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Thumb sucking is one of those aspects of childhood on which everyone has an opinion. But is it a harmless (and kinda cute) way of self-soothing, or a certain path to an orthodontically-challenged future? Amber Hamam gives a personal account of her quest for the truth about thumb sucking.
Thumb sucking brings mixed reactions. When my daughter showed signs of being this way inclined, there were various squeals of delight and gushes of, “how adorable, she’s a thumb sucker.” But there were disapproving comments as well. “Oh no,” one elderly lady admonished, “you must stop your daughter from sucking her thumb, it will ruin her front teeth.” And she wasn’t the only one.
Before receiving comments about it, I used to look at Tasha sucking her thumb and think how cute it was. It was nice to know that she felt soothed. It was also great in helping her fall asleep as her thumb sucking made her feel calm and drowsy. Slurps and sucking noises meant that she was happily drifting off.
I did offer a dummy many times, but it was rejected in favour of her thumb. We also found that there were benefits of her thumb sucking. I never had to worry about finding it in the middle of the night; there was no need to sterilise a dummy; and she always had a way to pacify herself on her own terms without relying on us. It seemed ideal.
But now it seems that my daughter sucking cutely on her thumb and comforting herself makes her a kind of pariah to some, and I have to either lower my head or defend her proclivity for doing it.
Becoming more conscious of my daughter’s habit made me question myself. Maybe I was doing something wrong in allowing her to suck her thumb, should I be doing something to prevent it?
Seeking answers, I found Dr Dragan Antolos, a dentist with thumb sucking expertise who has written a book for children to help them with their thumb sucking habit. Dr Antolos tells me that I don’t need to be concerned about Tasha sucking her thumb until she is six or seven when her permanent teeth come through.
The statistics for thumb sucking are a lot higher than one might realise. In a child’s first year of life, thumb sucking is a common childhood habit with 70 – 90 percent of babies sucking either their finger or thumb. Around 40 percent of those will go on to be persistent thumb suckers after the age of three, and a percentage of those will become problematic thumb suckers after the age of six.
For many parents, one concern is that their child will not be able to outgrow or break this habit. No-one likes the thought of their child being ridiculed by other kids with comments such as, ‘Look she’s sucking her thumb, she’s such a baby.’
Since many children will stop sucking their thumb on their own by the age of three, there may not be much advantage in trying to deter the habit before then. It may even be more beneficial to allow thumb sucking to continue until it reaches a problematic age, as many children use sucking to combat feelings of insecurity.
It is important to address the habit in a non-threatening way to avoid entrenching it further. Dr Antolos advises, “If there is pressure from a parent or grandparent or from kids teasing, you think it would make them stop, but in actual fact what it does is it feeds that insecurity and that urge to suck increases.”
It’s not surprising to learn that Dr Antolos’ specialty in thumb sucking arose after encountering the challenge within his own family. He was faced with the dilemma of what to do when his own daughter continued to suck her thumb after she was three years of age.
Dr Antolos was surprised to discover that no storybooks on thumb sucking seem to exist and so, feeling inspired, he created the book The Little Bear Who Sucked His Thumb.
The storybook theme is, “something that kids can relate to, about a bear who sucks their thumb just like they do. There’s a common bond,” Dr Antolos explains.
The little bear, Oliver, is a happy thumb sucker. His journey starts after a taunting comment from a neighbour. Oliver decides to give up his thumb sucking, however he finds it quite difficult. But, with the help of a friendly dragon, Oliver finds a way to persevere and beat the habit.
Reading this book to your child starts planting the seed. It is based on positive reinforcement by rewarding your child with a sticker on their dragon chart which comes with the book. To help break the habit, Oliver uses a bandaid on his thumb, which is easy for parents to copy. Dr Antolos believes the reason this works is, “because when they put their thumb in their mouth something is different - there’s a bandaid on it. It serves as a reminder for them.”
Delving further, another remedy I discovered was the ThumbGuard. Sally Mackenzie recalls how she had been looking for a way for her five-year-old son to stop his thumb sucking. After trialling various methods, success came using a ThumbGuard. Sally was so impressed with the ThumbGuard product that she decided to set up the Australian branch of the business.
The ThumbGuard is a clear, non-toxic plastic device placed on the child’s thumb and fastened at the wrist with a coloured bracelet. The ThumbGuard incorporates a fun element in the remedy. “Children have fun putting stickers on the ThumbGuard and wristbands,” says Sally, “and they can choose a different colour wristband each day.”
When the mouth closes over the thumb to create suction for thumb sucking a seal is formed. Using a ThumbGuard creates a gap in this seal. Sally says, “What makes the ThumbGuard effective is it breaks the seal that is created when a child sucks on their thumb, and this removes the soothing sensation from the habit.”
Alternatively, chemists stock products which are designed to discourage thumb sucking. There are transparent nail paints or sprays applied to your child’s thumb which have a distinct bitter taste to make the child automatically pull the thumb out of their mouth.
And should none of these strategies work, there is still another option available for parents. You can go to a dentist and get a dental appliance once permanent teeth come through. The principle being that placing something on the roof of the mouth will distract a child from sucking their thumb. Dr Antolos feels that this should only be done as a last resort when other strategies haven’t worked.
It’s still early days for me and my daughter – she’s only one year old. But now that I am armed with a handful of resources I no longer need worry should Tasha’s habit not peter out. And, feeling confident that there is no harm in young children sucking their thumb, I can turn to the next person who makes a comment, smile sweetly, and tell them that my daughter is a happy little girl and that’s all that counts.
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