Question: What do Linus from the comic strip “Peanuts,” Tamala Jones from TV shows “ER” and “Dangerous Minds,” all children, and some adults have in common? Answer: They all suck their thumbs. Thumb-sucking is generally associated with babies and young children, but many adults have this habit as well. You've probably heard about Sigmund Freud describing the practice as “infantile sexuality,” and that babies express sexual desires through thumb-sucking. But while thumb-sucking is a natural reflex in young children, it can lead to serious dental, speech, and self-image problems after the age of 5. The following tips should help your child or yourself get rid of thumb-sucking as quickly as possible.

Getting Rid of Thumb-Sucking in Children

There are many reasons why children suck their thumbs. Some children suck their thumbs to relieve their feeling of hunger, others do it to feel a sense of safety, pleasure, or comfort. While these are all good reasons, the habit can cause lots of problems in the future. Here are some tips to stop your child from thumb-sucking.

• Motivate your child: Children are more rational than you think. If you provide them with good reasons why they should stop sucking their thumb, they will be more willing to do something about their habit. Tell your child that thumb-sucking will make his teeth and thumb look ugly. You may even use a mirror to help him visualize the damaging effects of his habit.
• Talk about germs: Scaring your child a bit helps to get rid of thumb-sucking. Talk about how bad germs on his hands can get into his mouth through thumb-sucking and make him feel sick. Be careful not to overdo it though, or your child may develop an unnecessary fear of his hands or dirt.
• Talk about being a grownup: Young children love to pretend that they're grownups. If you tell your child that part of being a “big boy” or a “big girl” is not having to suck his thumb, he will be more motivated to quit his habit.
• Choose the right time for discussion: Thumb-sucking is usually a response to stress, so it's not advisable to talk your child into quitting his habit when he's in a stressful environment. Make sure that your child is very comfortable and relaxed when you discuss thumb-sucking.
• Keep him busy: Keep your child busy while you're motivating him to stop his habit. Play games and solve puzzles with him to keep his hands and mind occupied. Limiting TV time also helps to get rid of thumb-sucking because children oftentimes suck their thumbs while watching TV.
• Coat his fingernail: A more direct way to prevent thumb-sucking is to coat your child's fingernail with a bad-tasting substance, so that he'll avoid putting his thumb in his mouth. You may also cover it with bandage, although this may come off easily. If the coating or the bandage comes off, replace it immediately without being too critical of your child.
• Stop thumb-sucking at night: Nighttime thumb-sucking is the hardest habit to break, so carefully remove your child's thumb from his mouth when he's sleeping. It may take up to three months before your child can sleep without sucking his thumb first. Try placing a hand puppet on his hand or giving him a stuffed animal to comfort him while he sleeps.
• Don't put your child in stressful situations: To make the training process faster, never put your child in situations where he might resort to thumb-sucking to relieve his stress. Also, make sure he gets enough sleep and food while you're training him.
• Recognize his accomplishments: Always remember to praise your child whenever he finishes an activity without sucking his thumb. Tell him also that his teeth and finger look better and better the longer he goes without thumb-sucking.
• Do not punish your child: Keep in mind that thumb-sucking in children is a normal reflex that goes away on its own, and you're just preventing your child from getting attached to the activity. For this reason, it's not advisable to punish your child in any way when he fails to stop his habit. Punishing him harshly will just result in low self-esteem and more stress.
• Reward your child: Rewarding your child every other day for not sucking his thumb helps reinforce good habits. Rewards can be small toys, sugarless gums and candies, markers, a trip to the park, or watching his favorite cartoon. Do not reward him too much however, because this will send a message that doing the right thing always involves rewards.

Getting Rid of Thumb-Sucking in Adults

Thumb-sucking is more difficult to unlearn in adults because it has been reinforced for a very long time. Although public thumb-sucking is rare in adults, many of them do it privately. This habit may hinder social interaction because there are stigmas attached to adult thumb-sucking. If you're an adult thumb-sucker, the following tips may help you get rid of your problem.

• Cover your thumb: You can wear gloves or tie a ribbon around your thumb to remind you of your goal. This will help bring the unconscious act of thumb-sucking into a conscious level, which makes it easier to stop. The only problem with this method is that it will not stop you from sucking your thumb unconsciously during sleep.
• Use bitter chemicals: This method is similar to the first, but it involves applying iodine or other commercially available bitter substance on your thumbnail to discourage you from thumb-sucking. The brain turns off the taste sensation during sleep though, so this method still doesn't guarantee you freedom from your habit.
• Try hypnosis: People with bad habits or uncontrollable desires often undergo hypnotherapy to remove them. Since thumb-sucking is oftentimes a subconscious activity, it's helpful to address it using methods that operate subconsciously. Hypnotherapy helps you cope with stress in a more positive way. You have the option to either go to a hypnotherapist for a personal session or purchase a hypnotherapy tape for convenience.
• Go to a psychologist: A psychologist will not immediately treat your thumb-sucking problem. Instead, he'll first try to determine what is the underlying cause of the habit. While thumb-sucking is a problem in itself, it's often caused by a more serious emotional or psychological problem beneath the surface. It may be possible to bring this problem to the surface with the help of a psychologist, making treatment easier.
• Behavioral Therapy: This method is also sometimes called habit reversal training. It consists of techniques to unlearn the habit of thumb-sucking under the guidance of a medical professional. Your doctor may or may not prescribe medications depending on the severity of your condition.
• Wear a mouthpiece: There's a special dental appliance or mouthpiece available to help thumb-suckers get rid of their habit. The mouthpiece fits behind your top maxillary teeth and prevents suction. It removes the pleasurable sensation of thumb-sucking so you're discouraged from continuing it.
• Squeeze a stress ball: Replace thumb-sucking with another kind of stress-relieving activity such as squeezing a stress ball or painting. Whatever activity you choose though, make sure that it's not self-destructive; otherwise, you're just substituting one bad habit for another.
• Break records: Challenge yourself for breaking your own records. For example, how many hours can you go without sucking your thumb? You may never be in control of your unconscious urges at night, but in daytime, you can certainly will yourself away from thumb-sucking. If you feel like you can go without thumb-sucking for a day, ask yourself next how many days you can go without it. Then, extend the challenge to a week, two weeks, and until you no longer need challenges to stop you from doing your habit.
• Go out and keep yourself busy: In many cases, adult thumb-sucking is a habit done in private. Genuine social interaction is difficult because you have to occasionally be alone to indulge in it. To counter this withdrawn attitude, you should go out more and keep yourself busy. Meet other people, travel with your friends, or immerse yourself in a completely different hobby like dancing or martial arts. If you feel more alive and attached to society, your urge to indulge in thumb-sucking will be reduced.
• Be in touch with other adult thumb-suckers: Believe it or not, you're not the only adult thumb-sucker in the world. While there are no support groups for thumb-suckers, the Internet is bustling with message boards, forums, and chat rooms about adult thumb-sucking. A few websites are dedicated to this topic as well. You'll cope better with your condition if you keep in touch with people who have similar concerns.

You don't want your child to grow up a thumb-sucker, and you don't want to be like a child forever. There are much better ways to relieve stress and feel pleasure aside from sucking your thumb and damaging it along with your teeth. Keep in mind that nothing is impossible to accomplish if you put your heart into it.