thumb sucking what do make of it ?

[robinredbreast]

dd is 5 months and does it when hungry or tired
is this a problem?

My DD is 12 months and still does it. DH and I did it till about 6 I think. I dont see the problem but many people will.

IME, it probably will be if it goes on for years. DS1 (8) is 7 months into expensive dental treatment to correct the developmental damage done to his jaw etc.

AT 5 months old I wouldn't worry though.

And I hope janitor meant 12 years not months cos thats about when I quit doing it (in private) and it did me no harm whatever.

DS2 sucks his thumb

I sucked mine til I was 14 and had extensive operations and tretmant to correct all of the problems it caused.

Finer while babies, becat to get them out of the habit before 3 yo, I reckon

fine for babies. dd stopped at 14 months without any intervention or encouragement.

I sucked my thumb until some point in Primary I guess, lets say 8 or 9. My teeth are pretty much fine, no thumb sucking damage IMO.

At the end of his 1st consultation, DS1s dentist looked at me and said "you used to suck your thumb didn't you?". He could tell this from the shape of my jaw/chin and face, he never looked in my mouth. Partly the damage is done not by the sucking per se but by the fact that the jaw is not closed (teeth together) which means it grows incorrectly to compensate.

The roof of my mouth is really high and my teeth gew at a biazarre angle

I lernt the hard way that sucking one;s thumb until 14 is a BAD idea.

DD sucks hers to distraction - to the point where she makes her thumb all sore - she's only 16 weeks. We'll gradually wean her off as she gets older - by taking her thumb out of her mouth during the day... oh.... that makes it sound so easy!!

I sucked my fingers until I went to primary school, where my reception teacher gently broke me of the habit....

and so I started sucking my thumb instead!

I stopped by around 9 as we had just moved house (and so schools) and I didn't want the new kids to laugh at me. I have also had extensive orthodontic work, not all thumb related as I have crappy smally wonky jaw too, which prob compounded things.

My DS is 16 months and sucks his thumb - how/when are you supposed to stop them? I must admit that it's pretty handy at them moment..

I don't think it is a problem, it is a comfort thing although I would try to encourage a different habit when she is hungry/tired if you can.

I sucked my thumb until I was put in braces (a rather nasty over-the-head contraption) to correct the damage at about 12.

At 3 months old DS2 began to regularly suck his thumb so (bad mummy) I used to pull it out and stick a dummy in! He had his dummy until he was 3.5 but from about 12 months only at nap/night time. In the end he gave it up himself and as he threw it in the bin there was no sneaking back to it!

ive tried giving her a dummy instead but she pushes it out with her tonugue

i was hoping that if sh only does it short periods it would be fine

what else could i try ?

I don't really know, sorry I am not much help. Perhaps a special snuggly? You can get them with tags (taggies?) which might give her something to do with her hands? DS2 used to push his dummy out too, I was on the verge of giving up with it when all of a sudden he took to it!

On the plus side for thumb sucking, a child will find it hard to play and suck thumb at the same time and if a thumb falls out in the night it won't fall on the floor therefore disturbing your sleep!

i have two thumbs suckers, still!

one 13yo DD who it has done no damage to, altho it does rile me when she sits at the dinner table with said thumb in mouth, and one 11yo DD who will most likely need braces because of said thumb.

to be fair tho tis also because her upper jaw failed to grow properly and her front teeth don't meet at all,rather than having an over-bite which is the more common problem.

I have to say tho it does look soooooo cute when they tiny thumb suckers, dummys just don't look the same. (3 smaller DC's were dummy suckers)

It's each to their own with this I think but I had a friend at school who had misshapen thumbs because of it, (they actually looked like dummies) so I'm hoping to discourage it if it happens, (plus years of orthodontal work myself which I hated)

DD still sucks her thumb at 4.8.

I have stopped myself from caring - she obviously needs the comfort on some level and I don't like to deny it. Plus, how on earth do you stop them anyway?

I still suck my thumb

No problem at all. ds2 is 2.4 and it is a great comfort to him. How would you stop her doing it at 5 months?
My nephew sucked his thumb and stopped when the dentist told him to, so perhaps that's the way to do it when they're older.

DD1 is 4 this month and still sucks her thumb. She has a blanky but it was never a deterrant, just something to hold while she is sucking her thumb.

DD2 is 5 months and yesterday I noticed she has started to suck her thumb. (she also had her snuggle blanket in her hand!)

I do worry about damage to DD1's teeth but have tried getting her to stop with no luck.

I feel she will give it up when she is ready.

Robin,

I'm in the same position. My DS is 6 months old and is a chronic thumb sucker to the extent that his thumb now looks all bloody (internal bruise type bleeding) and all soggy and blistered. I've tried dummies to no avail and was even thinking of using that "nail polish" deterrent even though it says not to use under age 3. My friend even tried chille powder with her toddler DD to no avail. I'm going to check it out with the health visitor tomorrow.

Can anyone think of something?

(I don't want to just leave it as my 5 year old is still a chronic thumb sucker and we saw an orthadontist recently who said it would affect the shape of his adult teeth and jaw).

Wulfric,

good tip about the thumbguard but only applies to children over 3 years sadly.

if you saw my DS's thumb at thumb at the moment you would worry- it's horrible!!