How do I stop my 3 year old daughter from sucking her thumb?

my son is 3.5yrs old and does the same thing but only when he's tired. Honestly yes it makes their teeth push forward but their permanent teeth won't grow in like that and its one of those things that makes kids feel secure.

I have a friend who sucked her thumb until she was 9yrs old and all her teeth came out just fine.

i wouldn't stop her from doing it otherwise she'll pick up another habbit to make her feel good when she goes to sleep and it could be a worse habbit like biting nails, or it could revert her back to baby stages. Just leave it be when she goes to school she'll stop on her own when she sees other kids aren't doing it.

Ignore the dentist - what a killjoy! My bro and sis are in their twenties and still suck their thumbs!! They both have beautiful straight, white teeth. My daughter also sucks her thumb and has crooked milk teeth, but this is because the jaw and teeth at this age are so soft. Just ignore the guy - there is no need to stop children from sucking their thumbs.

she's missing the comfort of her dummy. try introducing a teddy or comfort blanket at bedtime - just pay it lots of attention and if she goes to suck her thumb just stop her and give her new comforter attention. generally she will grow out of it. i'd think its highly unlikely sucking a thumb will make teeth crooked as its more to do with the size of the tooth and the room in which it has to occupy. if the gap is too small for the tooth it tends to "twist" a little to fit. its unlikely the permanent front teeth will be crooked.

hope ive helped.

She will do it when she is ready but just gently remind her that she should stop. I sucked my thumb till the day I got my braces on in fifth grade. So I know all the tricks in the world will not work untill she is ready. Good luck from a former thumb sucker!

PS My teeth are fine! :)

You'll have to first have a talk with her about how she is a big girl now and that big girls don't do that; and mention how she will go to school one day soon and the other kids will laugh at her.

If this has no effect, then you'll have to put something that doesn't taste good on her thumb. You might try nail poish remover, tabasco sauce, or anything spicy or sour.

Best of luck with this!!

Paint her nails with the sour stuff you can buy nearly anywhere it tasts horrible when she puts it in her mouth. But i wouldnt worry too much about her milk teeth being crooked because when her adult teeth come through they wont be crooked.

When you consider the number of toddlers that do the same I'm not sure the dentist is right. If he/she was, there'd be thousands of us with buck teeth. That simply isn't so. Frankly I don't believe it does much harm at all. It seems quite natural or so many wouldn't do it.

I sucked mine till I was 18yrs old , I got it in the neck from staff @ the children's home even the other children taken the Micky out me .

I only gave up when I was in my early 20s I would only do it when I was tiered and going to sleep ,

I only stopped when I had to.I was ready , I am 46yrs old now

there must be something wrong with her teeth . sucking her thumb shouldn't make her teeth crooked your dentist is an idiot

i used to suck my thumb when i was a baby and i stop when i was 3. Cause as i got older i stopped and i got tried of my dad of saying he was going to put some doo doo on my thumb if i don't stop sucking on it.