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Stephanie_Q
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| Posted: Sept 10 2009 at 10:24am | IP Logged
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My 7yo is still sucking her thumb. Her 6yo sister had quit when 7yo was at school all day last year, but since both are home, both are sucking again.
When we sit down to read, I stop reading if thumbs go into mouths. If they are watching a video, I pause it until they're stop sucking their thumbs. In the van, when they're bored of their books, drawing, etc it seems like we're contantly nagging: "No thumb." (ThumbSuckStop, hot pepper sauce, bandaids, etc have not worked, but perhaps I need to be more consistent with the BandAids and add an incentive if the BandAid stays on all day...).
My real problem is that if 6yo is not sucking her thumb, she is chewing on something, usually some kind of string or ribbon, a rubberband, a necklace, a paperclip, whatever she finds... Yesterday she chewed up her pencil...even when she'd quit sucking her thumb last school year, she always had something in her mouth. If I give her gum, she pulls it out to play with it, too and then I have to take it away... 
Thoughts, ideas? This has been annoying for a while but is really starting to make us angry so I need to know if at 6 and 7 it is something I can (still) expect them to grow out of or if it is something that I need to gently correct (and how).
TIA!
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Stephanie dh 6.01
dd 6.02, dd 8.03, ds 3.05, ds 12.06 at Catholic school.
dd 12.09 at home.
Baby boy due 10.13
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KC in TX
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| Posted: Sept 10 2009 at 10:39am | IP Logged
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Stephanie, my 11 year old still puts things in his mouth. It's a sensory thing for him. Some people need that oral stimulation. I would find alternate things for your 6yo to put in his mouth; there are chew rings for older kids. Also to keep hands busy, give your 6 and 7 yo things to play with during read alouds; we call these fidgets. It helps focus the hands on something so that the ears can listen (an OT suggested this).
Just think of all the adults who still chew on pens, nails, etc. And, 
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Sept 10 2009 at 11:16am | IP Logged
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well, having just come home from the dentist.. one suggestion for a thumb/finger sucker is to give them a toothbrush and let them brush their teeth.. no toothpaste, no extra water.. just a toothbrush to stick in their mouth and brush with. Keeps the hand and the mouth busy and isn't gonna hurt dental health either 
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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PDyer
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KC in TX wrote:
I would find alternate things for your 6yo to put in his mouth; there are chew rings for older kids. Also to keep hands busy, give your 6 and 7 yo things to play with during read alouds; we call these fidgets. It helps focus the hands on something so that the ears can listen (an OT suggested this).
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We did the same thing with our now 13 year old. He's mostly outgrown it, but I still notice he has his fingers in his mouth when he's tired.
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Patty
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JennGM
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Well, this thread is disheartening. My almost 6-yo is constantly having something in his mouth. He's not a thumb sucker, but his mouth has to always be preoccupied. The latest thing is sucking on his shirt.
Sigh. Perhaps we can turn this thread into "How does Mommy deal with the emotions when she sees the constant mouth habits?" 
I like the toothbrush idea, except I can just see it rammed into the back of his throat. Too jumpy.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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KC in TX
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| Posted: Sept 10 2009 at 7:49pm | IP Logged
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Here's one product that you can get. There are others on this site. I've also seen something like the spiraly phone cord that's used. It goes on like a necklace so it's always there for the child.
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KC,
wife to Ben (10/94),
Mama to LB ('98)
Michaela ('01)
Emma ('03)
Jordan ('05)
And, my 2 angels, Rose ('08) and Mark ('09)
The Cabbage Patch
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Sept 10 2009 at 8:11pm | IP Logged
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Jenn, what about those little brushes that go on the tip of a finger?
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
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Stephanie_Q
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| Posted: Sept 14 2009 at 1:35pm | IP Logged
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JennGM wrote:
Well, this thread is disheartening. Sigh. Perhaps we can turn this thread into "How does Mommy deal with the emotions when she sees the constant mouth habits?"
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Anyone? Anyone?
I'll try to calm down and think about this...right now we're caught up in the emotion of trying to figure out "Is this normal?!" "What is wrong with her?!" "What did I do wrong?!"
I took an old teething ring and put the soft beads on a shoestring to make a necklace. She has something chewy + the string to chew on, depending on the 'texture' she is looking for...
I love the idea of fidgets and have a list of some I want to get for story-time, computer/TV time (which is not every day...although I'm not sure why I feel like I have to clarify that...) and a few for the van...
BUT
I'm concerned that a chewy girl may chew on a fidget. I don't want to buy a "Tangle", for example, and end up with a chewed up toy for the trash.  Do I just get things that can be chewed (we have no Lauri foam in the house for this reason) or is there a process (is it even possible) to re-direct her 'oral stimulation' needs to be met through her hands with fidgets and other sensory activities?
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Stephaniedh 6.01
dd 6.02, dd 8.03, ds 3.05, ds 12.06 at Catholic school.
dd 12.09 at home.
Baby boy due 10.13
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Sept 14 2009 at 1:43pm | IP Logged
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well I'll step out and say it's normal.. all the strings and ribbons and such on my clothes tended to be chewed.. ends of pencils too.. until I was quite a bit older.. probably 9ish for the the ends of ribbons and such.. but pencils I know was much longer.. because it was during classtime that I needed that extra something.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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guitarnan
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Some kids are mouth kids and others are not. We discussed this in a child development class I took several years ago.
You should be able to gently correct, though, at age 6 - some things are not good to chew!
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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anitamarie
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My ds chewed his shirts from the age of 5 until he was at least 9. I think they do outgrow it. But we did stay on his case about it. It got easier once we started homeschooling, and I could hound, I mean remind, him more frequently. The real downer is that I don't have any shirts to hand down to his little brother who is coming into that size now.
Anita
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Topic: 6yo always has something in mouth...
