Thumb sucking 14 month old

[Granadilla]

Hi, my 14 month old has recently developed a thumb sucking habit. He sucks at night to go to sleep and often throughout the day. I've tried distraction techniques, but no success.

I'm wondering if I should just let it be and he will grow out of it, or whether I should do something to curb the habit now. If so, what?

Any mumsnetters with experience or words of advice please?

Thank you

He's a baby, it's fine.

He's a baby now and it's fine now, but if it continues into childhood you will be spending hours at the orthodontists and more hours reminding him to clean his brace/wear his brace/get his scummy horrible brace out of his pocket and into his mouth.

This is the voice of bitter experience. Ask your dentist for advice on how to persuade him to stop.

(NB My own teeth are on the wonk from own thumb habit back in the days when you only got orthodontics if you looked like Bugs Bunny. I'd look a lot better if they were where they should be).

Thanks for the replies. If it is fine now, at what age does it become a problem? If I can help it, I'd rather put a stop to it now, rather than it becoming a problem later.

I had that problem with my son but then I caught him smoking drugs!

:o Dorothy

Perhaps he was replacing sucking his thumb with sucking a joint?