Thumb Suckers & Pacifier Addicts...

[Redguard]

Do you have a thumb-sucker? Or a child who just can be without his/her pacifier?

If this is a past issue for your children, how did you eventually get them to stop?

 

[MERCY@GRACE]

Oh my, all 5 of mine suck their finger (the same one to boot) I wonder if it's hereditary b/c I sucked mine till I was 13

 

[HeatherJay]

My oldest loved her 'nookie' until she was about a year and a half. She couldn't sleep without it. To be honest, we didn't have any part at all in breaking her from it. We noticed, one day that she just didn't seem interested in it anymore. When we looked more closely at it, we realized that she'd bitten a little hole in it...so that everytime she sucked on it, it would collapse. Apparently, she decided she didn't like that very much, and she just gave it up. Since then I've advised all my friends who have pacifier issues to just cut a small hole it...just make sure that there's no danger of the baby sucking a piece of it down their throats.

My youngest would never take a pacifier. Believe me, we TRIED to give that child one, but she didn't want anything to do with it.

Neither of them sucked their fingers.

 

[sara elizabeth]

Our two oldest kinda took a pacifier until they were 5 and 6 mo. I didn't get a bigger size (I think the size was 0-6mo) and they both just lost interest. The younger two wouldn't have anything to do with one. I decided that its alot easier to not have them attached to a pacifier. Usually Mommy was all they needed.

 

[~Mrs. A2J~]

Our daughter used a "binky". She used it until I accidently threw it out while at a Burger King at about 9 months old. Thankfully she never fussed over not having it even though she was quite attached to it. She was still nursing very frequently so I assume she got enough comfort sucking from that and didn't need the binky anymore.

 

[lucypevensie]

My daughter's a thumb-sucker. Different things have worked, but only for limited amounts of time. Tried "painting" her thimb with that nasty tasting stuff, and she eventually learned to suck it off. Tried bandages, and she switch to sucking something else (or just suck on the bandages). Tried rewards, consequenses, I think we tried everything. She's 7 years old now and she really only does it in her sleep when she's not thinkig about what she's doing. One thing that really discouraged her was when she started losing her teeth. I guess it just didn't feel good anymore, or something.

 

[CarrieAg93]

I have one of each. My 4-yr.-old was a thumb-sucker from day 1. He never showed interest in a pacifier and sucked his thumb as soon as he could get his fingers in his mouth. He'd put all his fingers in and pull them out one at a time until only his thumb was left. He still sucks it, but only when he's tired and even that seems to be lessening now.

My 2-yr.-old is a pacifier boy. We only let him use it at night now and we're hoping to wean him off of even that soon.

 

[bliz]

My daughter would pull off the breast to suck her fingers. It's quite probable that she sucked in the womb. I made way too much of trying to get her to quit, which she did when she was good and ready to do so and not a moment before. I now wish that I had not made such a big deal about it.

 

[HeatherJay]

My little brother was a finger-sucker (second and third fingers). He sucked his fingers so much that he got an infection underneath his fingernails...his nails even began to come off. My mom had to take him to a dermotologist to get the problem corrected. He was probably 4 years old when that happened. So, just a little note that it CAN be harmful, even though it's usually not.

 

[okiemommy26]

My kids didn't take pacifers at all. We tried but it was a no go lol. They don't suck their thumbs or fingers.

 

[Jenna]

Anna sucks her thumb. Oy, does she suck her thumb. I wish that we could convince her to stop, since one of her front teeth is crooked because of it. Hopefully she will stop before her adult teeth start coming in. She complains because she has a callus on her knuckle, and sometimes she'll create a sore on her thumb. It doesn't bother her enough to stop though. I don't pressure her a whole lot, but I do try to get her to stop sucking her thumb quite as much. I've tried painting the yucky on her nails, which didn't work. I tried putting band-aids on her thumb for her boo-boos, and that didn't work. I've tried tying a cloth around her hand, and that didn't work. She'll cry about a boo-boo on her thumb, but still put the thing right back into her mouth. I love my little girl, and I hate to see her hurting herself. Hopefully one day she will just not find it appealing anymore.

 

[BeanMak]

I had one of each. My younger sucked his thumb and he was SUCH an easier baby! He sucked his thumb forever. One day when he was about 6, he asked me if he could call Dr. Graber (our dentist) I dialed up the number, and he asked for her, and I listened to the conversation. Apparently, they had discussed thumb sucking at the last visit, and she encouraged him to give it up and to call her when he had gone for a week with out using his thumb. LOL, sure enough, I realized that it had been a while since I had seen him with his thumb in his mouth. She praised him up and down, and sent him a little package of goodies.
I love Dr. Graber

 

[keirasmommy]

Our daughter is 14 mos and she sucks a bunny blanket (one of those little blankets with the animal attached and satin around the edge). She has sucked it since I took away her pacifier at 4 months old (my mother-in-law absolutly despised her pacifier) She brings it everywhere and sucks on it when she's tired or afraid or hungry. I don't think we'll take it away from her anytime soon it's not causing any harm and she needs it to comfort her when I'm not around. Eventually she'll give it up or we'll lose it or something. I'm not too worried.

 

[Bluemoon]

My daughter used her pacifier until she was a few months past 2. I then decided to put a little hole at the tip and then she said her pacifier was broken, she asked for the other one she had and I did the same with that one. She also said that it was broken. So she no longer wanted them. I carried them with me for when she wanted them (cause she forgot they were broken) so I gave it to her every time she asked, each time she tried it, she didn't like it. So that is how she got rid of them. They were too broken. I say get rid of them before 3 cause they get a little smarter and know they can get a new one.

 

[lucypevensie]

I had one of each. My younger sucked his thumb and he was SUCH an easier baby! He sucked his thumb forever. One day when he was about 6, he asked me if he could call Dr. Graber (our dentist) I dialed up the number, and he asked for her, and I listened to the conversation. Apparently, they had discussed thumb sucking at the last visit, and she encouraged him to give it up and to call her when he had gone for a week with out using his thumb. LOL, sure enough, I realized that it had been a while since I had seen him with his thumb in his mouth. She praised him up and down, and sent him a little package of goodies.
I love Dr. Graber

Now that's a great dentist! Our kids' dentist always tried to lay a huge guilt trip on me because my thumb-sucking daughter was developing crooked teeth. I had to mentally prepare myself before each visit for a little "talking-to", and tell myself not to take it so seriously.

 

[delvaughn]

Bailey used a pacifier until shortly before her second birthday. (She's three now.) We had a rather large collection of them, so one day, I explained to her that since she was getting to be such a big girl, we would get rid of one pacifier every morning when we got up. She'd pick out which one she was done with, and we'd throw it away together until they were all gone. She was a little bit fussy the first day or so without them, but not near as bad as I'd expected since she loved them so much.

I did catch her sucking on her thumb for the first time tonight, though...although she said she was biting it and needed to so she could go to sleep.

Savannah, my 18-month-old, had problems sucking at birth -- nursing or bottle -- so we actually tried to get her to use a pacifier. She wouldn't have anything to do with it, though. She only sucks on her fingers when she's hungry, if we don't figure it out quick enough for her liking.

 

[CoffeeSnob]

My mom gave me some good advice about making them stop.

Dont.

I asked why and she said "My dad died when I was 5-- I didnt stop sucking my thumb till I was 13-- it was my comfort."

My mom has major resentment for her mom going to the extreme to make her stop.

With Aryeh, we just stopped buying the binkies. She would suck them to death and eventually she just didnt need them when we had no more-- she never asked for them after they were all gone-- she was 3.

But as for 'making' them stop, I dont think its important. I couldnt care less about the 'social' aspect of it. Its nobody's business-- the child will realize kids their age dont do it if they are older-- they will either stop doing it around people or stop it altogether.

 

[selune]

None of ours have sucked either thumb or pacifier. We even offered the pacifier to help comfort them when fussy, but none of that. I was one who sucked my thumb until I was about 6-7, then I transfered all of that to cuddling a blankie (which I'd had the whole time too.) I was a bit insecure from moving in the air force.

 

[AmposGirl]

Allison is 3 now but she sucked a passy until she was a little over 2. Her granny was the one buying the 'big girl passys' so she always go ther way about them no matter what. I would take them away, granny just gave them back to her, even when she didn't even ask fo them. I had taken the passys away many times for weeks at a time, but then she would go to Wal mart with Granny and PawPaw and get them to buy her more of them. Keep in mind that she never asked me or daddy for a passy. i think it was a mind control issue with the grandparents. LOL But when she went for her 2 year old check up, her doctor told her that her teeth were getting crooked because of her passy so when she went home, She told her granny that Doctor Wright told her that her teeth were going to be ugly if Granny didn't stop giving her a passy. Doctor Wright didn't tell her that, but I think she knew that if she didn't say that the Doctor said something, granny wouldn't listen to Mommy. SO the very next day, granny took all of them away. Easy for me, but hard for Granny. Allison didn't even care that her passys weren't there anymore. Granny, on the other hand, was the one we had to watch. LOL She wanted to give them back to her all the time. i think they know when they need them and when they can let go. Evert child is different and we didn't push her to get rid of it, i could just tell when she didn't use it as much. So, I took advantage of the oppertunity and took it then. Which didn't work since we had another 'mommy' here as well.

 

[BeanMak]

I am coming to the conclusion that thumbs and pacifiers have very little effect on teeth alignment. I sucked my thumb until 6, - straight as can be, son #1, pacifier- straight teeth, son#2- thumb- braces for 4 years, 2 neices- sucked nothing- braces at 4 years.
I think your genes have a lot more to do with it.