Is 6 going on 7 Too Old to Still Be Sucking His Thumb?

Nah, I wouldn't make a big deal of it, it isnt that bad! My cousin sucked her thumb until she was 12 maybe. So far none of my kids have done this. I dont know about the teeth thing, that would be my only concern, but I guess that's what braces are for :)

My daughter sucked her thumb until she was 11. It was her own decision to stop and she didn't tell us she was stopping (in case she failed, I imagine). She started feeling like she was being a baby for sucking her thumb so she made the decision to stop. In order to do this, however, she had to get rid of the bunny... not all together. She still has the bunny she just stopped hanging onto it all the time, even when she slept. She started leaving at home at sleepovers and stuff. It was her decision, we didn't even cheer her on. She did it all on her own. It bothered me some to see her sucking her thumb but I am proud of the way she stopped all on her own.

It can and likely will affect his teeth, creating an overbite that will need expensive correction later. That aside, perhaps you should examine why he does it. Thumbsucking is a self-comfort measure that babies adopt until they learn other ways to comfort themselves. Is there something happening in his life that would cause him to feel the need for that sort of comfort? Maybe you can offer him an alternative to thumbsucking for comfort. A favorite stuffed animal or blanket is a common step along the way in a child's emotional development, for example. I wish you luck with this. Only my first child sucked her thumb, and she stopped by the time she was 18 months old. The other two kids never did it at all. I'm no expert, that's for sure, but it just doesn't seem right that a child that old should be sucking his thumb. I'd be looking for why.