thumb sucking

one of my dd has thumb sucking habit. as I had heard that most of the babies quit this around one year I was not much concern about it. but now it seems she will not quit it by herself and i have to do something....
I want to know if someone has/had baby with this habit, and what can be done for this?
my dd needs to suck thumb to sleep and she pulls her hair as well while sucking thumb. she sucks thumb in full stomach as well and sometimes rejects breast to suck thumb... what can i do? i can distract her from this (and i do) when she is awake but can not when she wants to sleep......

 

I don't know who set your expectation that most babies quit around a year. It's simply not true. I just read recently when I was looking up information on development that many quit around age 2 and most by 5. It's really not until then that pediatricians and dentists generally advise discouraging the habit.

FWIW, I had one quit at 8 months when that first tooth came in (must not have liked the new feel) and the other quit around 2.5 when his 2-year molars were erupting.

 

I have a thumb sucker and she still does it at 19 months old. It soothes her and really she only does it to fall asleep. I have NO problem with her sucking her thumb. When she is ready she'll stop (FWIW I was a thumb sucker too).

 

Babies need to suck! If they can soothe themselves in this way I have no problem with it. My second dd was a thumb sucker and stopped by age 3 or so. (The last year she only did it in bed and in the car.)

IMO people get too stressed over pacifiers and thumb sucking. It is wonderful when babies will do one or the other to self-soothe! My third dd wouldn't do either, and my boobs were her pacifiers!

I say let 'em suck!

 

My little brother sucked his thumb up until kindergarten - he just stopped on his own. Why do you not want her to suck her thumb?

 

Ditto Aimee - why do you want to stop the thumb sucking?

I was a thumb sucker until maybe kindergarten, and had no problems. DD sucks her thumb, but has been doing it a lot less lately. I am also of the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" school of thought: anything they can do to feel better is fine with me (especially if they can do it themselves)!

 

It is true babies need to suck, however I'm going to be the one that goes against the grain. For us trying to get our son to quit sucking his thumb was a nightmare (he began at 2 weeks old). Also, hedid not just quit on his own. We eventually had to buy an all natural bitter-tasting creme and had to limit his thumbsucking to his room. Once he quit sucking his thumb, he starting biting his nails and bites them down to the quick. This habit we can not break and it all started with sucking his thumb.

I don't blame you for wanting to stop the habit now, however, there isn't much you are going to be able to do to stop it during the night. You may try giving a paci instead b/c you aren't going to be able to apply any type of creme until she gets older unless the pedi can recommend something. I would also express your concerns to the peditrician about the interference with breastfeeding, he/she may can offer some advice to help you there.

Good luck!!

 

QUOTE(Leighann @ Oct 11 2008, 07:48 AM) [snapback]1021771[/snapback]
I have a thumb sucker and she still does it at 19 months old. It soothes her and really she only does it to fall asleep. I have NO problem with her sucking her thumb. When she is ready she'll stop (FWIW I was a thumb sucker too).



my DD#2 started sucking her thumb after I weaned her from breastfeeding, at 20 months old, when I was PG with my boys. Our boys are 5 months old, and they are both sucking their thumbs when sleepy/hungry. I don't have a problem with it, and think it's darn cute!

 

Here is the advice I was given - and will use if I see that the boys continued to develop this habit:

During the day when you see her sucking her thumb, take it out of her mouth and say "Not Now" - You will have to do this ALL day, but it will be worth it in the long run. Let her do it at night or naps - but hopefully by saying "NOT NOW" during the day you will teach her that it is appropriate when it's sleep time but not when it is wake time, and then hopefully eventually she will stop doing it at night on her own.

Hope that helps!

 

thanks for all the replies and advices.....
i just think, till what age she will need the thumb to fall asleep?
i don't want her to be embarrassed in her peer group due to this habit in future... so i want to nip the habit in bed...
as some of you told it is cute yes it really is but only for now.... what about they sucking thumb and other kids making fun of them..???

 

My DD just turned 4 and she has sucked her thumb since she was about 4 months old. It has decreased less and less and for the most part she does it at night. However, within the past month or so she actually asks permission to suck her thumb during the day. So about 50% of the time I say yes, and well you know the other So, I think she will eventually just give it up on her own. The Dentist said that we should start to discourage it now, but doesnt see it as a problem until she starts to get her adult teeth. For now, I am totally fine with it. It's her security blanket.

FWIW I took a pacifier until I went to Kindergarten. I still remember the night I gave it up.

 

QUOTE
i don't want her to be embarrassed in her peer group due to this habit in future... so i want to nip the habit in bed...
as some of you told it is cute yes it really is but only for now.... what about they sucking thumb and other kids making fun of them..???


IMO, kids grow and change so fast that it isn't worth worrying about "habits." Today's "habit" is tomorrow's history, so why deprive them of something harmless and soothing? My DD sucked her thumb a lot in the first year, and does it much less now already - with NO intervention from me whatsoever.

And if your DD doesn't outgrow it that soon, I really wouldn't worry. The peer pressure is actually a good thing - it will probably motivate her to give it up (or only to do it at bedtime) if she hasn't already. Also, another great thing about thumb sucking is that it's a self-limiting activity. As kids get more mobile and learn to do more with their hands, their hands are usually too busy to have a thumb in there all the time! First, they're crawling around, later, they get really good at & interested in manipulating toys. It's different from a paci, which can be in all the time & not interfere with play & mobility.

So I say let your baby comfort herself however she wants!

 

It's interesting that you mention the thumb-sucking and hair playing.. I used to do that to fall alseep [both]. Wouldn't do it during the day, but I couldn't sleep w/o doing it. Actually, people say that thumb-sucking can cause teeth problems when they get older. I stopped when I was 7 yrs old and had a gap between my two front teeth until I was 10 [I think it was the cause of it].

Although, babies do need to suck. I wouldn't worry about it until after the age of 5 or so. It'd be pretty embarassing for the child if they still sucked their thumb during school days IMO.