Every kid has his or her own way of comforting and pleasuring her/himself. Thumb sucking can be one of their ways of satisfying their needs because every baby has their sucking instinct.
6 Ways to Prevent Thumb Sucking
- Talk to your child. Put on their mind that thumb sucking is not a good habit.
- Comfort your child because thumb sucking can be their technique of covering their insecurity and anxiety.
- Some kids suck their thumbs because of boredom. If that is the case, play with them and grab their attention by doing some fun activities.
- Explain to them what might happen to their teeth if they will continue sucking their thumbs.
- Reward your child in exchange of not sucking their thumbs. Children love rewards and that is the perfect way to make them stop from thumb sucking.
- During night time, carefully remove your child’s finger from her/his mouth. Do it constantly every night until she or he stops doing it.
There are some products that you can buy in the market and these products are a big help to every parent to stop their child from sucking their thumbs. Here are some examples of it.
- A thumb guard helps them to control thumb sucking. Every time they see the thumb guard kit, it will remind them that sucking thumb is a problem.
- Buy a children’s book that educates them of removing bad habits. With that, they will learn that thumb sucking is not good for their health.
- There are products that contain chemicals which don’t taste good. It will prevent your kids from wanting to suck their thumbs again. Even though others might think that it is cruel, there are some who suggest the use of bad-tasting liquids that are put on the thumb to keep the child from placing it in his or her mouth.
Things you don’t need to do just to prevent thumb sucking.
- Never scold them. Don’t turn them down in front of others as this might embarrass them. It will only make them feel nervous and this might just let them continue sucking their thumb.
- Punishments can’t solve the problem. It may lower their self esteem and confidence.
Telling the child to stop from thumb sucking is the best way for them to stop doing it. The ideal thing you could do is to wait until they realize that sucking their thumbs is not a good habit. If they become teased at school about sucking their thumbs, surely, they will have the initiative to stop from thumb sucking. Don’t force your child to stop. Let them decide when they want to stop.
No matter how you try to explain to them that it is not a good habit, they will never understand because they are innocent. Their knowledge is not that wide to determine what is good and bad and what is right from wrong. Wait until they realize that it is a problem.