Putting An End To Your Child's Thumb Sucking Habit

If you have a small child who has a problem sucking their thumb, you want to get it under control before it becomes a dental issue. Prolonged thumb-sucking can lead to a child's teeth growing outward and in extreme cases it can even lead to the roof of their mouth becoming misshapen. If you are concerned about your child's thumb-suckinghabit, you can follow the advice in this helpful article to get them to stop. 

Start by explaining to them that they need to stop

The first thing you want to do is to explain to your child hat it's time for them to stop sucking their thumb. Try to explain to them in terms they can understand some of the problems that can happen if they continue sucking their thumb too long.

Work out a hand signal or code word with your child

If your child is old enough to understand, you can work out a hand signal or a code word that reminds them to remove their thumb from their mouth.

Try to keep your child's hands busy

You may have noticed your child will suck their thumb more often at certain times, such as right before naptime or when they are involved in certain activities, like watching TV. Pay attention to the times when your child sucks their thumb the most and try to give them something to do with both hands. You can give them a couple stuffed animals to hold, a toy to play with that requires two hands or another object that works for this purpose.

Put gloves on our child at bedtime

A lot of children like to suck their thumb while they are going to sleep. You can put gloves on your child's hands and tell them to keep them on to help prevent them from putting their thumb in their mouth as they are falling to sleep.

Put bitter tasting liquid on your child's thumb

There are liquids on the market that are non-toxic and designed to prevent thumb sucking. These liquids put a bitter taste on your child's thumb that they won't like. These liquids are best used during the daytime and may not be much of a help when it comes to keeping your child from sucking their thumb in their sleep. 

If your child continues sucking their thumb, the dentist (such as one from http://www.nwidentist.com/) may be able to give you more advice to help you get them to stop.

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