Can you stop your child thumb sucking before schools return?
Can you stop your child thumb sucking before schools return?
For many parents at the moment, having their children around the house due to COVID-19 can feel like a blessing. Their minimized or even fully stopped education, though, might be worrying you. Instead of spending valuable time in the classroom learning, your child is going to be left in a position where they feel like they are not progressing. However, this does not mean that your child has to stop learning and growing in some ways. For example, does your child still happen to suck their thumb? If so, let’s see how your child can stop thumb sucking before schools return.
Thumb sucking is a common habit for children that often date back to the womb. It is the go-to for a child who feels scared, nervous, or simply uncomfortable in any way. And while adorable and calming in its own way, unfortunately, thumb sucking can have some pretty bad impacts on a child. For example, you can find that thumb sucking in a toddler can lead to their teeth not coming in properly.
This can lead to dental issues that might need things like braces or dental surgery to try correctly. It would also mean that your child is going to suffer from the self-confidence issues that can come from having teeth that are anything other than perfect. We live in a harsh world, so getting your child to stop thumb sucking is highly recommended.
And with everyone locked down and stuck indoors, why not think about using this preschool time to make sure the changes are made beforehand?
After all, you don’t want your child going to kindergarten or school with a habit of sucking their thumb still. After the age of four, it really should be something that you look to eradicate from their habitual actions.
How can I stop thumb sucking before they return to school?
The simplest way to bring an end to the thumb sucking experience is to use positive reinforcement. A child is much more likely to take a positive approach to learn if they are rewarded for their progress. If the only ‘reward’ is to simply not be scolded or given into trouble, then the incentive to learn and change is lessened massively.
Instead, you should look to give them a reason to stop. At the moment, a popular choice for parents looking to end thumb sucking before the lockdown finishes is the Glovey Huggey. This has become the ideal choice for just about anyone who is looking for a way to distract their child from losing their need to go to the thumb for a sense of comfort.
By choosing to use a Glovey Huggey, you make sure that your child has something else to fascinate them. Add in the fact that this helps to stop thumb sucking by covering the thumb, and it is much more likely that your days of worrying about the impact of thumb sucking will be over. For any parent worried about the long-term impact of thumb sucking, then, you should consider turning to an active solution like the Glovey Huggey.