How to stop toddlers /children to STOP sucking their fingers?
By aluken
@aluken (50)
Canada
April 30, 2007 10:43am CST
My 17 mth. old daughter sucks her thumb constantly and the most annoying time is at nights while sleeping. During sleep both night and day intermittently she sucks the thumb and makes a "stuuuke,stuuuke" sound that drives me to want her to stop this practice immediately. So my husband and I try these things -mittens, bandage finger, remove finger at all times.
Also there is the hygiene issue -since she will be putting that finger that she would be playing with in her mouth even before I am able to wash her little hands because I cannot wash them 24/7.
Most importantly is the question of dental issues; if this will cause deformity to her upper gum structure and teeth. I read after 5-6 years then it becomes a problem but I already think I see a small "outward ness" of the front gums. Maybe just imagination.
At first we thought maybe she does this if hungry so we try to always give her stuff to snack on between meals but many times she will toss away if she is not hungry.
A chinese friend suggested a remedy used by older chinese -put ginger on the finger. I think this will burn so I cannot bring myself to do this.
What are other ways to stop her from continuing this practice that has worked for anyone.
5 people like this
22 responses
@thess0312 (442)
• United States
1 May 07
I think you have to try the ginger. It really does work! I remember my daugther when she was that age too, and it was not only one finger she was putting in her mouth! it was 2! It was her middle and her ring finger. And because she sucked it so much, there was callus on those two fingers. I was so worried! I tried everything! Perfume, jalapeños(but I always watched her when she had the jalapeños because she might have put it in her eye!), and I tried band-aids but none of them seemed to work! But when I was cooking, I was cooking with ginger and I was thinking maybe I should use this! I tried it and it worked like a charm! She stopped! She never sucked her finger ever again after I did that.
1 person likes this
@wishingwells (7)
• Philippines
4 Jun 08
i tried ginger with my son.. he ended up liking it.. duh.. he also liked chili (we didn't put a lot so i guess it was tolerable for him).. weird kid i have.. hehehe..
@happy2bmommy (305)
• United States
30 Apr 07
oh i wish i could help you and i wish i could get help with this issue too! i feel for you. my son is 18 months old and does something a little more disgusting...he licks and sucks on his entire hand! both of them. after they are both all slobbered up and gross, he claps his hands and rubs his hands together. i cant stand this bad habit. just like you, i worry about all the germs that he is getting inside of his mouth because he touches everything. i also can not be chasing him and washing his hands at all times because that is just impossible. i have given up on trying to stop him, i am hoping that this is something that he will stop doing on his own. i have asked people for advice also, and i kept getting scolded. i kept hearing over and over again.. "hes a baby! babies do that, leave him alone". so now i am leaving him alone, but he is still doing it. i really hope he stops this soon. i will be checking your post for other peoples advice and hope it works for me. i might try that ginger thing. i dont think it is going to burn. it might just taste bad. i will try it myself first.
1 person likes this
@Akeela (2078)
• Trinidad And Tobago
30 Apr 07
Ginger is natural a heated spice so it will have a slight heat but what your child is gross my son havent reached that point yet Thank Godness. He proberly so someone doing it so that's why. Well sometimes I pretend to suck my finger so he'll find it amusing but for your case he might stop the licking part and use lysol and clorax spray like there is no tomorrow .
@floramwaters (1595)
• United States
1 May 07
I am going though this with my children right now. What I have started with is that they can only suck on their thumbs/fingers at night when it is bed time. I decided to do this because it was away to help them fall asleep. It seems to be working so far.
1 person likes this
@emeraldisle (13139)
• United States
30 Apr 07
Children who suck their thumbs or fingers usually start in the womb, they have actually seen it on sonograms. They stop when they are ready and the more you make an issue of it the more likely they are to continue it. Sucking on the thumb, like a pacifier, is soothing and comforting to children. It doesn't have anything to do with hunger.
Until the permenant teeth come in you don't need to worry. It's an old wives tale that sucking one's thumb causes bucked teeth. The dental association does not recommend putting anything on the fingers to stop it, just thought you'd want to know. If you'd like to read more on this you can here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumb_sucking
As a former thumbsucker I stopped when I was ready. Yes I did have to wear braces but the doctor stated it was not due to thumbsucking. My mouth was just too small for the size of my teeth. There wasn't enough room for them all. My one brother sucked his thumb and never needed braces, he had perfectly straight teeth.
@recycledgoth (9894)
•
30 Apr 07
When my son was little he sucked his thumb a lot until we were advised to put a little bit of mustard on his thumb. He stopped sucking his thumb pretty quickly after that and it certainly didn't do him any harm
1 person likes this
@billionaire5 (1333)
• United States
30 Apr 07
Well as a former thumb sucker I can only tell you that we stop when we choose too and sometimes not at all, depending on your childs personality may determine when and if she stops. I stopped when I was 12 but my 19 yr old daughter still sucks hers. Everything my mother tried I got around or sucked off. Because she is so young you can try substituting her thumb with a treat like a popsicle or something to that affect.
1 person likes this
@academic2 (7000)
• Uganda
1 May 07
That shouldnt worry you too much-those are infantile habits that die hard but they will die off as the child grows, I suggest you keep the childs hand clean for now-if she starts talking and understanding, then you simply need to start rebuking her-those actions will not be rewarding and that will discourage her in due time. If you find her not sucking her hands, re-enforce those actions with things she likes while telling her it is reward for not sucking her finger-this will gradually help!
@nilzerous1 (2434)
• India
1 May 07
Keep her busy in some other act.
I use to tell my nice - "Where's to keep your hand?"
She would reply, "Here!", after keeping her hands folded on her body.
This did not took a long training session either, instead, she was told to keep her hand folded on her body as it looks brilliant. It worked fantastic.
Still little babies suck fingers occasionally and when they do so, you have to remind her the difference between a good practice and a bad practice.
Hopefully, this guideline will help you.
@prestocaro (1252)
• United States
1 May 07
I must say that first of all, stressing out about this and discussing it in front of your daughter or with your daughter will only exacerbate the problem. Children usually suck their thumbs when they are feeling stress, pressure, or anxiety. Attempting to force her to stop will just create a higher drive to do the unwanted behavior! Ginger may be worth a try when she is asleep already. It tastes a little spicy, yes, but doesn't have the dangerous "heat" chemical capcaizn (spelling is really off on that one, lol) which could hurt your child if it gets into her eyes, nose, etc.
There is a really interesting movie out called "Thumbsucker" that I enjoyed recently. It was at Sundance last year and stars Tilda Swanson and Vincent D'onfrio as two parents really frustrated by their adolescent son's thumbsucking. You might enjoy it if for no other reason than the relief of know you aren't alone. Good luck! Stay SAne :)
@dlkuku (1935)
• United States
1 May 07
When I was little I was a thumb sucker and my mother tried everything to make me quit. The more she did, the more I sucked my thumb.
I grew out of it on my own, if a child wants to suck their thumb or fingers, they still will no matter how much you try and force them not to. In fact, trying to force them to stop may make them suck their thumb even more and for a longer duration.
@mari123 (1861)
• China
1 May 07
sucking their fingers is too normal to a babys.don.t worry to that,if you want to stop the baby to sucking fingers,there are no ways to do except what you say the ways.let child sucking his fingers,there are no problem to you child,when he grow up,sucking fingers will naturely stop.
@rockerwitch (538)
• Philippines
1 May 07
I don't know about the burning (will try putting ginger on finger later). But my mom told me that she put some sort of hot sauce or something on me and my brother's fingers while we were sleeping so that definitely got us to stop.
or maybe bribe her to stop thumbsucking... give her candy if she doesn't do it for a whole hour or something...maybe...
@roanne05 (1290)
• Oman
4 Jun 08
when we are little..my mom put chilli on my brothers hands to stop him. it did work. but you did not try ginger..anyway if you wanted to try this...this worked for my brother who already has a son..hehehe!
@vinu123 (224)
• India
1 May 07
i don't know i never had such a bad experience with my newfews 7 nieces. even i never used to suck my thumb, remedy for this thing may be you can give them soimething else to suck,. at least i think so i would have done this if were at your place.
@altair_dip (807)
• India
1 May 07
My 7 month old son also has his hand in his mouth all the time.. as of ow as he is teething i dont think much about it.. but as he grows older i sure will try to stop him from sucking his hand.. u can just put something bitter on ur daughters hand so that she will not suck her thumb.. ginger or bitterguard juice.. both these integers are natural and health foods...
@monkeywriter (2004)
• United States
1 May 07
My dad had to put something on my finger a glove or mitton to make me stop. It wasnt my thumb. It was my pointer finger. So yeah my dad made this finger thing for me and I finally stopped. I was really old too when I was still sucking it. I was I believe 7 yrs old. So yes it was defently a problem.
@gingisnapz (738)
• United States
1 May 07
When I was little I actually sucked my right index finger. My mom tried and tried to stop me. She'd put stuff on my finger that tasted bad and I'd put it in anyway.
Looking at my photo you wouldn't know I had dental issues, but I did. I had to have braces because of my finger sucking. Luckily my teeth are perfect now as an adult because it would've been horrible had I not been able to get braces in my early teens. I got sick a lot as a child too, which I really don't know if that contributed, but I'm sure it didn't help. I even stunted the growth of my finger, but it did eventually catch up after I stopped.
I ended up stopping on my own. I don't know what prompted me to stop, but my mom had pretty much given up after exhausting what options she had back in the day. I look back and can't believe I did that. Ewwwww. But I was a kid and germs are not something kids really think about.
@abhi14u (11)
•
1 May 07
like suggested by your chinese friend,puttting sm ginger is good. or put something which is bitter. maybe after that your child may stop sucking her finger. or elso frighten her by saying that the finger will swell up n will have to be cut off if she keeps sucking thew finger..
@kumar27 (129)
• India
1 May 07
the psycholgy says some children's untimely development of brain-cells causes him/her to suck thumb to vanquish boredom. no medicine can cure that but this habit disappears as soon as he/she relizes it as a laughable habit that no one likes.
chinese medicine is just to divert his/her attention because it is pungent and so give up
