?s gone from being a laid back, cheerful little boy to a grumpy, sad one- and it?s my fault. I?ve taken his (very effective) self soothing mechanism away, and he?s nothing to replace it with. He?s also waking at 5 am and is unable to go back to sleep.

DH says that he?s only little and we should focus on him being happy (hard to disagree with.) However, I?m persevering with it because when I look at his poor bleeding (literally!) thumb, listen to other children his age using words he?s never attempted, and remember what the dentist, doctor and audiologist said, I think we need to do something. However, the fact he?s unhappy is extremely distressing. We?ve no history on either side of the family of thumb sucking, and none of my friends children do it, so I?ve no one to ask. Am I doing the right thing?

rogersmellyonthetelly the link to the plastic guards on the other page had finger guards too in the picture below the thumb guard.
Finger guard

I did suck my thumb, but only at night to get to sleep, until I was 12, when "sleep overs" loomed, so one night I did not suck it and I took a while to fall asleep, but did and never did it again. However, I took to the sucking motion of smoking at 15 during the day and decades later cannot give it up.

I fitted thumb guards to my DD when she was 3. And guess what happened? She started sucking her index finger instead. I contacted the thumbguard people and they said she must have psycological problems as they never heard of that happening before (really!) - I tried to sell the thumb guard on ebay and then give it away on facebook, eventually I binned it. She only sucked at night time though and it didn't affect her speech.

The dentist told her to told when her top teeth became wobbly and that exactly what she did aged 6 on her own - even though it was the week DS2 was born!

FWIW, my DN stopped sucking at about a year as both his thumbs were so red and sore sucking was just too painful for him.

And california - DD said if I bought the finger guard (which only goes over 2 fingers) - and not designed for index finger she'd go back to her thumb!

YANBU. DD is 12 and we've not managed to break the habit. She has a 1cm overbite and teeth all over the place, she'll be having a brace fitted soon and 'years of orthodontics' according to the dentist. She hates her teeth and feels so self conscious yet can't break it (she's dyspraxic so has a sucking need too, we have tried all sorts) - We tried the thumb guard but she chewed it to bits, another problem with the dyspraxia, so it was a waste of money, but I hear it works well for a lot of dc. Go for it and don't feel bad at all, I wish we had started more extreme measures when dd was a baby, but everyone said 'Oh don't stop her, it's only a bit of comfort.'

Another one to say please persevere. DD sucked her thumb until she was about 7. I wanted to do something about it when she was 4 but DH said his sister sucked her thumb until she was about 10 and she doesn't have any problems. I managed to get her to stop sucking her thumb during the day but she used to suck her thumb very hard in her sleep.

I only needed to use the thumbguard for night time and felt like the world's worst mother as DD used to cry as she couldn't comfort herself. It DID work though and only took about 10 days.

I should have gone with my instincts. At 12 DD's jaw is misshapen and her front teeth are VERY crooked. At the moment she has twin blocks which she hates and which cause endless arguments. She will also need fixed braces. If i could turn the clock back I would have bought the thumbguard when DD was 3!

Good luck. You are doing the right thing. Whenever I have to do something that DD doesn't like that I know is the right thing I repeat my mother's mantra to myself "Parenting is not a popularity contest"

Agree as well, persevere. And I really think a dummy is not a good idea. I had to wean my daughter off a dummy at just over three for much the same reasons and it was NOT pretty. She is quite highly strung and at that point her dummy was the only thing to calm her down. She would not accept any substitutes we just had to get over it cold turkey. I truly sympathise it is very difficult, but if its already affecting his palate at 2 then it just has to be done. Keep at it helps!!!

My DS1 sucked his thumb till very recently. He was about 8 and half when he finally stopped. We tried allsorts but his dentist told him to stop or he would have permanent disfigurement at the beginning of 2012.

Nothing seemed to work with him so in the end (bearing in mind his age) I googled deformed mouths due to thumbsicking and showed him all the images. He cried. However he hasn't sucked his thumb since.

So yes persevere with the thumb guard.

Do it. I waited until dd was 8. She wore it for two weeks including at school and it cured her. Unfortunately by then her 2nd set if teeth had already started to cone through wonky

I so wish I'd used one when she was younger.

Exactly why I have given LO a dummy. It can be taken away when he's older.

I sucked my thumb until I was 18, when I had braces put in to correct my teeth and the roof of my mouth will be forever shaped exactly like a mould of my thumb. It's even affected my nasal passages, making them smaller and so it's harder for me to breath through my mouth.

It took 4 teeth being removed, and 4 years of permanent braces, then another 2 years of removable retainers before everything was straightened out. And scars on my thumb from my teeth. Not to mention the psychical pain I would have to go through every 8 weeks when the braces were tightened.

"Exactly why I have given LO a dummy."

How smug are you!

I of course tried to give my DD a dummy but she rejected it and insisted on sucking her thumb (from 10 weeks!) - I have both DS1 and DS2 comforters (DS2 has a cuski) - he is 2.5 and sucks it at night but dentist says not as bad as thumb sucking, and yes he rejected dummy too DS1 (6) occasionally sucks his but he still has his baby teeth, according to dentist no damage done and he has agreed to stop sucking when teeth get wobbly.

Sorry for being smug! Not what I meant at all!!

I just know how bloody painful it was for me, and there is no way I would let a child of mine suck their thumb/finger. If they did refuse a dummy, and insisted on sucking their thumb I would make sure it was stopped before the age of about 2.

Also, there is nothing smug about getting up 3/4 times in the night, just to replace his dummy. Can't wait till the day he can find it himself!

Dummies damage teeth and jaws too.

My boy sucked his thumb til 14. He had longer and more painful ortho treatment as a result. I tried very hard to discourage my daughter. At 3.5 she does not suck her thumb but to what extent my efforts made a difference, i cant say of course.

Yeah, they can cause damage too, but I still think dummies are a better option. They can be taken away, where as you're kind of stuck with your thumbs!

I know that it's just my personal opinion based on my own awful painful experience with the whole braces/sucking thumb thing, but I am still kind of annoyed at my mum for not stopping me from doing it earlier. But to be fair, she did say I was actually born sucking my thumb, so it was always going to be hard to stop me!!

Thanks everyone. Day 4 of the thumb guard, and I have to say I'm feeling better about it. I know I'm doing the right thing (thanks to the unanimous mumsnet comments!), and DS doesn't seem bothered by them at all. No thumb sucking- and he's not even trying now! He was grumpy and woke early for the first few days, unable to settle himself back down, but that's improving. It's a horrid process- washing them, putting them on every day, messing around with straps- I just hope it all pays off.

That's a pretty good result so far :)

It's for the best!

Another adult thumbsucker here. I was the oldest of three by the age of three, so my parents didn't really have time to sort it out for me at a young age and my dad has an objection to dummies on principle - he thinks they're repulsive - but by the time anyone thought to get me to stop I was too old and couldn't manage without it. I have a flat thumb with a big callous on the back from my lower teeth. My front teeth are straight, but the lower ones are pushed in and crooked. Luckily they don't show up when I smile...

My husband managed to stop at the age of 14, but only after breaking his thumb in a sports accident. We're both in agreement that we will do whatever it takes to stop DS thumb sucking.

How did it go with your DS stoopstofolly? I'm interested as I'm in a similar predicament.