Dr. Robert Needlman
Specialist in pediatric behavior and development.
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 Ask Dr. Needlman
A Ten-Year-Old Who Still Sucks His Thumb | | | QUESTION | | | Dear Dr. Needlman,
I have a 10-year-old son who is still in the habit of sucking his thumb. He does this around us, for instance if he is watching TV but not at school or in any other public situation. This is unusual behavior for someone his age, and he does it rather frequently too. How does a parent "wean" a child off thumb-sucking, and can it really indicate some underlying problem?— Dad | | | ANSWER |
May 29, 2001 | | | Dear Dad,
Actually, thumb-sucking is not all that unusual in child your son's age. You don't hear about it much, because children who suck their thumbs don't talk about it much. Perhaps between 5 and 20 percent of school-age children suck their thumbs.
Up until age four or five, you really don't need to do anything about thumbsucking. After five or six, thumb-sucking can cause orthodontic problems. Very frequent sucking sometimes leads to calluses on the thumb or even nail infections. Probably the biggest problem is social, since many children look down on peers who suck their thumbs. Your son, luckily, does not have that problem because he only sucks his thumb at home.
In the past, some psychologists believed that thumb-sucking was a sign of emotional problems. I think the consensus now is that it can be one way a child responds to stress, but it is more often simply a habit--a behavior pattern the child repeats without thinking, and that lost any psychological motivation that it might have had long ago. If your son seems basically happy, well adjusted, and to not be facing any unusual stresses, it's likely that his thumb-sucking is a habit, nothing more.
What can you do about it? First, if you've been reminding, nagging, or making an issue of his thumb-sucking, stop. Usually this only to makes matters worse. Find out if your son is motivated to give up the habit himself. You may be able to add to his motivation by offering a reward ("bribe" has an unnecessarily negative ring to it!). It often works to use a sticker chart with a small reward (sticker) for each sucking-free evening, a small treat for two or three stickers in a row, and a bigger reward to celebrate the end of the habit.
It often helps to paint a child's thumb with a bitter-tasting substance (bought at any drug store), but only as a reminder to keep the thumb out of the mouth, not a punishment. This can help because many children begin sucking without even knowing they're doing it. But unless a child is motivated to use this method, it is bound to fail. Finally, some children choose to wear socks on their hands, or gloves, again as a reminder to themselves, and only if the child wholeheartedly agrees.
Along with all of the above, it helps if you give low-keyed encouragement. A vote of confidence from a parent often goes a long way. Relaxation-mental imagery (also sometimes called self-hypnosis) is often quite effective in helping children get rid of pesky thumb-sucking habits; many child psychologists and developmental-behavioral pediatricians are skillful in teaching children these self-help techniques. Your child's doctor may be able to make a referral. Dental appliances--a metal bar that the dentist attaches between the upper teeth--can help make sucking less satisfying. Although this is usually effective, these can be rather expensive, and therefore I think of them as a last resort.— by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. |
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