thumb sucking

If you have a child who sucks his or her thumb or fingers, when did it start? I'm nervous about it because I was a thumb sucker who had a hard time kicking the habit as a kid and had years of orthodontia as a result. My DD just started sucking her thumb at 4 months, but she only seems to do it when she's hungry. Should I be worried?

 

Mine were suckin gtheirs since they were just a few weeks old and while I loved the convenience of it then (binky re0insertions were driving me INSANE), it's getting out of control now. In fact, someone mentioned that their babies' thumbsucking was hindering their mobility! I can somewhat relate because there have been several times that I've tried to keep my boys on their hands and knees and they have to "pause" for a few thumb sucks . But I really wouldn't be worried. I hear it's a hard habit to break but it IS breakable.

 

My DS is a thumbsucker and he started at around 2 months. He only does it when he goes to sleep.

 

I have pictures of my son sucking his thumb at 6 weeks. He sucked his thumb until he was in second grade. I didn't think he would ever stop. We ended up limiting his thumb-sucking to his room and buying an all-natural cream that was very bitter tasting to put on his thumb. From experience it is a very hard habit to break. Now he bites his nails horribly bad and I have no doubt it is replacing one habit with another. The dentist would always make comments about our son's bite due to thumb-sucking and he will be needing braces in a few years due to his bite which is probably both heredity and due to thumb-sucking. My son had a lot of trouble forming certain sounds as well and my husband and I both believe it was because of his constant reliance on his thumb.

I think whether or not you allow your child to suck their thumb is obviously a personal choice. We consistently kept our girls from sucking their fingers due to the experience we had with our son.

 

arden since in utero and the first day into this world. Ramsey about 3 days old. They both do it to sooth themselves and they are only 6 weeks old.

thumb sucker

 

I know Aiden sucked his thumb in utero, but I can't honestly recall when he consistently began sucking it. He was a HUGE paci baby, but didn't have a strong enough suck to keep it in & it drove us INSANE. We actually 'helped' him learn to suck his thumb to save ourselves from going completely insane! I want to say he got pretty consistent around 5 mos or so. Unlike most thumb suckers, he'll now ONLY do it when he has his silkie (his lovey) in hand. And he doesn't really SUCK hard, as much as loosely sucking/chewing/placing his thumb in his mouth. It's completely odd, but whatever works to keep him soothed (he's a bit high maintenance). I'm not overly worried about his teeth since he doesn't suck hard. If it becomes a problem in the future, we'll work on breaking him of it sooner than just allowing himself to break it on his own.

While I never wanted my kids to become thumb suckers, it was quite evident it's what Aiden needed from very early on. We rejoiced the day he stuck it in his mouth all by himself!!! LOL...

 

Both of mine suck their thumbs.. not often though. with DS i stuck a paci in his mouth everytime he sucked his thumb and DD will not take a paci at all. She will suck every now and then but not every often. I notice them sucking when they are in the car.
I do not want them going thru what i went thru..Lots of time with braces and other orthodontal work due to thumb sucking.

I think you would know if they were an avid thumb sucker.. It kinda sounds like you dont have one..

 

It doesn't sounds like she's really hooked yet...

Both my girls are avid thumbsuckers -- Nadia started very early, just a few weeks, and is still going strong. She mostly sucks when she's tired or hungry, or if she's relaxing in front of the TV with her lovey. Her preschool teacher tells me that she never sees her sucking her thumb at school.

Karina started at maybe 3 months, and now sucks her thumb quite a lot. I haven't noticed it hindering any other development, though.

Aside from the orthodontia concerns, I honestly love that they can self-soothe with their thumbs. They're both excellent sleepers, and have been since early on -- I think the thumb has something to do with it.

Kevan isn't a thumb-sucker, and doesn't take a paci, either. He's not a terrible sleeper, but he's definitely more fitful, and has a hard time calming down to go to sleep. I often wish he *would* suck his thumb already.

I do worry about their needing braces, etc. -- but, I know my mom sucked her thumb until she was 14 (seriously), and she has perfectly straight teeth. I think it must depend on how much pressure you apply with the thumb...?

Anyhow. If you really want to prevent the habit, I might ask the pedi for ideas at this age...

 

Our ped. said that babies canstart sucking thumbs as late a 8 months.

DD started sucking her thumb in utero and has been trying since the day she was born. Between 4-5 months is when she got really good at it. Honestly, I don't know how you can stop this from happening. During the day, I guess you could try everytime you see it happening, but you might be spending a lot of time trying dong so (DD's thumb/ hands are always in her mouth). At night, in the car, when you are in the shower, etc. there's really nothing you can do to stop it if that's what they want to do. Mine even sucks her hands if she has mits on or her lovey in her hand. Also, developmentally, babies put their hands in their mouth a lot especially during teething). Some babies have a strong need to suck (other than at feeding times). I know that you don't want your baby to go through all of the things you did due to thub sucking. But, I think that developmentally, some babies just *need* to do this. I also agree with pp that having a baby that can self sooth is a bouns.

I have a cousin who said that the stress of trying to make her stop made her wnat to suck her thumb more ( to self sooth) and that she felt like she was being bad all the time. Ask your ped. for suggestions.

 

Marc started the day he was born, Jon a few months later. My uncle, who is a dentist, said he prefers thumbsuckers to pacifiers. He feels that 95% of kids stop on their own before they loose their first tooth. Also, a child can't play as well with a thumb in their mouth, so most will choose to use the hand over sucking. The opposite is a paci which can be in their mouth all the time, and doesn't hinder them at all--but does hurt their speech. Marc used to bite his nails and he stopped both on his own in the past year or so. Jon also stopped on is own in the past few months. They did only ever suck their thumbs when tired or sick.

 

Emma started sucking her thumb when she was about 2-3 months old. She only sucks it when she is really tired. Hannah takes a paci - which is worse? I don't know!

 

Lauren is my sucker! I don't remember exactly when she started, but it was pretty early. She used to cover her face with both hands and put a pinky and one thumb in her mouth. Now she's got the good ol' thumb.

 

Gracie started in the NICU. As an infant she used to suck her thumb whenever. But after she turned a year she started only sucking her thumb when she's holding her lovey blanket. So if there is no blanket there is no thumb sucking. So she only gets the lovey at naptime/bedtime.

 

Both my boys such their thumbs. They do it when they are tired, hungry, and sometimes when they are sleeping. I have never really worried about it. After reading all of the posts, maybe I should worry more.

 

My DD started sucking her thumb at about 3 months old. She still sucks it when she is tired to soothe herself to sleep and she is 3.5 year old. My Ped nor Dentist are worried at all.

 

Ana is my thumb sucker. I think it started around 2 or 3 months. Before then it was all about the paci. But once she discovered her thumb and her ability to get it to her mouth, the paci was rejected. I'm not too worried about it now.. she uses it to calm herself and when she is sleepy. I sucked my thumb until about 6 years old (I know- so old!), and had retainers and braces, but I don't think the thumb sucking was completely responsible.

 

Annalise started this when she was around four months or so. She does this when she is falling asleep or sleeping.

 

My boys started sucking their thumbs at 4 months. Both quit on their own -- one at 8 months (possibly because that's when the first tooth erupted and he didn't like the feel of it) and the other quit shortly after turning 2. I found it interesting that the boy who quit at 8 months switched to sucking blanket satin and then he stopped the blanket sucking at the same time the other boy was stopping thumb sucking. Whatever need there was seems to have gone.