Why Having to Stop Thumb Sucking is so Important
How To Stop Sucking Thumb
When it comes to learning how to stop sucking thumb habits, parents can feel like they are up against it to get their child to stop. This can become an exercise in frustration, as many children can find it hard to give up such a common trait. Given that it starts in the womb, and it’s a natural activity if we want to feel comfortable, it can be hard to make your child see why having to stop thumb sucking is so important.
In a bid to get them to see things from your point of view, though, you can fill them in on the variety of dangers that exist from sucking a thumb. If you let them know about the problems that this activity can cause, then you can make it more likely that the child will actually want to stop in the first place.
To help you make the right call to get them to actually stop, then, you can look to give them the following pieces of information. Otherwise, keep this information to yourself as inspiration to try and get your child to stop.
Three ways of helping your child break the habit
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Overjet Complications. One of the most common issues you will face is that the upper teeth of the child will begin to stick out with a 2-3mm out-dent. This naturally is a very discomforting look and one that might make your child feel uncomfortable about smiling. It’s very hard to reverse after a certain period of time, too, so dealing with overjet complications should be one of the main reasons you consider this.
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Open Bite Issues. Another major issue with not knowing how to stop your child sucking their thumb is that it can create an open bite. This is when the upper teeth do not connect up with the lower frontal teeth, even when the jaw is closed. This is very common and be quite uncomfortable for the child to deal with. It’s also a bit of a confidence drain given the rather overt difference it can make to facial structure.
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Facial Development. The other most likely issue that can stem from this is that your child can wind up with what is known as ‘lip incompetence’; a situation that means your mouth cannot fully close when resting. It can result in major changes to how your face develops and how aligned – or otherwise – that your teeth are.
About the positive reinforcement
With this in mind, you can hopefully make a more serious attempt to try and stop thumb sucking. One of the best solutions is to use the power of positive reinforcement or to give your child a clear example of what can go wrong if they do not make a change
Props and prompts can help to make a big difference, too. If you make a change to the way that your child considers thumb sucking by, say, giving them a prop like the Glovey Huggey, you can easily take their mind off the need for thumb sucking permanently!