For young children, thumb sucking is a normal form of oral stimulation that provides comfort. It also reduces the risk of allergy development. But once your child has reached the age of three or four, it may be in their best interest to start deterring them from thumb sucking. Many parents may not see thumb sucking as a major problem for their child.

Thumbsucking: Why Babies Do It and How Parents Can Help Them Stop



How to Stop Thumb Sucking and Why Kids Do It - Parentology
Thumb sucking is such a hard habit for children to break. Jo has read that children stop sucking naturally at the age of 4 or 5, which is great if they do. We had a lovely email from a mum that summed up everything that we really want to say. My daughter Sophie age 6 has not sucked her thumb for 29 days now and says that she never wants to suck her thumb again. Our dentist told us that her thumb sucking was preventing her teeth from coming through so we had to do something. Sophie loved choosing the designs and they have lasted so well with repeated washing! The reward chart was great and we will continue until we have filled the whole chart with stickers.


Wacky Toddler Behavior: Thumb-Sucking
Thumbsucker, an indie movie that generated a lot of buzz at this year's Sundance Film Festival, is the story of a boy trying to kick his thumb-sucking habit at age Walter Kirn, upon whose novel the film is based, has admitted that the story is to some extent autobiographical. That's not the case for Harvey, who at age 55 still enjoys sucking his thumb.



Thumb sucking is a behavior found in humans, chimpanzees , captive ring-tailed lemurs , [1] and other primates. It can also be accomplished with any organ within reach such as other fingers and toes and is considered to be soothing and therapeutic for the person. As a child develops the habit, it will usually develop a "favorite" finger to suck on.