Help Your Child Stop Sucking that Thumb Now!

Learn how to help your child kick the thumb sucking habit.

We had a thumb sucker not too long ago? I’m guessing that since you’re reading this, you probably have a thumb sucker too? Our little man discovered his thumb when he was a wee little four month old. Ever since, that thumb of his has been his tasty treat, his sole delight, his lovely, his soothing comfort, his best friend. And as I write this, he is four years old. Yikes! However, I figured out how to help him stop his thumb sucking habit, and have shared my tips and tricks with you below.

At first the thumb sucking was cute, adorable even. I knew when he needed a little extra love and comfort, was bored in play, or tired. In fact, my husband is the one who really was concerned, and his concern began when our son turned three. I always thought it was too soon to do anything about it. Everyone told me that he would eventually grow out of it on his own. So we let it go for a little while longer. However, once the little man turned four, my husband wanted to make a big push to kick the habit to the ground and bury it for good.

So I came up with a plan that would ultimately prove successful. I am sharing it with you too because I know how challenging breaking bad habits can be.

Is there a bad habit your little one has? It may not be thumb sucking either. May it’s a binky. Nail biting. Hair pulling. Knuckle popping. If so, you landed on the right page. Below I have outlined some tips and tricks for you- the best practices for kicking destructive habits. If you have a child with any sort of destructive habit, I hope you will find these strategies helpful and seamless. I would also love to hear your thoughts, struggles, and successes in the comments below.

Thumb Sucking & The Sleeve

The Scratch Me Not Flip Mittens is a shirt that is worn under the pajama top. We call it The Sleeve. It has long sleeves and soft silky mitten that covers the hands and fingers. The mittens flip out too if hands need to be utilized. Parents commonly use it to help babies and toddlers with rashes, eczema, and psoriasis and to stop scratching in their sleep. Long ago, before we started the ‘official’ process of kicking the thumb sucking habit, we started putting The Sleeve on during naps and at bedtime. We love that it covers his fingers, making it impossible for him to suck his thumb to sleep. Because we used The Sleeve he was able to learn to sleep well without his thumb. This ultimately made it easier for him once we hit the Time Chunk of Sleep (explained below).

The Time Chunks is one of the strategies we used to help our son kick his thumb sucking habit. In a minute I will break it down for you. But first, let’s talk about books.

Thumb Sucking & Books

Reading children’s books about breaking destructive habits can also be very helpful if your child loves reading. Ironically, many of the children’s’ books I found about thumb sucking really just glorified the thumb and encouraged our son to continue sucking. I searched for books at the library to read to my little thumb sucker. But every book I found ended up validating and even affirming this great love he had for his thumb. Although my son thoroughly enjoyed the books, my husband and I did not.

Fortunately I found one book, (Berenstain Bears Bad Habit) that was very helpful. Although it does not focus deeply on thumb sucking, sister bear does struggle with nail biting. She solicits her mother to help her. Together they attempt a number of strategies that fail. Finally with the help of grandma bear,they try a new strategy.

We love this book because it opens up a discussion with the child about destructive habits and why they are so difficult to break. We started reading the book nearly every night just a few weeks prior to starting the process. Along with the book, we discussed the destructive habit my son has, and how we might need to help him break those habits. Of course, there was only one habit for him. However, it was a good start for him to be able to recognize it on his own, and understand how it was destructive.

Now let’s talk about what we did exactly when that first day of our process began.

The Process – Kicking the Thumb Sucking Habit

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Below is the strategy we took with our little man, along with my commentary. This strategy has worked very well for him. I have every bit of confidence that this strategy can work for you too. To give you an update after one year of beginning this process, our son has not sucked his thumb or shown any interest in sucking his thumb since we completed the process outlined below.

Time Chunks:

Time Chunks are designated chunks of time that happen throughout the day and night during which the child cannot suck her thumb. Once all the Time Chunks are combined, they will encompass the entire day and night.

We created Time Chunks because, let’s be real, the day is a long, long time! Trust me! If a child is deeply ingrained in a particular habit that you are trying to eliminate by telling her she’ll get a sticker at the end of the day if she doesn’t engage in the habit, it will NOT work! It will no doubt end in discouragement for everyone. Starting small and increasing the Time Chunks (so they build on one another cumulatively) when the child is ready sets everyone up for success. There will be many small successes followed by small rewards, and this will go on for awhile. However, the child will become increasingly encouraged and motivated to continue moving forward in the process.

Check out my list of Time Chunks below, and feel free to modify to best meet your own child’s needs.

You can choose your Time Chunks using the same method we did. Consider the times when your child engages in the habit most often, least often, and somewhere in between. The times she engages the least often should be the first Time Chunks (the ones you start with). The times that are the most often will be the most difficult for her and should be implemented last. The Time Chunks we listed on our reward chart were: 1) Meal & Snack Time, 2) Playtime, 3) School Time, 4) Potty Time & Changing Time, 5) Lap & Cuddle Time, 6) Story & Show Time 7) Car Seat Time, 8) Sleep Time A, 9) Sleep Time B.

The Toy Rewards:

The day before we began the process, I took him to Target and let him choose some stickers and nine toys from the dollar bins because we had nine different Time Chunks. It was super fun for him to do his own shopping and pick out his own rewards. Also, letting him choose his toy rewards kept him much more motivated than if I had picked out the toys.

Back home, we put each toy in a bin and put a label on the bin-No Thumb Sucking. Afterwards, he was super motivated and excited to get started.

Charts, Stickers & Toy Rewards:

The way I personally set up our son’s reward chart makes this process a minimum of two months long. It will likely be longer since he may not get a sticker every day. As I am writing this, he is about two-thirds through the process. However, despite that we are still working through the process, he has not sucked his thumb for more than a month.

We started with the first Time Chunk. No more sucking his thumb during Meal & Snack Time. But he was allowed to suck his thumb any other time during the day. At the end of the day, if he did not sucked during Meal & Snack Time, we rewarded him with a sticker. After earning eight stickers we rewarded with one of his new toys. Once he received all of his stickers and toys for that Time Chunk, we added on the next Time Chunk, Playtime. For each Time Chunk, he needed to earn eight stickers and one of his new toys.

Just a quick note about The Playtime Time Chunk. It was more challenging than I expected. Again, the day was just too long. There is so much play throughout the day that it was making it too big a chunk of time. Therefore, I split the chart up into half days, and increased his stickers to sixteen instead of eight. I also gave him candy each time he made it through a full day without sucking during Playtime.

The Arm Band:

Once we arrived at the Sleep Time Chunk, the plan was to begin using the NIPIT Hand Stopper in place of The Sleeve. To our surprise, our son was ready to begin using the NIPIT at the Story & Show Time Chunk. So we let go of The Sleeve and started using the NIPIT. As I write this blog, we are still moving forward through this process. So unfortunately I cannot yet speak to the success of the NIPIT during the Sleep Time Chunk, and upon completion of the process. However, I can say that he enjoys the NIPIT for its comfort and its ability to help him kick the thumb sucking habit. When we complete this whole process and we ditch the NIPIT, I will write an update on this below.

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A Brief Update After One Year

I am writing this update nearly a year after we began the process to kick the thumb sucking habit. My son stopped sucking his thumb towards the end of the process. In fact, I believe that by the time we got to Lap and Cuddle Time, and definitely by the time we got to Story and Show Time, he was essentially done with the habit.

The beginning of the process was certainly the most challenging, even though the Time Chunks at the beginning were easier for him. I believe this was because he was thinking more about the habit, and those thoughts induced a desire to engage in the the habit. Once we got through the first few weeks, confidence was strong, the desire to stop was tugging at him, he was realizing he didn’t need his thumb for comfort, he was gaining confidence, and possibly the strongest factor is that he simply wasn’t thinking about his thumb anymore. However, we still chose to continue on through, in order to make it all the way through the process and finish strong with his final reward.

As for the NIPIT, our son was very hesitant to wear it to bed during the Sleep Time Chunk. His hesitancy was primarily because he was nervous he would end up sucking his thumb in his sleep, and he didn’t want to do that. In other words, our son no longer had a desire to suck his thumb at all. After reassuring him that we can only know if we give it a try, and that I had full confidence in him that he won’t suck his thumb while asleep, he allowed me to put it on.

I plugged in the monitor for a few nights so I could watch. My husband and I were very pleased to learn that not only was he not sucking his thumb to fall asleep, but he also did not suck during his sleep. After the eight days, he was given his final reward, which is still up in his bed as a cuddle lovey to this day. Find out what our son’s final reward was next.

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The Final Reward:

The final reward should be a large reward that is visible throughout the whole process. The idea is to continue increasing motivation and anticipation to finally receive it. Remember, the child has spent at least two months withstanding multiple temptations and working very hard to break a destructive habit. By the end of this process assuming success, the child is more than deserving of a significant reward. Similar to the small toys, allowing the child to shop and choose the final reward will even further increase her motivation.

In our case, my husband shopped and chose the final reward. Fortunately for us, my son did love it!

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Some Additional Notes:

Kicking any destructive habit can be difficult, especially for the one kicking the habit.

1. If your child has a habit that you want to help her be rid of, just know that it is going to be a process.
2. Remember to take your time, give lots of positive affirmations and love when you can see her working hard to give it up.
3. Also remember that she is not going to be able to give up her habit with the snap of a finger. Despite how hard it is going to be, don’t nag, discourage, or get upset when she gives in to the temptation.
4. Don’t rush the process.
5. And the most important thing – let your little one determine when she is ready to start. (Of course with some books and encouragement from you).

Help Your Child Stop Sucking that Thumb Now!