While thumb sucking starts as a natural way for your child to cope emotionally and deal with pain, it quickly becomes a bad habit that can result in negative consequences. If your kid gets past a certain age and can't stop thumb sucking, you need to utilize the methods at your disposal to get them to stop. When you don't teach your children to stop sucking their thumbs, they could incur some physical and emotional damages.
Consequences of Thumb Sucking
There are a variety of negative results that come from thumb sucking. First, it can cause open and overbite malocclusion, which is when the teeth are misaligned when the mouth is closed. Open bite is when both the top and bottom teeth are outwardly directed and overbite is when the upper teeth are directed outward. Malocclusion can change the shape of your child's face and smile. With extreme cases, orthodontic treatment may be necessary.
Second, thumb sucking can cause skin irritation, callousing, and cracking. The moisture can make the thumb or finger vulnerable to other injuries. Not only does it cause your child to be uncomfortable, it may also warp the thumbnail, cause ingrowth, peeling, and other skin issues.
Furthermore, thumb sucking can cause speech impediments. It affects the development of the teeth, jaw, and palate, it can also impact the way the person eats and speaks. Thumb sucking can lead to lisps and the inability to pronounce certain sounds, which may require dental care and make it more difficult for your kid to communicate effectively, cause, frustration, and other negative emotions.
Thumb sucking can also cause social and emotional issues. Not only does it make your children have difficulty speaking and expressing themselves, it can prevent them from emotionally developing. Their peers may make fun of them and tease them. Some psychologists even think that thumb sucking is the first addiction.
T-Guards
The first way to get your child to stop sucking their thumbs is a thumb guard by companies like T Guard. A thumb guard is plastic covering that prohibits your child from sucking their thumb. It wraps around the wrist and covers the thumb, leaving an air gap so the child cannot create suction. This forces them to lose the feeling of comfort they get from thumb sucking and stop the habit completely.
Thumbsies
There are also cloth coverings that you can use. These are known as thumbsies. It's basically a cloth glove that only covers the thumb. Similar to T Guards, thumbsies wrap around the wrist and cover the thumb. The child still may suck their thumb, but the cloth makes it less enjoyable. Thumbsies can stop your kid from sucking their thumb because the cloth isn't exactly what they want to suck on.
Dr. Finger
The Dr. Finger is a silicone thumb covering that is less serious than the T Guard. It can be slipped off but it can also prohibit your child from sucking on their thumbs. It depends on how severe your child's thumb sucking problem is, but if it isn't that bad the Dr. Finger may do the job.
Hand Stoppers
You can even go a step further and put a hand stopper brace on your child's elbow. This braces makes it so your kid can't get their thumb up to their mouth. There is nothing covering the thumb or fingers, but if your kid only sucks a specific thumb, you can make it impossible for them to do so.
Special Nail Polish
Another great method to get your children to stop sucking their thumbs is to use mavala nail polish. This is nail polish that was designed to taste bad so children hate sucking their thumbs because they are repulsed by it. It is bitter and gross. If you put it on your child's nails, they will stop the habit because they hate the taste.
Whatever method works to get your child to stop sucking their thumbs should be used. If you can't get your kid to stop the bad habit, you can use all of these methods in tandem. Finally, if you simply can't get them to stop, you might want to take your child to a doctor to be evaluated for emotional and mental development issues.
