How to Get a Little Two Year Old to Stop Sucking on Their Thumb

Getting your child to stop sucking his thumb can be tricky.

Children experience certain behavioral phases as they grow up. Young toddlers often begin sucking their thumb, and it can be quite tricky to get them to stop. Children suck their thumbs as a substitute for the breast when they are being weaned off breastfeeding. Thumb-sucking often continues for prolonged periods of time, and at some point parents may make the decision to intervene. Intervention is challenging when the child is young because communication can be difficult. The sooner your child abandons her thumb, the better, because otherwise this behavior becomes a comfort-blanket that she grows to rely upon psychologically.

Instructions

Identify Triggers

1. Stop worrying. This is common behavior amongst young children, and thumb-sucking isn't anything to worry about. Your toddler finds this behavior comforting, and may not even be aware when she is doing it.

2. Find out when he uses it. Your child will usually suck his thumb in certain situations: to alleviate boredom or to get to sleep, for example, and you need to keep an eye out for your child's trigger situations.

3. Check for sore teeth. If your child has inexplicably started sucking her thumb, check that she does not have teeth coming through, an ulcer, a discolored tongue or a cut thumb. There may be a very logical explanation.

Intervene

1. Distract her. When your child begins to suck her thumb in her typical environment, distract her by giving her an alternative object to play with such as a toy. This just transfers her behavior from one object to another, but it transfers her preference from the thumb to a separate object.

2. Use the comfort item as a treat. Once your child has transferred his affection from the thumb to another object, you can begin restricting his usage of the object. A basic reward system often works, but at age 2 your child may not necessarily relate to other good behavior/bad behavior psychology. Try to turn the comfort item into an object for special occasions only, to decrease his usage.

3. Consider the alternatives. As a last-ditch effort, you may consider using a product used for painting nails and thumbs to deter nail-biting and thumb-sucking. Products such as this coat the area in a substance which tastes bad, so the child will automatically remove his thumb from his mouth.

References

• Baby Center: Thumb-sucking; why it happens and what to do about it
• Babyzone: 5 tips to help stop thumb-sucking.