Thumb sucking 7 year old

[normyc]

Any tips on how to get my 7yr old to stop sucking his thumb?

[eternalteena]

I had the same prob with one of my boys I tried putting nasty tasting things on his thumb and even tied socks on his hand which his brother promtley took off,helpfully he thought. I struggled for years but only vanity won in the end so don't give up and good luck.

[louadams6]

hi normyc, i dont have any answers im afraid but my daughter is nearly 3 and sucks her thumb soooo much that it has now started to crack and is really sore. i havent a clue what to put on it to help her. someone advised me to put the stuff on that stops you biting your nails as it tastes horrible but im worried that it will sting as her thumb is so cracked. i am going shopping tomorrow and will be popping to see the pharmacist to see if he can advise something to put on it to stop her sucking it so will let you know tomorrow what the outcome is!

[Piper-AK]

I sucked my thumb until I was about 7 - I just grew out of it.  As to what you could put on your little girls thumb, all I can think of is rubber gloves or something - though that may be dangerous so ignore me!

[Scarlett]

You could bandage the injured finger until it heals and that might get her out of the habit. But I REALLY wouldn;t worry about it. She will grow out of it!

[beerbelly]

a clip round the ear-hole never did any harm
but now its assault ...sad how times have changed
harsh words now i suppose ....
good luck ....b..b.

[Lore]

Normy, the main problem lies with the development of his teeth, thumb sucking will result in crooked teeth or worse - speech problems due to misalignment of the upper and lower jaw.

You could put a plaster on his thumb as a reminder not to suck it or have specific times each day when he's not to do it e.g during meal times or story time - you'll need to reward him for not sucking his thumb tho. 

good luck  :o)

[cherrybomb]

I had the same problem with my daughter plus she used to have an old white lace sun hat she used to tickle the edges of which I had to wash and dry while she was asleep. I was convinced that she would never stop as I had tried all the remedies. We were on holiday and my daughter (she was 6 yrs old) and husband came back from the amusements and she told me she had chucked her hat in a bin. My husband said she made the decision herself and not to panic just see how it went. She never sucked her thumb again (this was 6yrs ago) I was amazed at her willpower. I have lost hours of sleep in the last 12yrs worrying about my daughter over various  issues and most of the time she will sort it in her own time and in her own way. I bet your son will stop just like that when he is ready.

Mind you she does insist on a well ironed pillow case as she likes to tickle the edge when she goes to sleep so old habits are hard to break.  

[badgerchops]

keep him busy and make sure he gets lots of sleep.  hes more likely to suck his thumb when bored or tired

[ket]

My little one did that too and had a huge problem with bitting her nails, eating the skin of her toes/hands and she's 5. She still does it now and again and i know this may sound silly but i showed her a programme on bacteria (she hates spiders, ants etc), and i told her that we all carry these germs on our hands so if you put them in your mouth you'll end up having creepy things in your stomach and since then she's calmed down alot.

Could be worth a try.

[lissyl78]

Hi Normy, my son never sucked his thumb so my advice doesn't come from experience but as a random suggestion that might just work! If he helped you cook something in the kitchen, preferably with onion or garlic, and make sure he handles the food, then maybe his fingers won't taste too good afterwards! Might not work but I've been doing a lot of cooking lately and the taste stays on your skin for ages, even after you've scrubbed them!

Good luck with whatever you try though! x

[normyc]

Thanks for all your help, I will try some of these suggestions.