Thumb sucking

My girls have been thumb suckers since the NICU (actually, we have an ultrasound of Sam sucking in utero). We've always had a pretty relaxed attitude about it because it's primarily related to being tired or anxious.

Since their first dentist appointment at the start of the year we've started asking them to take their thumbs out of their mouth when we catch them doing it during the day, but we're still being pretty gentle with it.

Well, their teacher this morning told me that the girls are sucking their thumbs MORE at school than they did a month ago. I don't understand that because they really love this preschool program. They even ask about school on weekends!

Clearly it's time to up the pressure. They'll be four at the end of December and they need to give their thumbs up for good.

Suggestions?

 

I did not have to deal with thumb sucking with my two (but they were also the weird kids that wanted nothing to do with the pacifier either) but I was a thumb sucker as a child.  I remember being told to stop, I might have been around 5 or so.  I think it was something I grew out of.
I thought I read somewhere there is a product you can put on a child's nails or thumb to make it taste yucky so they will stop chewing on their nails or thumb.

 

One of mine is/was a thumb sucker.  At 8 years old, I wouldn't be surprised if he still does it at night but I haven't seen him do it in a long time.
 
Before I start rambling let me say, I have no real advice.  We've tried EVERYTHING and none of it's worked.  Well, there is a plastic thumb guard thing you can buy that we never tried, so there's that.  We tried the stuff that tastes bad - he sucked his thumb anyway but it made him throw up.  We tried punishing him, time outs, yanking his thumb out of his mouth... I can't even remember what else.   So good luck!
 
But on the brightside, the thumb sucking messing up your teeth is a myth.

 

This is the reason I encouraged pacis - I knew I can take those away but not the thumbs, and I have a cousin who was a thumb sucker and he did it until he was 5-6 so I was terrified of thumb sucking because of it.

I have a friend whose son was a thumb sucker and she used this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000YUXI0/?tag=mytwins02-20 and it worked great - he was done with it in a week. It's for kids over 3, so I think you can give it a try.This is the product Nancy mentioned, we have another friend who used it first and it worked for her son also.

I hope it's not too painful to go through this process.

 

It hasn't bothered me (but, oh does it ever drive my in-laws crazy) because I think being able to self-sooth is pretty awesome. 
 
My concerns, though, are 1) why are they doing it more at school when nothing else shows they are anxious there and 2) the dental effects.
 
Kate, our dentist said it can reshape the roof of their mouth. I'd like to avoid palette expanders and such if I can!

 

I wasn't told that about the roof of his mouth, but I could definitely see that as an issue.  I've had a little problem with the roof of my mouth (and lots of teeth/gum problems) after having a tongue ring for years...  :blush:
 
That thumb sucking stuff that Monica linked to is what we used and it made my kid throw up.

 

Not so much for Steph because they are so young but for Kate, one of the girls at day care was a thumb sucker at 7. She had a metal "thumb crib" put in by an orthodontist. You can only see it when she opens wide. It has stopped her. (her teeth are great but it was time for her to stop with the thumb) 

 

One of my boys was a thumb sucker and we were pretty relaxed about it as well. I think when he was around 3, we would ask him to stop sucking his thumb when we were out and about, but in general, we didn't worry about it (even though it really bugged me! I had a 4th grader that still sucked his thumb and I hated the idea of my son being that age and still struggling to give it up!).
 
I used his first dental visit to persuade him. We were also told that we didn't need to worry about his teeth, they will settle back to a natural shape if they have any movement to begin with, but the roof of his mouth could be reshaped by thumb sucking. One night when we were brushing teeth, he asked me what the dentist meant, so I explained. Then I told him it was really important that he stop. And he did. It was crazy easy (and not the norm, I realize that)! However, after a year or so, I noticed that he chews his nails. I think his way of soothing himself was taken away, even if only figuratively, so now he's a nail chewer. Not a whole lot better, imo.
 
I had tried to find the stuff you can put on their thumb (never did find it, and the store people I asked looked at me like I had two heads!) and I was ready to order the thumb guard.
 
As far as thumb sucking at school . . . the thumb sucking is their way of soothing themselves and school can be an overload on the senses. Since they appear to love school, my guess is the thumb sucking is just a way of keeping themselves relaxed even though their is a lot of activity around them.

 

We've never needed it, but I know people who swear by products like this:
 
http://www.etsy.com/listing/119856209/stop-thumb-sucking-mitten?ref=sr_gallery_6&ga_search_query=thumb+cover&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_ref=auto1&ga_search_type=all

 

I wonder if you can try substituting something for their thumbs to help sooth them.  It's something you'd have to do at home as well to reinforce it, and you'd have to have the teachers on board to help reinforce it at school.  Could be anything you think might work.  Maybe a special blanket or stuffed animal they can keep at school, and when they feel overwhelmed, they can go give it a snuggle or a kiss.

 

Ana was my thumb sucker and she didn't stop until just last month (6 1/2 years old).  After she was about 3 we made sure she knew it was only a bedtime thing and for some strange reason that worked for her.  I didnt stress about it, but if she was tired and watching tv and started sucking, I just told her to stop.  She only sucked when she had her "hankies" (bandanas) and since those lived in her bed, she only had access to them at bedtime.  I talked to our dentists about it (first a peds dentist and then our regular dentist) and both said not to worry.  Maybe that was because her teeth were fine since she only did it at bedtime.
 
Last month my DH made a comment about how it might make her teeth crooked.  That very night she packed up her hankies in a ziplock bag and asked to leave them in the car (we were on route home from an overnight trip so they were in there already).  She didn't suck, and hasn't ever since.  The hankies are still in my van a month later.  I'm sad my baby is grown up, but more than that I'm amazed at her willpower!  I gave up sucking my thumb when i was around her age, but I remember it being a struggle.   Maybe us keeping it stress-free was the key to her giving it up on her own terms.  
 
As for school, could they be tired at school?  Meara used to tell me kids would suck their thumbs during circle time when a story was being read to them.  Maybe thats why.  Good luck!