WWYD... breaking thumb sucking habit... naps....

DD is 5. She naps most days of the week She's also a passionate thumb sucker.

Last week we told her enough is enough and she can't suck her thumb to sleep anymore (we broke the "suck your thumb during the day" habit at 4yrs). She takes FOREVER to sleep at night, though this has gotten a little bit better. But, she's certainly not getting enough sleep at night and won't nap without her thumb. She says she just cant fall asleep for nap without sucking her thumb.

Without napping, and cutting her night time sleep short she is a MESS in the afternoon, she really needs to nap! (yes, at 5!!)

I say we break the night time habit, then work on naps so that we don't have this little goblin on our hands.

DH says break it all at once, get it done, and we suck it up in the evenings when she's a sleepy mess. (An earlier bedtime isn't an option at the moment for many reasons.)

WWYD? Would you let her suck her thumb for naps just to even out her sleep a little bit? Or will this just make it harder in the long run to kick the habit completely?

Re: WWYD... breaking thumb sucking habit... naps....

I'm with DH. Balls to the wall. Break it all now.

Re: WWYD... breaking thumb sucking habit... naps....

WWYD... breaking thumb sucking habit... naps....

Break it all at once.

WWYD... breaking thumb sucking habit... naps....

I agree to break it all at once, but how do you plan to do it since obviously you can't remove her thumb! My sister is struggling with my niece,

Re: WWYD... breaking thumb sucking habit... naps....

I don't have any real advice, but I do know people buy that stuff that makes their thumb taste bad. It helps when people are trying to stop biting their nails, too. Just an idea?

Re: WWYD... breaking thumb sucking habit... naps....

At our last dentist visit, we were told we have to get her to stop sucking her thumb (dd is 4.5). He dr gave us a few suggestions- put a bandaid on the thumb as a reminder not to suck, put the bitter polish on the nails or get that contraption that goes on the hand.
Dd wanted the bandaids. I let her pick out what she wanted.
It took less than a week and we stopped putting the bandaids on and no more sucking even while she sleeps!

Re: WWYD... breaking thumb sucking habit... naps....

Thanks everyone. I'm using the "thumbster" I bought on Amazon and it works great for preventing her from sucking, she wears it, she doesn't like it, but she is a rule follower.

it's the sleep deprivation that's getting to her. She falls asleep after awhile at night but is so tired the next day it makes her and everyone around her miserable. But, again, she can't nap without her thumb so it's a vicious cycle...

Re: WWYD... breaking thumb sucking habit... naps....

Both of my kids liked to suck their fingers. I even have ultra sound photos of ds sucking his thumb in utero. What I did was I spoke with them and said how old do you think a kid should be when they stop sucking their thumb. I asked them when they were about four years old. They individually said five. So I told them I would stop nagging them or discuss thumb sucking with them if they would promise to give it up on their fifth birthday. About a week before their respective birthdays I reminded them of their promise. I did not bring up thumb sucking at all for almost an entire year and discouraged family members from saying anything about it to them. On their birthdays I again reminded them of their promise. Dd is six and ds is eight. Both kept their promises.

WWYD... breaking thumb sucking habit... naps....

My son is not a thumb sucker (refused paci too) but I was when I was younger. My pediatrician told my mom to just leave me be unless it was affecting my teeth. He said I won't go to college sucking my thumb and I did eventually grow out of it probably around 5/6.

Can you give her another way to self soothe? Rub a special stuffed animal or blanket maybe..

WWYD... breaking thumb sucking habit... naps....

My son doesnt suck thumb. He is 4yr old & likes to bite himself which just started during summer. Lots of fingers in mouth too.
I put "NO BITE" on finger nails. It helps alittle

Re: WWYD... breaking thumb sucking habit... naps....

My DD just turned 7, she still sucks her thumb at night as she falls asleep. She's literally been doing it since before she was born, I have sono pics of her doing it! Her teeth are fine and she only does it when falling sleep so I don't worry about it. I figure she'll stop in her own time.