Finger guard to stop finger sucking

[Rhubarbgarden]

Anyone tried one of these? My four year old has her fingers constantly plugged into her face and nothing will stop it. I'm tempted to try a finger guard but they're £50 so it would be good to hear if anyone has had a go with one.

I stopped my DD sucking her thumb at this age by just touching her arm everytime it went in...I just touched her and said "Out" and I had to do it a LOT but it worked. Took about 2 weeks.

I've tried that. I say 'fingers' in a non confrontational way every time I see it (which is constantly) and she takes them out, but they are back in again within minutes because she forgets.

Ooh what are they rhubarb?
I've not heard of them, do you have a link?

I'm intrigued as DS(9) has SN and is constantly bitting the skin on his fingers and toes til they bleed. I've been desperately trying to find a way to stop him for ages.

My DDs were back in in minutes...I just repeated "Out". It was very laborious. Surely those guards just get taken off by the child wearing them?

Oh I just checked them out. I think they look awful! The child couldn't DO anything with them on.

My mum just used finger sized tube bandage on one of the sucking fingers to stop my sister.

What about some stop n grow? At least she could still hold a pen etc....

I used micropore or zinc oxide tape to stop thumb sucking, much cheaper!

www.thumbguard.co.uk/product/fingerguard/

Is it these?

They don't look very comfortable.

I'm watching this thread with interest. DD is 10yo and still sucks continuously. We've tried saying "fingers" and "out", reward charts, stop and grow ( she just sucked it off), putting fingers in her pocket. The only thing that helps is if her hands are busy. Drives me mad.

Also tried tape, bandage, plasters and modified gloves, she just removes them and carries on. She seems to think I have nothing better to do than continuously remind her to take her fingers out.

I was tempted to use the thumb guard with my DD but didn't. Instead I talked to her about the damage that thumb sucking could do to her teeth. We then went to the dentist and I asked him to speak to her about it. When we got home I googled photos of people with prominent sticking out teeth and showed them to DD. This was enough to make her realise that she really needed to stop sucking her thumb. Once I had her buy in I painted her thumbs with the nail varnish that you can get to try and stop nail biting. She stopped sucking her thumb very quickly.

I've done the same as you Mrscakes and to no avail. DS just washes the stop and grow off.

Them finger guards only cover 2 fingers though so he would either take it off or suck the free fingers.
I can't decide whether it's a sensory thing for him or whether it's a habit.

This is what the fingerguard looks like when worn.
tguard.com/products/fingerguard/

We used a thumb guard for dd. When she was around 3-4 ish. Her thumb was constantly plugged in her mouth and she never took part in any activity at nursery if it stopped her sucking her thumb. Her teeth were beginning to stick out and she was lisping, she had constant blisters that burst and then got impetigo. Plus her thumb was getting deformed. We really didn't have much choice I think, as you cannot possibly watch your child 24 hours a day and any distractions do wear thin after a while (believe me I tried). But anyway - It worked and faster then was suggested by the manufacturer and we've never looked back. DD now has normal teeth, a normal thumb and no lisp - money well spent in my book.

It did take a little bit of work seeing it through. The guard does look a bit nasty, but is actually soft like baby bottle teats. What we did was: Gently explaining to DD what we were doing, letting her choose the colour of wristbands every day, making a bit more fuss of her than usual + offering rewards. For a little while, at bedtime I went to bed w DD and held her hand/distracted her whilst going to sleep, then replacing the plastic guard with a mitt I had made from a thick sock fastened with the thumbguard fasteners. The guard can get quite sweaty, so I think it was more comfortable to have the sock on at night. Also the guard did rub a bit after a while; we ended up using a compeed antiblister stick to prevent chafing for a few days, which sorted out th

From the outside using the guard can look quite dramatic, but to our dd it was actually quite undramatic and very swift. After a couple of weeks she seemed to have forgotten all about sucking her thumb and happily just played like everyone else.

I've tried Stop n Grow, but as soon as dd has washed her hands (after going to the loo or something) the fingers go back in. I try to reapply but it's endless and it's simply not having any long term effect - it only works as long as it's on.

I've tried talking to her about it and showing her pictures of buck teeth, and she agrees that she should stop, but the habit is too strong. Today I showed her a picture of the finger guard and told her she'd have to wear one if she won't stop it. Now she wants a finger guard.

Thank you viking for sharing your experience of using one. It's encouraging to hear that it worked for you. I'm kicking myself a bit for not doing it over the summer holidays now; dd starts school next week - not a good time to start wearing something a bit odd looking.

Maybe we'll try finger bandages - not done that yet, and take the plunge with a finger guard over the Christmas hols if no joy.

Sorry - thanks everyone else too for sharing your thoughts!

DD is 8 andconstantly sucks her two middle fingers

We constantly do the 'FINGERS' bellow, talked about sticking out teeth, she has worn a glove but absent mindedly takes it off..

Fr school Ii have resorted to using the plater tape that comes on a rolland wrapping tape round the higher knuckle on each finger

I have used Stop N Grow, mustard, mustard powder, vinegar, nam pla / fish sauce and STILL dd sucks her fingers!!