Thumb sucker!!
By Humbug25
@Humbug25 (12540)
February 19, 2011 1:24pm CST
I am very fortunate that none of my kids suck their thumb, in fact they never have done. I never gave them a passifier (dummy) either when they were babies. I think that if any of my kids as babies had attempted to suck their thumb then I would have been swayed to give them one as you can take that away but not their thumb!! Anyway my middle son recently invited a boy over for a sleepover and he sucked his thumb nearly the whole time he was here, even walking down the street. He is only a week or so younger than my son so they will be turning 8 this May. I was really amazed and shocked to see this child still doing this, especially a boy and at that age!
Are you still a thumb sucker? At what age did you stop sucking your thumb? Do your kids suck their thumb? Do you think it is different for boys than girls?
3 people like this
15 responses
@ElicBxn (63643)
• United States
27 Feb 11
Oh, I know she didn't know at that point.
What to hear the kicker?
Her teeth were totally messed up and it had NOTHING to do with the thumb sucking. The dentist, who wasn't anti-thumb anyway, said that since she already had it in there, to try and get her front top two teeth turned right way round - they were growing in backward. She was also missing the two teeth on either side of them, so at 7, they pulled both her baby ones of those and her baby eyeteeth to try and get them to come forward. She still spent a few years in braces, and if you know what you are looking at, you can tell that her teeth aren't "right".
@rameshchow (4426)
• India
20 Feb 11
Yes, "till now also i am sucking hand fingers, but that is my girl friend's finger",
hahaha
hahaha
hahaha
i am kidding.
I wasn't did like that even in my childhood also. The children can insert and suck their fingers because they need their mother milk, for that only they will do like that. This problem arises when that mother is pregnant, although she have a one year child.
In my home also i am seeing this problem. My bro son is just one and half year old, he is doing like that, because he has two months brothers.
Thanks for sharing,
have a nice day.
1 person likes this
@rameshchow (4426)
• India
21 Feb 11
Don't say "thanks, sorry, please" with your close friend.
Think of it.
@aprilten (1966)
• Philippines
21 Feb 11
No, I wasn't a thumb sucker when I was young and none of my kids were thumb suckers either. When they were young I just let them suck their thumb because a friend advised me that they will outgrow it when the right time comes. But, despite that they didn't become thumb suckers so I guess the advice was correct.
@junrapmian (2169)
• Philippines
15 Apr 11
My old folks once told that kids who thumb sucked were kind and silent children because they will just stay in a corner and sucked their fingers and not do naughty things that will make their mothers freak-out. I don't know if this is true. All my children did not find that habit interesting so none of them have thumb sucked during their young years. But I have this sister of mine who continuously sucked her fingers since she was a baby until she was 18 years old. We all know that she has that habit when she was younger but we didn't know that she's still doing it until now. We only discovered it lately when my mother went to her room to wake her up and saw her all covered with her blanket, my mother found out that she was sleeping and sucking at the same time hiding inside her blanket.
1 person likes this
@drinylane (117)
• Philippines
19 Feb 11
i have 3 lovely daughters 7 3 and 4 months old. my eldest and the second never suck their thumb nor did i gave them passifier but my youngest, she too does not suck her thumb. she is suckeng her whole hand. i think it would be better if i give her passifier.
@Humbug25 (12540)
•
19 Feb 11
Hi there drinylane
My advice to you would be to hold on for as long as you can on giving her a pacifier. It could be that she is teething and that is why she is putting her whole hand in her mouth, that was certainly the case with my kids. I think that if you use pacifiers you miss out on all those cute noises that babies make and if they are crying they are usually crying for a reason. As she gets older she won't be able to put her whole hand in her mouth comfortably and so then might resort to sucking her thumb so it might be worth considering one then. I think it is so hard to ween a child off a pacifier and I would hate to have to have gone through it myself, thats why I never gave them to my kids, not to mention the damage it can do to their teeth and jaw. I am sure you know all this as it is your third child but I was still learning with my third haha
Thanks for your response 
@drinylane (117)
• Philippines
19 Feb 11
thank you for your advise, i will surely take note of that.
1 person likes this
@SViswan (12051)
• India
21 Feb 11
I've never been a thumb sucker and neither one of my kids are. Both of them used a pacifier for a year. And neither one of them resorted to thumb sucking later. I have a neighbour whose son sucked his thumb till he was 7 or so. She tried everything she could to make him stop. I'm not sure how he stopped but he is 9 now and I don't see him doing it anymore.
I don't thinnk it's different for girls and boys. It probably depends on each child though.
1 person likes this
@apples99 (6556)
• United States
20 Feb 11
No I dont suck my thumbs in fact I dont remember ever sucking my thumb, but I guess its normal for baby's and small kids though I think when a child reaches a certain age they should be taught to stop, so they wont have to deal with teasing in school, I once knew a grown teen who sucked her thumb I thought it was mildly strange back then I wont lie. no offence to those out there that still suck there thumb but I think children should be taught not to do that when they reach a certain age it seem improper for older children and adults.
1 person likes this
@Humbug25 (12540)
•
21 Feb 11
Hi there apples99
I have also seen teens still doing it but feel that they think it is cute and gets attention, this may not be the case with all but it certainly was with the ones I have seen! I think it would be helpful to know why babies and young children do it so that it can be prevented before it becomes an addictive habit.
Thanks for your response as always
@eurekafemme (5876)
• Philippines
19 Feb 11
I was never a thumb sucker even as a baby, according to my Mum. I'm glad to hear that because according to psychologists those who thumb sucks are insecure. Thumb sucking, they say, is one of the signs of insecurity.
None of my kids suck her/his thumb. They even hate to use pacifiers. Sometimes, my husband and I would wish that they would be used to using pacifier so that whenever the want to sleep we can just give the pacifier instead of suckling to me.
. But our attempt was in vain.:)
Yup, I feel kind of pity towards that friend of your son... I Wonder what triggers it? There must be something about his life that prompts him to find comfort through thumb sucking... I can't imagine my son doing that. I'll be heartbroken knowing what thumb sucking indicates....
None of my kids suck her/his thumb. They even hate to use pacifiers. Sometimes, my husband and I would wish that they would be used to using pacifier so that whenever the want to sleep we can just give the pacifier instead of suckling to me.. But our attempt was in vain.:)
Yup, I feel kind of pity towards that friend of your son... I Wonder what triggers it? There must be something about his life that prompts him to find comfort through thumb sucking... I can't imagine my son doing that. I'll be heartbroken knowing what thumb sucking indicates....
1 person likes this
@Humbug25 (12540)
•
19 Feb 11
Hi there eurekafemme
I have no idea why he would suck his thumb. He is quite quiet but comes across as a confident child and has many friends. Both his parents and sister are also quite outgoing so I really don't know why he would suck his thumb, maybe his parents have never really tried to stop him from doing so!
Thanks for your response
@sender621 (14893)
• United States
19 Feb 11
My son was never a thumb sucker. he did like his pacifier though. My second child was much different. She was a thumb sucker and i was afraid she would begin going to school before we could break her of the habit. It was difficult but we made it through.@Humbug25 (12540)
•
19 Feb 11
Hi there sender621
I do think that girls seem to have more of a problem with their attachment to pacifiers and their thumbs, I don't know why. This boy is really attached to his thumb for sure but like I said he is nearly 8 years old. I am sure it is not going to be long before the kids start to tease him at school if they haven't started already! Well done for you for getting your daughter to stop before she started school.
Thanks for your response
Thanks for your response
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
20 Feb 11
I have a boy and girl and neither s*cked their thumb. But do have family members with children that do.
From what I understand pediatricians say that they do so as they did not get enough during the pregnancy. Supposedly, now this was what I told by a pediatrician is that while in the womb babies suck their thumbs as they hands are usually up high. So when they do not get enough they sort of do so while growing.
Which I find a bit hard as then it turns to a habitual habit. I have seen one child at age 7 still sucking his thumb and I know a lady who is 32 and secretly sucks her thumb as a child does. She has been seen doing so secretly and then stops. Her mother says she has been doing so since she was a baby.
@Humbug25 (12540)
•
21 Feb 11
Hi there hardworkinggurl
I am sure that is the pediatricians theory and opinion I am not sure that is factual and sceptical of that. I think that this child's parents need to be a bit more strict with him to help him to break the habit. I asked my son if the boy is teased at school and all he said was that he didn't tease him but I am sure it will only be time before it does happen. At least that 32 year old secretly does it and she understands that it is not something that should be done in public at her age.
Thanks for your response
@ynowiziki (79)
• China
20 Feb 11
this is a very intresting topic,to me,i am not a thumb sucker as long as I can remember,but I do saw lot of people surrounding me suck their thumb,from different countries,in different ages.I am not sure whether it is a sign of insecure as some psychologist indicate, i tend to believe its just a habit growed up at infant,and majority of them get rid of it at certain age.But I do have some peers who bite their fingernail at work sometimes,especially when they are dealing with some very tough and complicated coding work,the way it look like is very unvarnished :).
@cream97 (29086)
• United States
17 Mar 11
Hi. Humbug25. I have never been a thumb sucker. I think that at eight years old that is too old for him to be sucking his thumb. My cousin's cousin was a thumb sucker. She sucked her thumb all of the time. I have seen more girls suck their thumb than boys do. I have seen my daughter suck her thumb and I tell her to stop. She said that one of the girls in her class does this. I told her not to do this. I took her thumb out of her mouth. She was already picking up bad habits at school.
