Thumb Suckers?????updated see last post!
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Wendyismyname · 02-09-2005, 07:30 PM

Oh gosh I hope someone can help!! Mikey is a thumb sucker. He sucks his thumb when he goes down for a nap or bedtime. Problem is, I had to take him to the Med Center saturday because he sucked his thumb to an infection!!!!! The poor thing had to have it lanced open to drain the pus. YUCK!!(well DS Josh thought it was cool!

)

So, I need ideas of what to do. Our cousin said to try Vanilla because even though it smells good, it tastes bitter. Um, Mikey liked it(he really does remind me of Mikey of Life Cereal!). I'd try tabasco, but I don't buy that stuff and it seems really cruel. He'll take it out when I tell him to, but heck I can't be beside him 24/7!!

Help! Please!!!

crystalloubear · 02-09-2005, 10:15 PM

My friend did the tabasco thing on her DS. Actually, I think she used hot wing sauce. Other than that, I have no idea neither of mine cared for thumb sucking or pacifiers. I think they realized there was no food coming out of it so why bother.
Good Luck! Hope you find a solution.

TinkMulanMickeysMom · 02-09-2005, 10:35 PM

How about a glove? I've got a finger sucker (my 4 year old) I've gotten her down to only when she goes to sleep. I just keep on her (gently but firmly). And I agree with you about the hot sauce, I'd be afraid that it might cause a burning sensation on the skin or god forbid they rub their eye! Good Luck!!

Luv4My4 · 02-09-2005, 11:03 PM

Here's some

but I can't help you. My 6 year old still sucks her two middle fingers when she goes to sleep and sometimes I catch her when she is comfy and watching T.V. I don't know what to do. We have tried gloves, taping her fingers together, bad tasting things on her fingers, almost everything and nothing works. I am afraid she is going to get teased if she does it at school. Thank God she is the only one of my kids who does this.

Tink and co. · 02-09-2005, 11:16 PM

I can't really help either. My 11 year old is the only one of our kids who sucked her thumb. She stopped doing it all the time in first grade. She only sucks her thumb sometimes in her sleep, although she still makes the sucking motion with her mouth (so cute, but she'd kill me if she knew I was telling you!). What stopped her was a trip to the dentist where he talked to her about the shape of the roof of her mouth, braces, etc. Then we watched something on TV that night where a kid had on headgear and Dad said, "That's what Zoie will look like in a few years." She was mortified and that's all it took. I guess teasing can have a positive effect!

Oh, and now that she's gotten all her permanent teeth, we get a referral to the orthodontist!

**Colexis Mom** · 02-10-2005, 05:22 AM

Mine both still suck their thumbs. Haven't found anything to work yet, althought I haven't been adamant about making it stop!

Wendyismyname · 02-10-2005, 07:32 AM

Thanks guys!! I guess it's a good thing he only does it at nap and bedtime. I think it's a really nasty habit. With a pacifier, at least you can throw it away!! Both Josh and Carlee were hooked on pacifiers. That was a mess. I learned from my mistakes the first time around, now that we have two more children, I'm determined to not repeat them.

DreaminDisney · 02-10-2005, 07:53 AM

DD who just turned 5 still sucks her thumb. Not like she use to. She does it a lot less but when I talked to the orthodontist about it he said not to worry, she'd grow out of it and if she's still doing it at night later down the line they do have something she can wear over thumb to prevent the thumb sucking.
I think the whole hot sauce thing is sooooooo mean. I don't know how other kids thumbs are who suck their thumbs but DD's skin there is a little more sensitive and just putting the stuff [hot sauce] on alone would burn

I'd rather her suck her thumb than try and break a habit that way. I'm not punishing my kid for a habit she's had since birth.
If Mikey is sucking his thumb so much it's causing an infection that has to be lanced...... maybe you should talk to his peditrician about the thumb guard thing.

Jennifer2003 · 02-10-2005, 08:03 AM

I don't know the name of it, but there is something out there with a really bad taste that nail biters can use. If you go to the pharmacy, I'm sure you'd get some help finding it.

Also, there is a carrot cream by Bert's Bees that tastes pretty nasty.

Good luck!

Jennifer

MegglesMom · 02-10-2005, 08:30 AM

When I was a thumbsucker, my parents used the nail biters polish. It worked like a charm!

Wendyismyname · 02-10-2005, 09:13 AM

[ QUOTE ]
When I was a thumbsucker, my parents used the nail biters polish. It worked like a charm!

[/ QUOTE ]

Heehee, when I tried that stuff to get me to stop biting my nails, I ended up liking it! Well, not exactly liking it, but I still have very very short nails!! I'll try it on Mikey though!

my2girls · 02-10-2005, 09:21 AM

I will have to try the Carrot Cream from Burts Bees - my
2 1/2 year old will not break the habit - I have tried hot sauce - she liked it. I have tried vaseline, she liked it. I have tried Vicks Vapor Rub, she liked it.
I am out of options - I'm hoping eventually she will stop.

Suzie · 02-10-2005, 11:28 AM

Sigh. My oldest son sucked his middle finger. The doctor and the dentist said, don't worry, he will grow out of it.
Then they said, he will stop when he goes to school. Well, he did stop sucking it while at school but it was always in his mouth at night. We tried everything but eventually he warped the roof of his mouth and his permanent teeth were having trouble coming in to replace the baby teeth since they did not line up.
So they put a bar in his mouth behind his braces to prevent him from sucking. He was eight then. Guess what, when the braces came off when he was twelve, he immediately started sucking it again. He is twenty-three now and if I look in at him when he is sleeping, he is still sucking that finger.
I felt a little better when my cousin confessed to me that her daughter, who is 32 still sucks her thumb at night (and she is married with two kids!) Apparently it is not as uncommon as we think.
Of course, the finger was better than what my youngest son did when he was really small. He sucked his arms and made huge blood blisters appear! Then they turned purple and it looked like we abused the child. He even sucked on my arm when I was not paying attention and made a hicky on me!
Suzie

krisk11 · 02-10-2005, 11:34 AM

After reading these I'm so glad my dd used a pacifier. When she was three we made a deal and gave them all to the trash men. The first night was a little tough but it got easier from there. My neighbor across the street won't eat mustard to this day since that is what her mom used for her thumb sucking.

minemoz1 · 02-10-2005, 11:36 AM

I now work from my DB who is a dentist. If everything else fails, he recommends a thumb sucking appliance. A metal bar that attaches to the top teeth that prevents them from sucking. And yes, if they don't stop you will be visiting the orthodontist sooner than you think.