To strap a thumb guard onto my 6 year old?

[SingingSamosa]

I have a thumb sucker, she generally only does so when she's tired and holding her blankie but recently she seems to have been doing it more during the daytime, and without her blankie. The dentist has said it's affecting her teeth - her two bottom ones were pushed inwards quite a lot and she's getting a slight overbite on her top teeth too. She lost her first tooth recently (one of the bottom ones) and so I'm keen to try and get this habit broken (if possible) before her adult teeth are through properly.

I've just seen some plastic contraction from Dr Thumb (sounds like a really awful comic book baddie!) that goes on the thumb/hand and lets them still put their thumb in their mouth but they can't create the suction. It's £25, which is a lot of money for what it is but if it works then I'm willing to buy it! I was wondering if it would be considered really bad to strap such a thing onto her? Has anyone else tried these? Or similar? I did find a pattern for a fabric one a while ago but I think it would end up getting disgustingly smelly!

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ONE-1-X-DR-THUMB-THUMB-GUARD-STOP-THUMB-SUCKING-AID-TREATMENT-KIT-BABY-CHILD-/281151617576?var=&hash=item4175f13a28

Oh Christ. As a 39 yo who still thumb sucks (not often) is say yab vv u but it didn't affect my teeth at all so I guess you need to do something.

Adult teeth do have big roots though where baby teeth roots shrink to nothing by the time they're losing them so adult teeth are I think less likely to push out of shape?

I've used it. It was excellent, but - and these are very big, very important buts - the child has to be willing and invested in changing the habit, and you need to have an alternative available.

My dc was very cooperative, and didn't find the thumb guard a problem at all. But became a nail biter instead. I realised too late that they needed sone sort of comforter or fiddle-toy onto which they could transfer the attention that they gave to or feeling that they got from thumb-sucking.

Obviously I meant "contraption" in my OP, not "contraction"!!!

She's quite keen on breaking the habit because of what the dentist said to her last time and I think a few weeks of not being able to suck will probably do it - she puts her thumb in her mouth and then rubs her blankie between the fingers that aren't in her mouth. I'm hoping that she'll stop the sucking but can still carry on with the rubbing part, so allowing her to still self comfort, IYSWIM.

When she's had a hangnail or other small trauma on her thumb she's not transferred to the other thumb so I'm hoping that's a good sign!

There is a liquid you can paint on the thumb which did work very well. Im sure someone more knowledable will be alone shortly.

DSs orthodontist suggested putting long rugby socks on both arms underneath PJs. He believed that breaking the habit at night would help with the day too.

It affects the jaw growth too as their jaws are not together all the time with the tongue in the right position. This can lead to overcrowding of the adult teeth. Apparently the tongue is very important for good positioning of the teeth as it should push against them.

The key is to have a child that wants to break the habit I think.

The only thing that stopped both DS1 and DD was when they started orthodontic treatment aged 7 and got to the point where the brace meant they couldn't get their thumb in and it didn't feel so nice.

My 5 year old stopped earlier this year. She wanted to try the 'yucky nailpolish' that people use to stop.boring their nails.
The first time I put it on she went mental (she was tired and in hindsight not a good time!). After a few days she wanted to try again. As she only sucked her thumb at night we put the nailpolish on and then put socks over her hands (her idea!) and within 2 weeks she had stopped sucking and didn't need the socks.
Is your daughter ready to give up her blanket as there will be a strong association with thumb sucking and that. My DD had given her muslins (she would suck and cuddle muslin) up a few months earlier when I had my second child-she gave them all to the baby, it was very cute!

If your child is ready then give it a go, but I would try cheaper options first and try and I do think success will count on her not using her blanket as well.
My dds teeth are also back to normal now after a huge overbite.
Good luck to you and DD x

We used the thumbguard on our son - it works! Within 2 weeks he'd completely broken the habit. He then wore it at night for another couple of weeks (just to be sure) and that was it - he's now 14 and has just finished £3000 worth of orthodontist treatment (ouch!) - whether it would have helped if we'd have stopped him earlier, I don't know

I stopped ducking my thumb aged about 14yo. My teeth then went back naturally and are very straight... Just as my dentist said they would for years.

We used the Ebay fabric ones when DS was 4 or 5 & he immediately stopped thumb sucking. Didn't need to use it for long

it didn't work on either of our dc. they both chewed the plastic in their sleep in attempt to get the thumb in...

3 years on they are both still sucking and will need lots of brace treatment to correct the damage - if they ever stop the sucking that is - they are now 10 and 8!

Yanbu. I hate thumbsucking with a passion. I paint my Dds nails with stop n grow. That works. She doesn't like it but better that than sucking her thumb.

She never did it til she spent an afternoon with a friend and copied. cos teh gran let her do it she thought it was ok to start doing it.

big mistake

DD is currently wearing one on each thumb. She's been a constant thumb sucker (both thumbs) since birth and it's been getting worse. We tried the nail biting stuff (didn't work - just sucked her thumbs anyway), plasters (came off), bribery (seems to have forgotten about this).

The Dr Thumbs seem to be working well. She can't suck her thumbs with them on. However the one time we took them off after her bath she started sucking her thumbs again so back on they went. She's 7 in a few weeks so we really wanted her to crack the habit in the summer holidays.

They are quite adjustable so you can get a good fit. We had them too tight at first and then too loose, which meant she could get her thumbs out without unfastening it.

We went to the dentist the other day and she said it was a really good thing that she was stopping.

Thanks for the replies. Perhaps I'll try with a fabric one and some nail biting fluid first. If that doesn't work then I'll bite the bullet and get one of the plastic things.

Have you tried the cheaper alternatives first, like wrapping fabric plaster around her thumb?

Short of amputation,there is nothing fool proof.The thumbsucker has to want to stop.
(I would be ditching the blankie though.She is 6 not six months)

But Madam would you say ditch the teddy if that was her comforter of choice? I wouldn't.

DTS1 is 6 and sucks his thumb. Not very often now, only when really tired or upset, or not well. Not enough for the dentist to say it's affecting his teeth certainly.

I think I'd try it. Have a chat and explain why and see how open to it she is. Once she goes back to school she'll reign it right back most likely, so it might be worth waiting till then.

I won't be ditching the blankies. Each of my kids has two and they are what they cuddle to go to sleep. 6 years old (or 7 for that matter, as my eldest is) is NOT too old to have a comfort blanket (in place of a favourite teddy) to sleep with! They aren't dragged about with them - when they wake up the blankies stay in bed until bedtime.

When they decide that they no longer want them then I am happy for them to go. As DJThreeDog said, if it was a teddy bear then they wouldn't be expected to get rid of them? Have you never read the Velveteen Rabbit? My kids can't wait for their blankies to turn 'real'

Definitely keep the blankies. My now-14yo stopped sucking his thumb when he had a painful cut on it. He still has his cuddly and still fiddles with it when he feels the need.

TBH I wouldn't use the bitter stuff. You want this to be an easy, comfortable transition, not an upsetting one. The trouble with the butter stuff is that the taste lingers on your lips. All my dc have tried it - willingly! - and all have found it too upsetting.

Bribery is also very useful.

Depends how your daughter will take to it, will you use it all day?

Seems mean to stop her comforting herself but understand that it is having dental implications.

My brother sucked his fore and middle fingers (while rubbing clothes labels like your DD rubs her blankie) until he was about 15, though only when alone and tired in later years. My mum tried everything to stop him but his teeth are perfect.

Gosh there are some meanies on here! I sucked my thumb until I was about 12, and turned to my thumb after my mum removed my dummy before I was ready after some harpie had a go at her. The dentist gave us the horror stories about buck teeth. My teeth are fine. I stopped of my own accord after my mum gave in years before after trying everything going.
I still have a blanket which I still use for comfort when I'm struggling to sleep; I see it as a healthier alternative to tablets /alcohol etc which I could turn to to stop my mind racing, but don't have to. People have wired ideas about what constitutes a grown-up and acceptable behaviour. It's a blanket for goodness sake and she's 6!
If her teeth really are at risk then I appreciate your dilemma, but maybe take it with a pinch of salt. I think the sugar our children are demolishing with ease these days will cause greater harm.

Lucky your teeth were fine.

my brother had to have surgery to correct the damage done.

A thumb guard is nothing compared to that

DD (9) has just had a brace fitted which is designed to prevent thumb sucking. It didn't cost anything, just a referral from the dentist (we're in Scotland, I don't know if the rules are different than elsewhere in the UK - if she loses it it will be £60 for a replacement). She can take it out to clean it but it has to stay in all the time. I didn't try a thumbguard but all the other options I did try didn't work.

The orthodontist said that at DD's age with baby teeth loosening and new ones coming through it might be difficult to use the brace but she thought DD's problem was sufficiently serious to give it a go. Her front teeth are much higher up on the sucking side and her upper teeth sit 8mm further than the lower, the roof of her mouth is very high and the lower teeth sit outside the upper on the thumb side as well (I can't remember the technical terms for all of this!). There was also some chat about narrowing of the jaw. Apparently this is primarily due to her habit but she up until now her thumb has been jammed in her mouth at all times when she wasn't eating or talking.

Have had no complaints about the brace which surprises me as it's not lovely but I had told her it might come to this and in a way I think she was kind of relying on it to help her stop.

tea4two I quite agree about the sugar damage to children's teeth. I watched a programme fairly recently where hospital dentists were talking about how many 'middle class' children they were having referred to them now because of their parents banning them from sweets etc but allowing them to snack all day on fruit, which is just as bad for kids' teeth!

My thumb sucker (unlike her siblings) doesn't have a sweet tooth at all and eats extremely healthily by choice. She has beautiful teeth, if it weren't for the four (three now) that are being affected by her thumb sucking.

She's asked me several times about having something on her hand to stop her sucking her thumb so she's very willing to give it a go. She's quite a sensitive sort and will definitely need the continued comfort of her blankie though.