Thumb sucking - Yay? or Nay?

Sorry, I don't really have any advice, but didn't want to read and run. My 8 month old has started to suck his thumb off and on too, but I think it could be in relation to teething. Any chance that's what your little one is doing?

Aidans just started sucking his thumb or finger :( he is going to be 3 in november
Any Ideas how to get him to stop?

I don't reckon its a problem while they're little, especially if its helping them to self-soothe. Not sure how easy it would be to stop when they're older though....

I was so against it before DS was born, i tried with a dummy but he just wouldnt take it, he only sucks his thumb when he is tired or sick. He has slept through the night since he was 9 weeks old, i think mainly because when he does wake he sucks his thumb back to sleep. Im not sure how things will be later on down the track but for now we only let him do it when he is going to bed, although he is only 5 months if he sucks it for no reason we ask are you going to sleep? and then take it out... bit crazy i know!

My youngest doesn't suck her thumb..she sucks a little chubby spot on her wrist so it has a constant hicky mark! Not sure when that will ever stop either, but it definitely helps soothe her for now..

I'm not sure that thumb sucking will have that big an impact, especially as we aren' t talking about permanent teeth. My sister didn't suck her thumb and she still needed braces and a bucketful of orthodontic work. I won't tell you how long I sucked mine for, but I do know that the MORE my mum tried to get me to stop, the worse I was.

Most kids, if let alone will grow out of it before they turn 4 or 5 when it starts to become an issue with their teeth and jaw line. This explains it better than me. DS2 sucks his, mainly when he is tired or bored but we're not really making an issue out of it at the moment. If he's bored we try and engage him in activities that require the use of both of his hands so he can't suck his thumb........but he is that bit older now so kinda hard to do with young baby.

BlaBla_152 wrote: I think thumb sucking is a realy bad habit. You can't take it away like a dummy and it can cause teeth, palete and speech problems.

Hmm yes it can, but then alot of other factors can cause those problems as well, not necessarily just thumb-sucking. All the thumb-suckers in my family (and there are alot of us ) have never had any orthodontic or speech problems.   
And if it were a big problem, I'm not sure how I would go about keeping my DDs out of her mouth 24hrs a day
Like most things, it really depends what side of the argument you are on as there is alot of research for and against thumbsucking.

Edited by anna_bana

Thanks for all the answers girls! Has been really helpful.

I personally am not bothered by the thumb sucking. I agree with whoever said when you make an issue of it, they often get worse. It's been my experience, and that link to the Dr Greene article confirms it!

She definitely does drool more than I imagine she would with a dummy, which I agree is a pain, but as she has always outright refused to suck a dummy that's kind of a moot point for us.

Thanks again. FIngers crossed she's one of the 85-99% who give up on their own!

i am yah girl after one dummy baby and 2 thumb's give me the thumb they don't drop it six times a night and both great self settler's .
on anther note i never had any issues with speech or teeth and only stopped as an adult.

Apparently jaw and teeth problems are associated with the mothers oral health.

Now my mouth is atrocious(not sure I should admit that or not) but I've got about 8 fillings, an overcrowding problem that is apparently related to my jaw being longer on one side of my face than the other and generally just what seem to be non-stop issues. I could have had this all fixed years ago as a teenager, but as I was living in the US at the time cost was prohibitive as I needed braces AND my jaw broken, shaved off on one end, reset and wired shut for 6 weeks! I've come to accept that my teeth and my mouth is what it is and I can't be bothered trying to change it now, just happy I still have teeth; in fact I still have a baby tooth (with no perm one underneath) that I've been told for going on 15 years is going to fall out and hasn't. LOL

I had DS1 who has WONDERFUL teeth and he had a dummy. DS2 on the other hand is a thumb sucker and a slight under bite according to the dentist, I don't blame his thumb sucking, I blame my genes. LOL He does have a couple of crooked teeth, the top two incisors that MIGHT be related to his thumb sucking, but he'll loose those eventually so we'll see if it is that or the genes. IF DS2 had taken to a dummy I might have been slightly more inclined to encourage that BUT he wasn't and I got to deal with the hand we got dealt.