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?
Image via noquarter/Flickr
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Comments 59
I have never heard of the Thumbuddy that andreav210 mentioned. Good to look into.
Otherwise, I would say that at 2 years old, it shouldn't be a "big deal". It is comforting. Do watch letting it go on too long because it can cause buck teeth by pushing teeth forward. I agree with you that the comfort is important. I used to suck two fingers instead of my thumb when I was little and rub my face with the other hand. I even remember how good that light rubbing on my face felt. When I was older, I tried it one time and that old feeling wasn't there any more. LOL.
I think people worry about these little soothing things being taken away too early. Two years old is still a baby. At three you can talk to and reason a bit more with a little one. Make a deal with her - tell her when she is three, no more thumb sucking. Then congratulate her on her third birthday. That way she actually will think about it ahead of time and be ready when it is time, rather than telling her all of a sudden to stop it.
My 22 year old still sucks his in his sleep. UGH!
My 3 year old sucks her thumb, but now only to go to sleep. I couldn't care less. I sucked my thumb till I was 6 and have perfectly placed teeth. The dentist said start talking about it now but no pressure. There are worse things. My other daughter who is not a thumb sucker, nor a bottle or juice addict, and is only 2, already has 3 cavities. Go figure.
my kids dont do either. your nails are very dirty even when they look clean. and exspecially what your kids eat and pick up. when i was a kid i know a freind of my moms son got WORMS yes Worms from biting his nails and sucking his thumb. ewwwww disgusting habbit
I sucked my thumb until I was in first or second grade. I had no dental problems at all and my thumb is not deformed. I stopped on my own without any intervention. My daughter sucks two of her fingers. I'll let her do it until she grows out of it or her dentist says it's time. She does it for comfort and when she is falling asleep. So long as her hands are clean, I don't have a problem with it.