Stop thumbing/ finger sucking? Advice Please?

Take her to get a manicure with nail art and explain to her that if she sucks on her fingers the nail polish will come off. It may be just the reminder she needs to keep her fingers out of her mouth - plus, you get to have some mommy and me time at the salon.

There is no kid on the planet that doesn't get braces anymore anyway. Times have changed. If you don't get braces you are the weird (poor) one now.

When your daughter wants to stop, she'll stop. All these methods you are using sound like YOU want her to stop.

What is it really hurting? Is it worse than the disapproval message she is getting from you?

P.S. Second and third finger sucking is usually hereditary and stops on it's own around the age of 12.

And who says she is too old?

She will not suck them until she is an adult, leave her be.

Teeth can be fixed with braces(what child doesn't need them nowadays), and when she stops her fingers will be fine.

What a great message you are sending her, you are going to great lengths to tell your daughter you do not approve of who she is and what she is doing is VERY wrong.

The underlying problem is not her teeth or fingers but that you are trying to mold her into what society finds appropriate.

My daughter is 9 & she still sucks her thumb, her teeth are really bad ... it really is a frustrating habit to try to stop!

So far i've tried heaps of methods of about 5 years, including

bribery, reward systems, tabasco sauce (she ended up liking the taste).

Right now we smother her thumbs in tiger balm or some other really strong smelling thing, then bandage up her hands. It works, as long as i remember to do it every night.

A few times shes pulled off the bandages, but mostly she leaves them on. If she would be pulling them off in her sleep, i would be looking to cover with MITTENS, and secure with tape so she cant get them off.

After a while i'm hoping to tone it down to just tape.

Good luck with it :)

You should do anything you can to stop her and save money on the braces, but put it away for the therapist that she'll see as an adult to complain about the parenting she received as a child. You are worried she'll be bullied, you're doing it to her, what's the difference.

my friend had the exact same problem! try putting clear nail polish on them (or any color really - let her choose her favorite) or nail polish remover - the awful taste is still there even after washing them.

if that doesn't work, get some advice from your doctor. sounds odd, but they deal with this sort of stuff all the time.

You can get a special liquid for it, will make her thumbs taste nasty no matter how much she washes them.

You can get it from Boots or Superdrug i think.

Or have a look on ebay?

have you thought of putting nail polish remover on her fingers to keep her from sucking them? I know it has a bad taste even after you have washed your hands

try putting plasters on her fingers.

Maybe you could put something hot on her finger :)

Or show and tell her what it is doing to her body or fingers lol

(if its harming her body!)