Thumb ****er

[Snowmom]

I was hoping for some outside views on something that's been on my mind lately.

I have a 3 yr old DCB. He has been a thumb ****er since around 7/8 months old.
I totally realize that thumb ****ers are attached to the habit, just like any binky, blanket or other comfort item.
Where it bothers me; is that this boy is ALWAYS sick, and always incredibly drooly (is that a word?). Part of me thinks that the drooling is made worse by the thumb ****ing. He's also very hard to verbally understand.

Anyway, he always (all day) has his thumb in his VERY WET mouth, then playing with toys, and is usually the first one of the bunch to come down with something, and the rest fall like dominos. Which leads me to sanitize like mad in my house (seriously, he's sick at least once a month).
Does anyone else deal with anything like this?
How old do you accommodate thumb ****ers (even as a parent) before it's considered "too old"?
Most of the kids here that have had pacifiers or security items have either outgrown them or had their parents transition them around age 2-3 yrs old.

Opinions?

[Baby Beluga]

My own daughter is a huge thumb ****er. She just turned 3 last week. For about 4 months now we have been telling her thumb is just for bed, she is not allowed to **** it anywhere outside of her bed. She has improved, but she still needs reminding sometimes. It is a super hard habit to break.

Perhaps you could try the same thing, only with his cot?

[Lorna]

I start around 2 telling the child to take their hand out of their mouth and wipe their hand and face. nap time I don't say anything about thumb ****ing but during the day I just ask them to stop. 3 years old is way too old for thumb ****ing. It will affect their speech and possibly their teeth. Soothers and thumb ****ing I talk with parents around a year about weaning the kids off. Get the parents on the same page. Parents must realize that is why their child is getting sick so often.

[KiddieCahoots]

My dd would **** her two middle fingers, and look like the symbol, "hook em horns".
She was sick constantly too.
We would regularly put nail polish on those fingernails and this helped deter her.

[Controlled Chaos]

My DD really struggles with thumb ****ing. She kicked the habit finally at about 4 years old (I know ) but then we moved and now it is back - she turns 5 next week.

What helps her curb the habit during the day is we put a band-aid on it or blue painters tape works really well. It stays on through hand washing throughout the day but comes off without hurting the skin. I will follow this thread for more tips. I was so proud of DD when she nipped it in the bud, she wasn't even ****ing her thumb at bed time, but now it is back with a vengeance

[Second Home]

I have only had 1 thumb ****er , she was 4 . If she wanted to **** her thumb she had to go to a blanket in the other area , when she was done she had to wash her hands before she was able to play with toys . That was the only way to control the germs.

[daycare]

my own son ****ed his thumb all day until age 4 and then only at night until age 12 it was the most costly dental expense yet.

I don't care how old you are, I say OUT and then we go wash hands. We don't make a big deal out of it and the kids get tired of hand washing I am sure, because it usually stops.

At age 3 i am assuming he can go wash his own hands? I would tell him hands out and then have him wash his hands. EVERY SINGLE TIME.

I have one kid who is almost 4 and he was gaging himself with his blanket at nap time, drools all over everything and is always sick. I took out the blanket that he ****s on no-stop at home and like magic, kid has not been sick in almost 5 months.

I don't do pacifiers for my dcks, I just think it's gross to use in group care and my kids are all over 16months of age.

I know you can't take a thumb away, but perhaps try the washing method.

[Controlled Chaos]

my own son ****ed his thumb all day until age 4 and then only at night until age 12 it was the most costly dental expense yet.

I don't care how old you are, I say OUT and then we go wash hands. We don't make a big deal out of it and the kids get tired of hand washing I am sure, because it usually stops.

At age 3 i am assuming he can go wash his own hands? I would tell him hands out and then have him wash his hands. EVERY SINGLE TIME.

I have one kid who is almost 4 and he was gaging himself with his blanket at nap time, drools all over everything and is always sick. I took out the blanket that he ****s on no-stop at home and like magic, kid has not been sick in almost 5 months.

I don't do pacifiers for my dcks, I just think it's gross to use in group care and my kids are all over 16months of age.

I know you can't take a thumb away, but perhaps try the washing method.

Why did I not think of the handwashing thing?! I make them wash their hands whenever I catch them picking their noses , now to start doing it with thumb ****ing. Thanks!

[Snowmom]

Thank you for the thoughts and suggestions.

I would love to talk to the parents about it, but wasn't really sure if it's even my business... kwim.

[Pepperth]

I don't have an answer for you, but its definitely a tough one to break. I ****ed my thumb until I was like 8. My parents tried everything to get me to stop, and nothing helped. At one point somebody even put hot pepper on my thumb. To this day I love spicy food. I'm pretty sure I gave up the thumb only to start biting my nails. ::

[BrooklynM]

my own son ****ed his thumb all day until age 4 and then only at night until age 12 it was the most costly dental expense yet.

I don't care how old you are, I say OUT and then we go wash hands. We don't make a big deal out of it and the kids get tired of hand washing I am sure, because it usually stops.

At age 3 i am assuming he can go wash his own hands? I would tell him hands out and then have him wash his hands. EVERY SINGLE TIME.

I have one kid who is almost 4 and he was gaging himself with his blanket at nap time, drools all over everything and is always sick. I took out the blanket that he ****s on no-stop at home and like magic, kid has not been sick in almost 5 months.

I don't do pacifiers for my dcks, I just think it's gross to use in group care and my kids are all over 16months of age.

I know you can't take a thumb away, but perhaps try the washing method.

Same! My daughters orthodontic work from ****ing her thumb was over $10,000! And, she only ****ed it at night! Talk to the parents, if anything it's a huge cost but I've heard of adults who still **** their thumbs at night. It's addictive! I would just start saying "thumb!" and if when they take it out, great job, let's go wash it, rinse and repeat. The night time and nap time needs to be stopped to but that's for the parents to make that decision. I wish parents knew how expensive it was and having so many ortho appointments is also so time consuming!