The big kids had their dentist’s appointments this morning, and we had some good news and bad news. The good news is that Tommy, who bravely got x-rays, is doing great! He’s brushing and flossing well, and he has no cavities. Keep up the good work, Tommy!
The bad news is that Elizabeth’s thumb sucking habit is starting to cause more problems to her teeth and jaw. We already knew that the front two teeth are being pushed out by the thumb, but her dentist noticed that she’s starting to have cross bite problems, too. It’s too early to tell if it’s just genetic or something that might fix itself with time, but it’s definitely exacerbated by the thumb sucking, so we discussed the need to break this habit. Especially when I mentioned that her little sister is starting to copy her and suck her thumb, too! I’m so frustrated by this thumb saga–we’ve tried reward charts, big girl nail polish, Thum (with hot pepper in it), and constantly reminding her to stop. Nothing is working. Dr. Gellman had a serious talk with her about it, told me to have other teachers (Sunday School, ballet) tell her thumb sucking is not allowed in their class, and loaded me up with some new short-term bribes. Elizabeth almost made it home without sucking her thumb, but I did catch her at it once, so she’s going to have to try again if she wants a new bouncy-ball.
This is SO frustrating! Does anyone else have a trick that worked for your kid?
Most kids I hear about who wean from thumb-sucking are much older than Elizabeth, more around 6 or 7. One technique you could try for night time is duck taping her thumb and first finger together. That worked for a family I knew.
I will need your advice cause lily is a two finger sucker. I will need to know what works!!
No ideas, but sympathy! Edith goes to the dentist on Wednesday and I have no idea what he’s going to say about the thumb sucking. I’ll ask for ideas and let you know if I hear anything new!
🙁 Poor girl. What a tough habit to break! I hope you find a solution!
Robert’s mom offered his little brother $20 to stop sucking his thumb when he was 4. It worked!