Hi, I know the title sounds very trite, but despite having read a lot on the net regarding my child's behaviour, I am still concerned.
My daughter is 2 years and 2 months old. She is a sweet and lovable child but recently she has become very stubborn. She refuses to take a shower altogether. She refuses to come out in the drawing room and mingle when guests come over to our place. She prefers to lie down on bed and suck her thumb. I am very concerned about her thumb sucking habit since she has already spoilt her jawline. But more than spoiling her jawline, my concern is of the bad habit that she has. I have only one child, and I live in Brazil with only my husband an daughter. We are from India and Brazil is a new place for us... New language and culture too. I am mentioning this to give you a clue about the behavioural pattern of my child.
She does not go to school as yet, but seeing her loneliness I am planning to put her in playschool soon. Please tell me , how can I help her become a better child and not indulge in thumb sucking all day...

Regards,
Sapna

According to the American Dental Association, thumb-sucking does not cause permanent problems with the teeth or jaw line unless it is continued beyond 4 to 5 years of age. As it turns out, somewhere between 85 and 99 percent of children have finished thumb sucking spontaneously before this period.

Thumb-sucking - DrGreene.com
Here's a link I found about thumbsucking.
FYI--I think I stopped sucking my thumb when I was around 17, and that was only because people bugged me so much about it, thenI started smoking cigarrettes. So, it might not be such a bad idea to have her keep doing it until she stops on her own.

Let me say that you should leave her thumb sucking alone. This is her way of relaxing. It has not ruined her jaw line, not until she is about the age of 5.

Let the poor gal relax. This is how children do it. If you continue to hound on her about thumb sucking worse things could happen

My boy is 4 1/2 and he sucks his finger. I welcome this when he becomes stressed out. We have talked and he knows that when he turns 5 it is over.

Please do not press her into coming out where there are many people where she feels uncomfortable, and let her suck her thumb.

Well I sucked my thumb until I was 10... it was hard to stop... But I "did" stop eventually. I sugest that you let your 2 year old child suck and suck and suck! I got bored with it... So should your child... Remember... Always incourage him/her to stop...

Please message me and tell me if I helped... bye.

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Originally Posted by J_9

Let me say that you should leave her thumb sucking alone. This is her way of relaxing. It has not ruined her jaw line, not until she is about the age of 5.

Let the poor gal relax. This is how children do it. If you continue to hound on her about thumb sucking worse things could happen

My boy is 4 1/2 and he sucks his finger. I welcome this when he becomes stressed out. We have talked and he knows that when he turns 5 it is over.

Please do not press her into coming out where there are many people where she feels uncomfortable, and let her suck her thumb.

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Your child should not just be expected to "stop" the day he turns 5. Children need time to stop. I sucked my thumb until I was 10! I stopped on my own accord... Not somebody else's... 'no' child can just stop like magic! :eek: :) I really hope I helped... Please let me know...

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Originally Posted by Gidday

Your child should not just be expected to "stop"

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Gidday, I never said the child should be EXPECTED to stop. I am just using this age as a rule of thumb :eek:.

Just like kids don't go to school in diapers, they don't go to school sucking their thumb. Well, my son sucks his finger at nap time at school:rolleyes:. So that was not a really good analogy.

But my focus is on the child, other children are cruel, we all know that. We don't want our children to be made fun of by other children because they suck their thumb (or finger). That was the reason I have for why they should stop around age 5.

I do understand some people go longer, but that is the exception not the rule. Children will give it up when they are ready, plain and simple.

On my daughter's 5th birthday we told her that she was a big girl now and needed to stop sucking her finger. Guess what, she did! Same story went for me when I was 5, my father told me I was a big girl, so I stopped.

My little sister was still sucking her thumb until she was 13 years old I think.

I personally stopped at a very young age.

My New little boy does not even suck his thumb. He would rather suck his whole fist lol.

Yes, thumb sucking is normal and it can cause lots of problems when they are a lot older doing it, but I agree with the others it does not cause any real damage unless it is pass 5 years of age.

I was actually a little concerned that my little boy was not even sucking his thumb at all. Hopefully that habit remains. Lol

Joe

Thanks for your advice. I have started ignoring her behavior and it surely is helping me a lot. I am also keeping calm and composed. I am not saying anything about her thumb sucking and she gets bored and comes out soon enough to play with her toys. Even for shower I did not press her at all. I told her that papa will take a shower and mummy will take a shower, but for her shower, it is her will. It really seemed to work and she took a nice shower today.
Thank you all for your advice.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by J_9

Let me say that you should leave her thumb sucking alone. This is her way of relaxing. It has not ruined her jaw line, not until she is about the age of 5.

Let the poor gal relax. This is how children do it. If you continue to hound on her about thumb sucking worse things could happen

My boy is 4 1/2 and he sucks his finger. I welcome this when he becomes stressed out. We have talked and he knows that when he turns 5 it is over.

Please do not press her into coming out where there are many people where she feels uncomfortable, and let her suck her thumb.

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I am so glad everything is going smoother. My 4 year old has to "plug in" every once in a while. Usually when he is tired or a little overwhelmed. We have discussed that he will have to give it up, but I am ot pressuring him. You should not either. 2 years old is really a little young for them to understand what giving this up means. Just let her mature a little. Maybe mention it once a month or so until she is older and leave it at that.

sapnagoel,

I was quite horrified when I read your post but I am so happy everything has worked out the way it has. Your child is 2 years old! Enjoy your child! Teach your child by all means, but there is time enough for 'rules' when your child goes to school and beyond. Have fun, make showers and bath time fun for your child.

Hi Blue rose,

It has been just 2 days since my child seemed to be a little better , but I am not sure what will happen in future. If you have any more advice to give, I will be grateful. I did the mistake of not introducing the pacifier when she was young, since now she prefers her thumb to the pacifier and refuses to touch it.
I am looking for some more ways to stope her from sucking her thumb.
Looking forward to hearing from you !

Sorry but I don't see anything wrong with a 2 year old sucking their thumb.

Why not wait until she is say about three and a half and then encourage her to stop by telling her, “You are a big girl now and big girls don't suck their thumb.”

I brought up three children, two boys and a girl. The boys had pacifiers. My daughter had one but, to my amazement even today, never used it. I had never come across a baby before who never used a pacifier. None of them sucked their thumb. So I don't think not having a pacifier has much to do with it.

I wonder, however, if you allowed or stopped her from putting things to her mouth when she was a baby - things like her cover or her toys? Small children experience their world through sucking on things - everything goes to their mouth. If you were uncomfortable with that and tried to discourage it this could have something to do with your child's thumb sucking - but not necessarily - just something to think about.

A very bright child with limited access to the things that stimulate them can become bored and withdrawn. If she were my child I would try to find lots of small but not too small, safe colourful, noisy, interesting, gadgets and toys for her to explore and play with as a distraction from the thumb sucking.

One final observation.. You say you are far from home. You may be feeling a little sad and lonely and your child may be picking up on this. Try to do more fun things with your child. I think things will get better once she is in pre-school.

The important thing is not to worry about the thumb sucking too much, she will pick up on that too and it will make her unhappy that she has made you unhappy.