Thumb Sucking

[lauralane]

How do you stop a 4 yearold sucking his thumb all the time.

[redcrx]

distract him when you see him doing it

use some of that stuff people use to stop them biting their nails

its a difficult one as you cant take it away, unlike a dummy.

[jeansegal]

You won't, as I know from personal experience, the obsession is far too great. Better not to make a fuss and he'll grow out of it in his own time.

[Naomicorlett]

HA!! my 23 year daughter still sucks her fingers when she thinks no one is watching!! Good Luck .

[CheekyChick]

I'm 34 and used to suck my thumb when I was little - it still finds it's way in my mouth when I'm sleeping!
Not embarrassing at all :o)

[888sally888]

I had a deal with my dad when I was 5 that I would stop suckng my thumb if he stopped smoking.

Neither of us wanted to let the other down so we both stuck to it!!

[masma]

Don't worry about it - it'll sort it self out eventually. The more you tell him the more he'll do it. At the end of the day it really doesn't matter.

[IceyMaiden]

It's nothing to worry about at all. If the litle chap gets some comfort from it, he'll stop in his own good time.

[~max~]

I sucked my thumb until I was about 5, then switched to "feeling" a piece of cloth with my fingers (to my mum's great embarassment, it was a pair of cotton knickers! lol I would take them everywhere). My father (not a very nice person) used to hide it on purpose at night, so I had to come and beg for it, cry and cry until he would finally relent and let me have it (after giving me a good smack for crying) when I still wouldn't sleep until 1 or 2am. I eventually lost that one somehow (I think it disintegrated! lol) and replaced it with a cotton undershirt. I kept that until I was 16! :O)
I'm now 30, and I do without. See? They grow out of it! ;O)

[ELVIS68]

"after giving you a good smack for crying" awww poor max

Sounds like a bad dad to me

[~max~]

Hi Elvis pet, no wonder I kept it for so long eh! As I said, he wasn't a very nice person. x

[EngTeach]

One comment from another child mocking the action and it will stop right away. My niece (6) still sucks her thumb when she is tired. She stopped doingat the day care when another kid made fun during nap time.

[Buddie]

Scare the hell out of them by telling them there teeth will stick out like a rabbit and they will get made fun of all the time and called goofy and bugs bunny. Its harsh, but its true and it might just work.

[abstract]

a tiny drop of hot pepper sauce? thats what my old dear done to my brother! and it worked!