Thumb Sucking ... At what age do you try to discourage it...

[Tillyscoutsmum]

or do you just let them be until they grow out of it ?

What harm can it actually do ?

I too had braces as a child. Was this as a consequence of sucking my thumb? I am not sure. However that said I would still suck my thumb if I had my time again.

Some theorists believe that it offers a form of comfort to children when mum/dad is not there. I wonder if you were to stop your child sucking their thumb would they find another way to comfort themselves? If they did what would it be?

Whilst I understand the angst thumbsucking can cause some parents I still think it is an ok thing for children to do and would not (and do not) discourage my children from doing it. Another DC takes a teddy bear to bed, should I take that off of her (she is 4 years old) I THINK NOT! So why remove the thumb which offers the same comfort.

A teddy bear will not have physical affects on your child. Sucking a thumb will. They are clearly not the same at all.

Thanks for all the replies. I do feel its probably time to start discouraging it but I'm also not keen on the idea of the Thumb guard and can also see that we could be making things worse by keeping drawing attention to it

I think we'll continue with the gentle discouragement (and try to avoid shouting "THUMB" every 2 seconds ) and maybe involve some sort of bribery for her to stop, say by her 6th birthday (5 months time).

I do worry because both of her front teeth got knocked out a couple of years ago so all the effects of the sucking are happening directly on the gums, where new teeth are presumably forming. Not sure if it makes any difference or not

Warning!!!!

dd just saw the picture of the thumb guard and heard me talking about it to dh. Not that I am getting one, I was just showing him that something like that actually exsisted.

And she burst into tears and was really upset.

We reasuured her that we wont be buying it!! But had a little chat about braces, sore fingers, rewards when she decides to stop etc.

You think the thumbguard is sad?

How much sadder do you think it would be to be unable to bite or chew your food properly because your teeth don't meet on one side, or to have problems in later life because the teeth on the side that does meet are wearing down from over-use?

Nothing do do with cosmetics, vanity, conformity or trying to achieve some 'perfect' Barbie-like appearance.

Princessmel, I'm sorry your dd was upset. She's clearly not ready to stop yet. I hope that when she is, together you will find a nice, gentle, way to change her thumbsucking habit.

DS finger sucked until just before his 8th birthday. Nothing we could say or do in the way of dissuasion made the slightest difference. We worried about his teeth, and the state of the skin on his finger, and the damage it was doing to relationships at school.

The summer he was 8, DH offered an enormous bribe (his own X Box) if he gave up for a month. DS had refused the exact same bribe the summer before, but this time it gave him enough of a boost to give up completely.

Guess what? His teeth are fine - if anything it has helped with a slight under-bite. The skin on his finger recovered within a month. Relationships took longer, and are probably what took the biggest hit. DS gave up when he no longer needed it - for so long as it gave him some nebulous something, he kept going.

I sucked my thumb till I was about 10 and had braces for 6 years - tramlines for 4. My 2yr old DD sucks hers when she's tired and at night...have generally heard that the time to stop it is when the milk teeth go..

Neversay - how did it affect relationships at school?

thumbsucking messes with the jaw, not the teeth directly.

We have been through the treatment here too. It is painful and unpleasant. And not always successful. We are now looking at jaw surgery as her bite is completely out

The orthodontist says the ONLY reason is thumbsucking

I urge everyone to not encourage thumb/finger sucking and to get it stopped well before second teeth come in

Our is extreme but not isolated and many thumbsucking children will need corrective treatment, nearly all will have a 'bad' bite