My granddaugther is 5, what is a good way to stop her from sucking her thumb constantly?
Answer:
If you force her to stop sucking her thumb before she is ready, other issues will develop such as oral fixations, inadequate ways of dealing with insecurities, etc. Never punish her, humiliate her or make a big issue out of this. It's not just physical - it's a psychological and emotional dependancy as well.
If you just can't take it and you really must do something, gently try keeping her busy. Identify the situations she sucks her thumb the most (i.e. while watching tv, driving in the car, when bored, etc.) and plan ahead of time some things to do to keep her hands busy during those times. My son liked mindless thing such as quishy balls, stretchy toys (the kind that stick on walls), rubic cubes, or anything that you can maniplate with your hands while doing something else.
Not sucking the thumb at bedtime is very, very difficult. You probably should aim to just identify one or two times of the day when you would like her to cut back, and just let the bedtime go.
I really think that if you are patient, you will find that when she is in school full time, 1st grade probably, she will be sucking her thumb A LOT less. Why? She will be engaged all day - not much time to be bored. And the peer pressure, while usually a negative thing, will help. Other kids noticing once or twice will provide a lot of incentive to stop sucking.
One last thing to consider: a wise person once told me, "Orthodontics are a lot cheaper than Psychotherapy."
Good Luck!
Put death on it.
You could give her sugarless gum to chew, remind her when you see her sucking it, or try dipping her thumb in lemon juice several times a day...or lime if she likes the lemon.
Ask her pediatrician what you can use! Maybe, some kind of solution that tastes really bad that you can wipe on her thumb. But, consult her doctor first...make sure it is safe!
put hot sauce or pepper on the them I tried it on my daughter..it took 1 week to work.she would get ready to put her thumb in her mouth and she would remember it would burn. :)
Try putting nail polish on her thumb. a) Most kids don't like the taste of it. b) You can tell her it's a special treat for her, but he must not suck her thumb because then she'd wipe the pretty polish off.
Good luck.
Where are this little girls parents?
I told my 5 year old that he looked like a baby when he sucked his friends and that it just wasn't cool. He went from sucking it all the time to just at night.
well I dont know I suck my thumb too and I cant stop and i'm 26, tell me what the answer is because I need help!(lol)
Distract her by doing something else play a game watch a movie stuff like that
There may not be a way.
My mother tried for forever, yelling, screaming at me, etc.
it was when my dad was told (they started to get divorced when I was 1 1/2) and I was about seven that he gently confronted me.
I lied to him that I was tricking her, and he never disproved me.
But I was ashamed.
I held onto my thumb between my other fingers and solved it myself.
Oh, and I still wake up feeeling the effects of pressure on my thumb somedays.
I still hold it down in my sleep, at 29.
Nice that I was taken off both bottle and pacifier on my 365th day of life, hey?
Awww I think thumb sucking is cute. Although as we know it will screw up the teeth. I used to suck my thumb when I was her age till about 11. The dentist put what was called a crib in my mouth. It hooks onto the back molars, on the top of course, and this crib looking thing hung down from the roof of my mouth. It was suppose to stop me from sticking my thumb in my mouth. Um did it work? Yeah I guess...For me I just eventually grew out of it. Good luck!
Nothing. My 9 year old son still sucks his thumb, i tried it all, and then just stopped. he doesn't do it as much anymore since he started school when he was 5. he sleeps with his thumb in his mouth and when he gets tired he sucks it, but sometimes when he's just zoning out watching TV he'll suck it and I'll ask him "How old are you?" and he knows then that he has it in his mouth and he stops.
My mother Sucked her thumb till she died at 24.
dip it in something called bitters, it wont harm her but it tastes nasty
Why do YOU have a problem with her sucking HER thumb?
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