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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

THUMB SUCKING

20 replies

jessicaandbumpsmummy · 18/07/2005 07:31

Jess (1 on sunday) has started sucking her thumb in the past few days - how do i make her stop?! She has a dummy for sleep times which she has had for months, and i thought the dummy would stop her thumb sucking..... how do i get her to stop?!

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SoupDragon · 18/07/2005 08:27

With difficulty.

We're going through the "stop n grow" routine with DS1 (6.5) at the moment but he's sucked his since he was 4 weeks old.

I'd leave her for now - has she got a friend who sucks her thumb? It might be that she's copying. DS1s friends used to do this.

Original poster

jessicaandbumpsmummy · 18/07/2005 08:53

no firend that i know of sucks their thumb..... really strange how she has only just started. it did start out she would "chew" on her finger, but it is full blown thumb sucking now!!!

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Satine · 18/07/2005 08:58

I'm a 33 year old thumb sucker and I'd like to make an early case for leaving her alone! It didn't affect my teeth and I resisted all attempts by my parents to make me stop. It's very comforting!

koalabear · 18/07/2005 09:04

my son sucks his thumb - has from about the time he found it at the end of his arm - he is now 15 months old, and from everything i have read, he will probably keep doing it until he goes to school, or thereabouts, or as Satine says, for quite some time after that

for what it is worth, i don't think it does any harm, and probably provides a lot of comfort

flowerfairy · 18/07/2005 19:41

Ds has sucked his thumb from several weeks old and I have to say I prefer that to dummy sucking.(hope this doesn't provoke a dummy/thumb riot).Mianly when he is tired or feeling off colour.

I also sucked my thumb until Iwas 7, then there was something i really wanted and my mum said i could have it if I didin't suck my thumb for a week, which I did, well ther wer a few sneaky sucks.

I think as long as you can stop it once their adult teeth start coming through, it's okay.

giraffeski · 18/07/2005 19:45

Message withdrawn

giraffeski · 18/07/2005 19:45

Message withdrawn

Original poster

jessicaandbumpsmummy · 18/07/2005 20:05

i hope i can get her to stop.... it just seems to be getting more and more frequent as the days go on! probably had her thumb in her mouth for about half of today! keep taking it out, and she pops it straight back in!

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MistressMary · 18/07/2005 20:06

Does she have a teddy or doll?

Original poster

jessicaandbumpsmummy · 18/07/2005 20:08

yeah she has a teddy for sleep times - worth letting her have it during the day do you think?

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milosmum · 18/07/2005 20:11

my little boy is now 4 and still sucks his fingers.... we tried when he was small to give him a dummy but he justdidnt want it but now we are finding it really hard to "ween" him off them. We ve tried lemon juice, lime juice & stop and grow but all he does is suck it a bit at a time until it goes them carries on...

hes at school but only does it when he is upset, ill or tired- if you do find a way-i for 1 would love to know....

MistressMary · 18/07/2005 20:29

Ds has a teddy during the day, but he has never really sucked a dummy or his thumb.
He suck his fingers if he is teething though.

Original poster

jessicaandbumpsmummy · 18/07/2005 20:30

i thought it was because her teeth are coming through thick and fast now, but just not sure. Will try teddy tomorrow and see if that works.... thanks for the tip!

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PrettyCandles · 18/07/2005 20:32

I don't think it would be a good idea to let her have the bear during the day. I found that if I let ds have his bear outside sleeptimes he would go into neutral and do nothing. Plus he would suck his fingers in any case! Also, once the cuddly stops being just for sleeptimes then you may find you are obliged to take it with you whereever you go - and so risk losing it.

When ds was about 3 he co-operated with us in stopping himself sucking his fingers during the daytime, and now only sucks during sleeptimes. We're starting to try and get him to stop during sleeptimes as well, but it's virtually impossible even though he understands why he needs to stop and does his best. He's nearly 5, BTW. Dd is 2.5 and sucks her thumb. Short of telling her to take her thumb out while walking (because I don't want her to hurt herself badly if she falls) I'm not even going to try stopping her at the moment.

PrettyCandles · 18/07/2005 20:34

How due is your bump? Could Jess be picking up on that and getting anxious?

MistressMary · 18/07/2005 20:36

Only an idea.
It works for us.
He does however throw his teddy back in the cot once he finishes with it.
He obviously takes after me with his tidyness!

Original poster

jessicaandbumpsmummy · 18/07/2005 20:36

im 26 weeks.... you might be right about the teddy.... i like the way she has it only for sleeps, just like her dummy, she knows that they stay in her cot when she gets up.

Right, will just let her carry on and hope she slef-weans!

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sweetkitty · 18/07/2005 20:37

My DD (nearly a year) is a thumb sucker too. I actually think it's really cute she only does it when tired although she has this cute thing when she wants a cuddle she'll grab your hand and suck her thumb of the other hand. She's not sucking her thumb all day (far to busy crawling and climbling) and she only sucks it whilst falling asleep not when shes asleep.

To be honest I'm not bothered about it, I'll worry about it if she's 16 and still doing it. She would never take a dummy either.

SoupDragon · 18/07/2005 20:42

It has affected DS1s teeth and jaw quite significantly which is why we have had to resort to "stop 'n' grow" to get him to stop

OTOH, I sucked my thumb and had no ill effects on my teeth - Iin fact I was the only one out of my2 brothers and I who did not require orthodontic treatment and removal of teeth for space reasons. You just can't tell. Personally I would definitely try to get a child to stop sooner than we have done with DS1. Luckily DS2 showed no interest in sucking his thumb or anything.

MamaMaiasaura · 18/07/2005 21:10

Shes only a baby, dont worry it is comforting and even if she was older i wouldnt worry.

Ds sucks his thumb (5) has since he found it at a few weeks old. He never tok to a dummy or a bottle for comfort. Personally I do not have a problem with him sucking his thumb as only really when tired. If we are in the car he has a toy to play with and keep his little hands occupied but I refuse to make an issue of thumb sucking.

Ds obv get comfort from sucking thumb and i think it is other peoples attitude that have put any pressure on me.

For risk of starting a debate, as i understand bottles with juice in are much much worse for teeth and ds only ever drank out beaker or breast when baby and he doesnt like juice or coke or anything other that water or milk as cold drinks.

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