Thumb-sucking advice please

[RuthChan]

DS is now 18 months old and sucks his thumb CONSTANTLY. I am getting really quite concerned about the shape of his teeth and jaw. Is there anything I can do to discourage him, or do I need to wait until he's old enough to understand the need to stop by himself?

My son is 16 months and is always sucking his thumb. I haven't noticed any difference in his teeth/ jaw. He has been to dentist already and she seemed happy. Maybe I'm lucky?

I was hoping by the time his adult teeth came through, he'd have grown out of it and not to worry for now. Famous last words perhaps?

I am nearly 40 and still suck my thumb. Never needed a brace and I think I am generally ok. My friends and family may not think so....

DS sucked his thumb from 4 weeks old and is 3 years into orthodontic treatment to correct the damage.

DD has sucked hers for 18 months and the dentist can already see damage to the position if her teeth and the shape of her jaws.

Having said that, it is virtually impossible to get them to stop unless they want to.

what can you do about it though?!

My dd is nearly 5 and still sucks her thumb. If it was a dummy I would have taken it away and chucked it years ago, but the bloody thing is attached to her!

Not everyone who sucks their thumb has problems.

I think its to do partly with how hard they suck. My dd sucks very hard and has her thumb in her mouth right upto the base of her thumb (so much so she can't close her hand)

That depends what you mean by problems. DSs orthodontist could tell from the shape of my face I'd been a thumb sucker as a child.

FWIW I started this thread a while ago, and got some helpful advice.

However, we have found that we are getting nowhere with encouraging DD to stop, and HV advised not to worry about it for a year or two. Her (valid IMO) point was 'what's the worse that can happen if she carries on thumb-sucking?' and I guess the worst is that she has to have a brace when she's older, which she may have had to have anyway.
So we have decided to keep on reminding DD, but not make a big issue out of it. She doesn't suck her thumb at all in school, so hopefully when she starts f/t in september this will help to break the habit.

Good luck!

My DD2 has been a thumb sucker since before being born, I have the scan photo showing her suching her thumb, well it looks like she is smoking actually. This year, after a visit to the dentist, we tried to stop it.
I tried almost everything, encouraging her, but she would keep sucking her thumb. The last resort has been the nasty thing you apply on the thumb that tastes really bad, and so far is working. She stops sucking her thumb, and we stop using the liquid, but if she starts again, so does the liquid.
We started back in September, and we can't say it has been a success, but it takes a lot of time. I know an 11 year old, that it took her a year, as she would suck it when asleep, never awake, and she really wanted to stop as she wanted to have orthontic treatment.
I wish I had tried when my DD was younger, I think it would have been quicker.
Good luck!

I had to have a brace at 12 ish but I just learnt to suck my thumb with it in place. I sucked my thumb until I was 23. My son is 9 and sucks his thumb. If I had my time again I would have given him a dummy and then took it away at 6 months like I did with his younger siblings.