Has anyone gotten rid of a blankie to help with thumb sucking?

My three year old is a thumb sucker. She mainly sucks it when she holds onto her favorite blankie. It is like she can't see or touch it without her thumb going in her mouth. I really don't want to take the blanket away, but the thumb sucking I could do without. She does occasionally suck her thumb if she is scared or tired, but mostly it is directly related to the blanket. It is already affecting her teeth and I know the dentist is going to comment when she goes next week. I really don't want to take her blanket away...she loves it so so so much, but I would like her to stop the thumb sucking.

Just wondering what others experiences were???

 

Are you sure the thumb sucking is affecting her teeth? I've always read that it actually isn't bad for the teeth. If her teeth are looking a bit off, it could just be a coincidence.

 

We have a similar issue -- except my DD is 4.5. But the minute she holds her lovey, her thumb goes into her mouth.

We have decided, with advice from the ped, that we will limit the lovey to her bedroom when she turns 5. And, we have warned her about this, and are giving her time to prepare.

I couldn't take it away altogether -- she just loves the thing. But I do think it's fair to make a rule that it has to stay in her room....also, I think when she starts kindergarten, she will just naturally suck her thumb less due to peer pressure.

I haven't noticed any major impact on her teeth so far, but her dentist did gently hint that it was a good idea to stop...

 

My boys have been thumbsuckers since infancy--Marcus found his in the hospital. Somewhere in the last year, they simply gave it up on their own. My uncle, a dentist, told me he would rather see a child suck their thumb than use a pacifier. One of his reasonings is that a child (in 99% of the cases) will self limit on thumbsucking--it is hard to play if a hand is in your mouth, whereas a child with a paci, has no need to give it up. He also said that most will give it up on their own by age 5. We did talk about stopping before their "big teeth" came in--so far, Jon has one, and Marc hasn't lost any. So they are ahead of their deadline

 

My daughter sucks 2 fingers when she holds her 'dora' her blanket. i havent really come to the point where I need to take it away yet but I think that it is a fairly harmless. I have heard too that it doesnt impact on their adult teeth. Good luck and please post when you find a good way to go about this. I cant even wash dora without a tantrum!

 

I haven't dealt with it as a parent yet, but that's how we got my little sister to stop her thumb sucking. She had a pound purry kitty that she held the tail and sucked her thumb. As soon as it "got lost at Grandma's" she stopped sucking her thumb cold turkey. Now, my sons both have the same lovey, but one combines it w/ thumb sucking and the other doesn't (he's a paci baby.) I don't know if I can use the same approach because that would mean taking it away from both of them and that just isn't fair!

 

We have the exact same issue, for now I'm contemplating limiting her blanky to bed only, just like Lily's paci. I haven't committed to that yet though...DH isn't in agreement yet.

 

OK, you ladies are scaring me! My baby girl is only 9 months old and as soon as she gets her "Knuffle" her thumb goes right in her mouth! She's already addicted!

I know that most kids do give up the thumb sucking on their own. I've heard stories that putting any pressure on them to stop can make them anxious, causing them to suck their thumb more.

Does she want to have the blanket with her at all times or will she go throughout the day without it? Can you start by limiting the blanket to nap/ bedtime?

It's such a hard call. I know I woulod have a hard time taking it away.

Just thinking outloud here, but can you make a special box together (decorate with stickers, markers) that she can put the blanket away each morning and take out each night before bed. Maybe something like that would be a good place to start.

Good luck and let us know what you decide to do. Let us know what the dentist has to say, too!

 

One of my children only sucks their thumb when holding their blanket. I did take the blanket away (actually my child asked for another one for Christmas so when that gift was opened I took the other one, nothing tramatic or anything). It helped but it did not completely stop it. Sometimes I will go in at night and the thumb is in the mouth. We are old enough to talk about it and there is a desire to stop it is just an automatic thing. The thumb never goes in the mouth except randomly when sleeping but switching blankets really had no effect.