6 yr old STILL sucking thumb.....

[pagal]

Ladies,

I've got a little thumb sucker on my hands and it's really a habit we HAVE to help her break. Her Kindergarten report card said that it's really a problem becuase she totally "zones out" when she sucks her thumb and is getting lost at school and not participating.

SO, I've tried reminding her every time I see her. I've tried scolding her. I've tried bribing her with an American doll as a reward....

Today, I put scotch tape around both thumbs but I don't want it to interfere with her writing?

ANY SUGGESTIONS?

[quiet_kate]

I used to have this problem. Put something nasty-tasting (but won't actually harm her) on her thumbs. When she tries to suck her thumb, all she'll get is that nasty taste. Repeat it for a few days, and she'll learn not to do it. Worked for me!!

[lisaann]

They have nasty tasting stuff at the drug store for this called Bitter Apple or Bitter Orange.

[kmendel]

I sucked my thrumb until age ten. Finally, after trying just about everything, my dad told me if I stopped, he would buy me a brand new bike...... I could pick it out myself. Within six weeks, my thumbsucking was done and we went to Sears....I got the shiniest bike I could find with all the "goodies"..... horn, light, basket, etc. (This was back in the '50's)

Kathy

[funmudder]

I sucked my thumb until I was 10 too. My teeth are the straightest in the whole family too! LOL

Mom tried the bitter stuff on me, but I would just suck it right off my thumb because I needed that 'fix'.

If zoning out in school is the issue, I'd be inclined to believe if she doesn't have her thumb to use, she will just find something else. Doodling, playing with hair, staring at ceiling. I doubt its the thumb causing the zone out. Maybe she just is not interested :idunno happens with a lot of kids. They get bored in class. It's hard to stay excited about new stuff if the class moves slow to accommodate slower classmates. She could be zoning out because her activity is finished and she's waiting for the next thing to do and misses the teachers cue that the whole class is ready.

[lyngraphics]

This isn't thumb sucking, but when people make remarks about my son's binky, my Grandma told me tell them that "Nobody ever went to college with a binky!" LOL

Some kids just need that extra security! Is she an extra-sensitive child? My son is very sensitive, not in the bad melt-down way, but you can tell he is more sensitive than other 3 year olds.

[Biblenuggetlady]

I sucked my thumb until the 6th grade too, it's security for her. I agree with Funmudder too, the thumb sucking isn't making her "zone out" in class, does she "zone out" at home when she sucks her thumb? lyngraphics stole my line too...not too many people go on their honeymoon with a binky, thumb sucking or wetting the bed. Tell the teacher to teach the class and leave your daughter alone. You should see the homework my son took to school today, I am waiting for a phone call, they had to write a paper on "global warming". :heh

Don't worry about your daughter, she'll be fine, she just needs that extra little security...nothing my parents could do could get me to stop, I even had a deformed thumb due to it, it corrected itself when I quit. :hug

[firstoftwelve]

actually you'd be surprised how many people do go to college and on a honeymoon secretly sucking their thumb..... at that point you just learn how to hide it well.

[wife]

my son is almost 8 and still sucks his thumb. I rewarded him not to suck it unless he was going to sleep. So that is all he does now.. even then he told me the other day that he doesn't do it that often, only when he cannot fall asleep.

But I think FM is right and she will find another way to zone out.

[MochaMel]

We have tried everything with my ds... To no avail - we must had to keep trying and finally did make a rule that it could only be at bedtime or naptime; no daytime sucking.. He kind of followed that. He is 13.5 now -- and um he would hate for me to say it -- but he still sucks his thumb from time to time. Just caught him 2 days ago while watching t.v.

It's a security thing -- it's calming i think. I sucked my thumb until 4th grade and somehow my parents convinced me to stop --