For the past 2 1/2 years we have been waging war against thumb sucking and losing miserably. When I say we've tried everything I mean it. Rewarding good behavior, making the girls wear gloves, taping socks to their hands, finger splints, bandaids, taping their thumb to their pointer finger, constant reminders and this DISGUSTING stuff you paint on their fingers, but alas NOTHING WORKED! I have never felt so defeated!!!
At the girls last dentist appointment he sat them both down and had a heart-to-heart and told them they MUST stop sucking their thumbs. I always thought that the thumb sucking caused the teeth to stick out, which it does, but our dentist said long-term thumb sucking can also move the bone and when the bone is involved it can't be fixed. I don't know if it scared the girls, but it sure worked on me!!!
In a desperate Google search I found Dawn's Thumb Guards. I'll be honest, I wasn't sure how 2 scraps of fabric could stop my girls from sucking their thumbs when nail poish that tastes like paint thinner didn't slow them down one bit, but OMG IT'S WORKING!!!
(Oh my...she has been as feisty as ever this week and driving her Mama INSANE!)
The guards are custom made to fit your child and come in a variety of fabrics. They wrap around their wrists and attach with velcro. I let the girls pick their fabric. Lo chose horses (big surprise) and NoJo butterflies. They arrived in a few days and the girls were so excited to put them on! Our rule is that they stay on all the time. The only time they can come off is when they are bathing. I don't care if they get sticky with peanut butter or covered in glitter glue, they must stay one and yes, they even sleep with them on. We did end up ordering a second set so that we could have a back-up when one is in the wash .
The girl are really doing a great job keeping them on. We've had them for about 3 weeks and they still like to wear them. I thought they would be a little self-conscious when wearing them to camps and activities, but they're not. They see them as a fashion accessory and if someone asks what it is they happily tell them, "That's my thumb guard!"
I think there is a glimmer of light at the end of this long tunnel!
I am glad you have found something that seemed to work. Too bad the nail polish stuff didn't work. I never ever thought Ryan would give up his thumb and we used that and he never sucked his thumb again...EVER (really from the very first day). It worked awesome for us.
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