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My daughter who is now 7 is still sucking her thumb. It is a great embarrassment to her and she always talks about how it is her big secret from her friends. We have tried the finger nail polish, bandaids, and specialized thumb covers, but eventually she overcomes them all because she can not sleep. Suggestions?

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Possible duplicate: parenting.stackexchange.com/questions/158/… – Steve Jackson Dec 5 '11 at 17:19
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I'm making this a comment because it's purely anecdotal: I sucked my thumb until I was about seven. My parents (read: mother) told me that if I stopped, I would get big girl furniture for my room. So I did; if I thought about thumbsucking, I'd read a book instead (reading required both hands) or I'd go play with toys or something. At night, I'd sleep with my right hand (my preferred thumb) under my pillow and/or under my head so that I wouldn't suck it by accident. It was hard, but Big Girl Furniture for my room was way more important to me than thumbsucking. I also realize it was bribery, ha! – Aarthi Dec 6 '11 at 4:05
don't let her overcome the various tools. She'll fall asleep in the end. – Lennart Regebro Dec 28 '11 at 6:58

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I would talk to your dentist. She may suggest a fixed palatal crib or other corrective device. The idea behind these devices is they prevent the thumb from touching the gums and make thumb sucking uncomfortable. After a month or so, the habit is broken.

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How can I talk my dentist into trying this? I asked him how to get my daughter to stop and he said it won't hurt her teeth so she's fine. :( – jlg Dec 5 '11 at 17:30
@jlg How old is your daughter? I'm not a dentist, but until the permanent teeth come in, I don't think there is a dental concern. This apparatus may also affect speech development, so I could see being cautious. It's important that your daughter WANTS to stop before putting something like this in place as well. Once it starts pushing your daughter's teeth into an overbite, he likely will start looking at mechanical solutions. – Steve Jackson Dec 5 '11 at 17:46
She turned 5 last September. She tells me a lot that she doesn't want to suck on her finger but I believe it has just become a nasty habit. I don't want her doing it when she goes into kindergarten next fall! – jlg Dec 5 '11 at 18:45
It's not really a dental concern at all, from my understanding. But it's like stopping smoking while you always a have a lit cigarette in your hand. :-) – Lennart Regebro Dec 28 '11 at 6:56
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My brother sucked his thumb until late in his teens. What got him to stop was his own desire to grow up and become accepted by his peers.

This is a tad creative and unique, but how about letting the child stay up all night. Then she will fall asleep without it. Once she is awake, you can congratulate her on her first night without using it.

Then inspire her to do a second night, challenger her to a third...

Just don't make a child feel as it they are bad for wanting to pursue this habit, as it can cause additional stress and tension for the child.

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