When my daughter gets sleepy, she sucks her thumb. She's 2 1/2 years old. And I'm okay with it. In fact, when I see her thumbsucking I know she's completely ready for bed. Yay! Sleep! No one wants to mess with that.
My little sucker was never into pacifiers, but did nurse for comfort sometimes. Her love affair with her thumb started around 6 months. And even though many people want to find ways to discourage thumbsucking, I'm not going to do that just yet. The way I see it is it's just like she loves to sleep with her Dolly. Except of course with that pesky possible orthodontic issue looming over our heads. Which I don't see being an actual issue until she's 4.
I'm not going to take her Dolly away; so I'm sure not going to separate her from her thumb.
I just feel there are habits a toddler can pick up that are far worse. You know, like smoking. Or nose picking and eating. Which ... well, she has done and knows it's not filed under the mommy-approved things to do. So instead of eating the boogers she picks, she tries to feed them to me. I haven't eaten them -- we get tissues and have a lesson in nose blowing of course.
I already feel like my daughter is destined for braces anyway -- I have (still have) an overbite and my husband had braces when he was a kid as well. Are we making her possible "problem" worse by "allowing" her to suck her thumb? Many are going to say yes. How could we let her continue with this disgusting behavior? Gasp! That's gross! But not all dentists are concerned -- ours isn't. So I'm not going to add this to the 12,376 things I already worry about daily when it comes to my kids.
I'll admit, that thumb stinks something awful after a good thumbsucking session (parents of thumbsuckers know what I'm talking about here!), but it's the way she likes to soothe herself right now so I'm going to let her be soothed and deal with the stench. Plus, have you seen some of those thumb torture devices sold to help kids stop sucking their thumb? No thanks! When it is time -- IF it even comes to that -- I'll go the talking it out route. There isn't going to be a power struggle. I don't want tears. And I don't want negative thumb associations.
There have been a few times when I tried to discourage thumbsucking, just to see what would happen. We co-sleep, so I snuggle with her and have tried holding her hands so little thumb wouldn't find its way into her mouth. But she has said, "Mama, I want thummy" so I let her have the little stink bomb. For now.
Do you have a little thumbsucker on your hands? Are you concerned?
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Comments 59
ok do as you wish
I think each kid is different and parents know what's best. I now wish my parents had tried to stop me easier, but even then, my teeth are not necessarily crooks enough to require braces.
When the time comes, I hope it goes smoothly for you! Oh yes, and even as a married adult, I still sleep with my childhood stuffed animal! Some may think that is weird but I figure it's healthy for adults to keep some sort of whimsy in their lives. Mine happens to be in the form of an old stuffed pony. :)
My 40 yr old cousin sucked her thumb and still does in sleep without realizing it. Not a good habit at all!
I let my kids suck their thumbs till they stopped on their own... And, the pacifers---UCK !... No !... I couldn't stand the way the way children looked with that in their mouths. Besides, the thought of continuously washing it when they dropped it,---naw...
But, I had many, many dental problems related to using a pacifier till I was 4. Wasn't about to let my kids think that chewing/sucking on things for boredom or out of habit was okay.
That's MY kids though. Your kids, your business.
My spanish teacher's thumb if you look at it is deformed because she was constantly sucking on it until the age of 25!. The thumb she was sucking on looks so much more like her big toe than a thumb!.
Yeah, don't let it go on too long... I sucked my thumb until I was 8 and it screwed up my teeth but good. My parents tried to get me to stop, but by the time they tried (around 4 or so?) I was so stubborn about it that I refused--I even have a clear memory of my dad putting red pepper on my thumb to stop me. They finally had to put a metal device in my mouth that would block my thumb from going in, and it hurt like the dickens. Horrible experience.
Just a heads up! Thumbsucking is definitely habit forming. :<
do as you wish. i am trying to get my 2 year old daughter to stop biting her nails.