Thumbsucking - what's the issue?

[Imoverhere]

Genuine question here. My DS is 14 wks old and has sucked his fingers from a v early age and has recently started sucking his thumb. He is a very settled baby and I think this is partly because he can soothe himself by sucking, and having had a DD who really wasn't I am grateful.

I am happy to let him suck his thumb/fingers (I did and remember how comforting I found it), however, many many times people have said to me 'you want to stop that' or 'pop a dummy in, don't let him suck his thumb - you can take a dummy away'.

But why? Really interested to know. Is there a problem with speech development? I can see that there could be a problem with teeth (although I didn't have one) but what else? I want to do the best for my baby and would like to understand both sides of the argument/science (?) to help make a decision.

My ds is a thumb sucker. He is 3.7 and I've never tried to stop him. His speech is very good but I have recently noticed that his teeth look as though they are pushing out slightly and also as though the front two are pushing apart slightly. I am going to mention it to the dentist as that does worry me alot. It may not be the thumb sucking but it could be also. His thumb is very calloused as well. I wish he'd had a dummy really but he wasn't interested.

DD hasn't ever had any of the bugs you describe zensrrr and her speech was also very good. However, major downsides to to thumb sucking IME = a) the teeth b) impossible to wean them off it.

Hi there. My DD's (3.3 and 1.9) are both thumb suckers. Both have very good speech. The dentist has mentioned that with dd1 we might consider trying to teach her only to suck at night, but no big issue.

I sucked my thumb until 6/7 and have no teeth problems.

I agree with you that it's a very good thing for babies and toddlers to be able to soothe themselves. I believe it makes them sleep better at night and helps them be more content. Just a pov. Good luck whatever you decide.

DS has always sucked his two middle fingers, although it does seem to be less often now he is 10; it tends to be just when he is feeling a bit tired in the evening.

I asked my dentist about it as I was concerned about the sticky out teeth aspect, but he said that it wasn't worth worrying about.

I sucked my thumb till I was 9, I think - no damage occured. Our DS rarely used a dummy and sucked his thumb. He gave it up before he was 2.
If there is a problem with thumb sucking it's more to do with dental problems than anything else I think.

I sucked my thumb until I was pg with dd at 18, have no speech probs and perfect top teeth and only an inherited wonky tooth on the bottom.
My dentist said most peoples teeth have set positioning which is hard to change through thumb sucking or similar, which is why after braces you need a retainer as the teeth have a memory.

I sucked my thumb until I was about 10, didn't harm my speech or my teeth

With DD who thumb/finger sucked from very early on I caved to pressures of "don't let her do that, give her a dummy instead", she had a dummy for a few years and then as soon as we got rid of it she rediscovered her thumb. She has no speech/teeth problems, and and IMO a little bit of germs won't do any harm. She is 11 now and only occasionally sucks her thumb, usually if she's upset/tired or poorly

My DS is 5 and has always sucked his thumb. He was a very chilled out baby and a good sleeper and I'm sure this was the reason. However, his front teeth are starting to stick out a little bit. Recently, after getting two tummy bugs in quick succession, I talked to him about it and he decided he'd like to stop. I gently remind him whenever I see him sucking, but after just a week, he's gone for a couple of days without a reminder now. He's still sucking his thumb at night, but I'm not making an issue of it, as I'm really pleased that he's doing so well during the day.

Yep - would back up what zenzrrr is saying about bugs and THREADWORM. We just had the latter in our house and I have a firm rule now that my preschool daughter does not suck her thumb during the day (what's the point of trying to instill that at night??). I also felt my dd was not talking so much during the day as she preferred sucking her thumb - she has def starting speaking more since being encouraged to keep it out of her mouth. We didn't apply heavy pressure - just v matter of fact stuff like 'you can watch cbeebies if you don't suck your thumb'. But yeah, threadworms, you really don't want them and seeing as 40% of preschoolers have them and a lot of that is to do with fingers in mouths, it may be something you want to discourage ...

DS was a finger sucker from age 2. (Never had a dummy). He kept it up until shortly before his 8th birthday, when he decided he needed to stop, and with the aid of a large bribe gave up over the summer holidays.

It worried us, a lot, at the time. In fact, there seem to be no major issues with his teeth and his finger returned to normal within a month.

BUT I do think it hindered his social interactions, because he finger-sucked at school. And for that reason alone, it is probably worth discouraging sooner rather than later.

My DS is almost 2. Has sucked his thumb from very early and LOVES it. Speech is very good. He sucks it alot less than he used to, and only goes in for 10m when tired and occasionally during the night (settles him). I don;t seee how you could stop it when they are asleep. Don't be too afraid of it.