Is thumbsucking harmful?

I often speak to parents who are worried about their little one sucking their thumb or fingers, so I wanted to put a post together encompassing, why babies suck their thumbs, when it starts, how long it might last and if its something you should be worried about it.

I also added some feed back from some of my clients who have children who are or were addicted to their thumb or digits.

Are you worried about your infant or toddler sucking their thumb?

Why do infants suck their thumbs?

Babies have an innate sucking reflex, and if they can not learn to suck well they can get failure to thrive. When babies are born early and put in the NICU and are given soothers to help improve their suck, this way they can improve their suck and latch well to the breast or bottle and help move away from tube feeding. Sucking is calming to babies, which his why some babies end up nursing to sleep, using bottles to sleep or use a soother to sleep. For others, they will just plop their thumb or their finger/fingers their mouth when they are tired, bored or are unsure as a way to calm themselves down.

I personally have found infants who suck their thumbs to be quite observant, always watching the room and taking in everything that is going on around them. Very often when an infant sucks their thumb, there will be a secondary action with the other hand. This could include but not be limited too: tapping or rubbing a cheek, rubbing an ear, twisting their hair ( or yours), rubbing a blanket. On a recent poll that I put out on both Instagram and Facebook, 75% of the respondants said ‘yes’, they had a child that sucked their thumb.

When does it start?

In my experience, it starts on the younger side, under 6 months. I have found it rarer for older children to gravitate towards thumb sucking but thats not to say it doesn’t happen. Some babies will even suck their digits in-utero as seen on numerous ultrasound pics. When babies are first born, lots of parents will swaddle babies due to the moro reflex so they don’t have access to their hands, as you start to leave an arm out, they may first suck on their first, and then work a finger in there or a thumb. For some this will stick and turn into a soothing mechanism, for others, they may use a soother or suck on their sleep sac or lovey.

Either way, most babies will suck on anything that they can grab. They learn about their environment through their mouths, so most things will end up in there. I didn’t swaddle my daughter as she didn’t need it, she started to suck her thumb around 6 weeks of age.

How long does it last?

Although some children will stop on their own, in most cases, older children will need some support. I usually tell clients to break the habit around the age of 4. Breaking any habit takes time, and it’s not about just telling them to stop, but working on it together with a plan, apparatus, and some positive reinforcement. You can also invest in something like a thumb guard. This item your child would put on their thumb and it stops them getting any suction, therefor not feeling very nice and acting as a deterrent. A dentist can also fix something into the roof of the mouth called a palatal crib to break the thumb touching the roof of the mouth, making it feel more unpleasant.

Should I do anything about the habit?

Unless you have been told to do something about it, I wouldn’t get too caught up on it. People always have comments, but if its not an issue for you and your child is content, I would not be worried about breaking the habit until closer to the age of 4. I have had clients, who have had concerns based on their own experiences with thumb sucking, where it went on for a long time, and they were still doing it as a young teen. As children get older, they drop the nap, so you may only find that your child is only sucking their thumb at night, as in the day if they are in school, they will be using their hands for other tasks, drawing, writing, making cookies with Mum, playing etc

What about my Childs teeth?

This is probably the main reason why parents worry about thumb sucking as it can cause some oral development issues. The main ones being that the force of the thumb can cause the teeth to be pushed forward, resulting in orthotics later on. It can also cause narrowing of the jaw creating a space in the roof of the mouth, this can lead to uneven stress on the teeth effecting chewing. Another common concern, is that it introduces bacteria into the mouth, but honesty, I can think of worse things that babies and children put in their mouths after sticking their fingers into even nook and cranny. The thumb could also become infected over time, so do pay attention to it, to make sure that it doesn’t get any sores.

Thumb sucking and sleep

From a sleep perspective, I always get excited when a client tells me that their child can suck their thumb or fingers, as I know that they will have an easier time than average with making changes to their little ones sleeping habits.

If anything, thumb suckers are the best sleepers. They tend to be on the higher end of sleep needs, transition through their naps and the 5am waking more seamlessly, and also I believe it’s the MOST natural way for a baby to self soothe.

Babies who suck their thumbs also tend to have skewed awake windows - they tend to hold onto naps for longer than average and struggle to stay awake for the suggest amounts of time.

What my clients had to say when I asked them:

How they feel about the fact that their little one sucker their thumb -

Comments others have made about it to them -

How they will break it later on -

When they will break it -

Anonymous -

I think it’s gross bc his hands are always so wet (5month old) but it helps him soothe so I’m okay with it but would prefer him to use his soother instead (I think it’ll be easier to break the soother habit over the thumb/hand sucking)

Comments that parents have made to me are: Oh he’s a thumb sucker eh?! You better break that habit now or you’ll never be able too, That’ll cost you a fortune in dental work

I plan on breaking it through,  encouraging a pacifier over hands, in terms of breaking the habit we will see how it goes he’s only 5mo right now 

Jen Saris -

Told me that her dentist had started to give her grief about her boys sucking their thumbs - telling her to just ask them to stop. She has asked a few parents, and heard most of them say that their children stopped between the age of 6 to 7 years.

Bentley Johannson -

Honestly the thumb sucking is driving me a little looney right now. My eldest sucks his thumb a lot and I have no idea how to stop it we have tried just being on top of asking him to stop without shaming him of course but he just starts again. It is definitely something that is a habit he doesn’t seem to even realize he does it . He does it when he is tired , bored , running around , going to bed you name it  and he is now four years old with no signs of stopping.

Kelsey Anderson -

I’m not too concerned right now! Baby is only 2 months and I view it as a natural way to suck/soothe. In the future I can see me being concerned in terms of orthodontics and how it’ll impact her teeth! 

I was thinking of replacing the hand/thumb sucking with a soother - but I’m not completely sure. I think it would be easier to “take away” the soother than the thumb in the future. I haven’t given it much thought yet! 

Ideally the sooner the better but I am in no rush, I feel like baby is so young (2mo) so there is time for new habits to form and fade out naturally. I’m not sure! 

I don’t have many thoughts or feelings about it. It is what it is, for now. I don’t see it as positive or negative, it’s just something she does when she’s trying to signal to me she’s tired or needs comfort :) 

Anonymous  -

With both my kids, I "trained" them to suck their thumbs as babies.  They were both addicted to their soothers which caused lots of crying in the car and in the middle of the night when the soother would fall out.  It was driving me nuts, but I loved how the sucking would sooth them.  So I would take their little thumb and put it in their mouth and hold it until they found the "suck".  It was quite easy to do and was my life saver.

As toddlers they both used their thumbs as little re-sets to settle them or when they were tired.

Of course I was worried about their teeth but figured they'd probably need braces once day anyway, whether they sucked their thumbs or not.  Their dentist has told me that she would never have guessed either one of them were thumb suckers.  My daughter even has a slight under bite - and the worry of thumb sucking is an over bite!

My daughter is now 7 and still sucks her thumb when falling asleep, never throughout the day.  She talks about wanting to stop soon and is in control of when she wants to.  We put a band-aid on her thumb for a few nights and she didn't suck it...but she decided that she still wants to hold on to it for a little longer.

My son is 4 and he sucks his thumb still when watching tv, or when upset, or falling asleep.  It's never been an issue and I love it.

Jackie Lau -

I am a mom of 3 (2 girls 6YO & 3YO, and 1 boy 4m). My 6YO was a thumb sucker from 2 months old until 2.5 YO. We had to stop her from thumb sucking as she liked to suck her thumb and scratch her nose/cheeks at the same time, causing scarring on her cheek. There was even a thick callus on her right thumb.  We tried putting Mavala nail polish but my daughter didn’t mind the bitter taste😜. I ended up sewing socks to her PJ and less than a week, she had weaned thumb sucking. 

My 3 YO is more difficult in terms of weaning. We have tried the same methods as my oldest daughter. It worked for some time but she has now regressed back and more frequent thumb sucking than before. Unlike my oldest daughter who only sucks her right thumb when trying to sleep, my middle child sucks thumb day and night. She likes to suck both thumbs. We are still trying to wean her off as the constant saliva on her hands is causing more eczema flare ups. Since it’s summertime and she wears short sleeve PJ, there is no way that I can see gloves onto the sleeves. She still puts gloves on before bed but she pulls them off during the night. We are constantly reminding her to stop but I don’t think that’s helping. 

With our littlest one, he likes to suck his hand when playing but doesn’t suck his thumb for soothing, yet. Both my middle child and youngest were sucking their thumbs when we did the ultrasound during pregnancies 🤣. 

I have tried introducing a pacifier to all three but no success. I really hope to wean my middle child from thumb sucking but it seems hopeless. 

Erica Prior -

I’m completely fine with it, as long as it does not disrupt the progress with her teeth or cause any issues with them in the future

I don’t plan on breaking it. (Disclaimer- I’m 36 and still suck my thumb when I’m relaxed or sometimes sleepy)

I’m hoping it’ll come in due time for her when she is ready for it. Currently it’s helping her with her teething and it’s a self soothe mechanism. 

As long as it doesn’t cause any oral or speech issues, I’m okay with her using her fingers as long as she needs them

Anonymous -

Our daughter, is a thumb sucker and we found it really useful for self-soothing and getting to sleep. She is really attached to a soft toy/jellyfish which she takes to bed and she only sucks her thumb when she has that in her hand. We only give her the jellyfish for naps and at bedtime so there is no thumb-sucking outside of these times – unless she finds the jellyfish her self> we take it in the car and on planes as we know she will sit still and be quiet with this and will inevitably suck her thumb.

I’m not overly concerned as she only does it with the jellyfish and I think associates it with sleep, I haven’t really thought about when to break it! I assumed she would do so naturally when she falls asleep without having to such her thumb?!

Jaime Cieszecki -

Out of 4 children I had / have 2 thumb suckers. I hated that my 2nd child did only for the fact that there was so much negative talk about thumb sucking, the germs and that it’s hard to break the cycle. 

Once I was in it though I preferred it over the pacifier. I didn’t have to struggle finding it, then losing it in the night, and honestly their immune system was so much better. 

When it came time to stopping he did it on his own. He associated thumb sucking with his blanket. When he gave up on his blanket the thumb sucking ended 2 weeks later. He was two when he stopped. 

My daughter who is just turning 3 this week still sucks her thumb. Anytime she needs self soothing or to go to sleep. We will be working with her this week to find other things to self soothe with and hopefully move away from the thumb. 

When it comes to dental concerns, my two who used pacifiers had more dental concerns with teeth shaping than thumb suckers. 

Anonymous -

My granddaughter is the first thumbsucker I've had and it makes me feel sad and worried. Sad because it makes me feel she didn't receive enough nursing/feeding, nurturing/holding and worried because I'm afraid her thumb, teeth, gums and palate will be irreversibly altered and misshapen. I try to shrug it off but it always feels unfortunate because it could have been avoided.

Anonymous -

First child - Started with a soother around birth and we took it away when we sleep trained him at 4 months. He found his two fingers on his left hand sleep training and became a much better sleeper. He napped till age 4 and has been a good over night sleeper for years, up early but he’s a keener for what the day has to hold 

I thought it was fine when he was younger, super cute and very easy (except Calgary winter walks when he needed mittens but wanted to suck his fingers!) 

No comments have been made, if anything a common ground if they see your kid doing it and their kid does too.

There was no plan to work on breaking it …around 5 when he kept doing it we tried to limit it to bed, tv and car time…he still does it and we are constantly reminding him at home to stop. We are told he does not do it at friends, school, daycare, etc…only with his family

I don’t mind if he still does it as night as I don’t love the brace idea but we want to stop it in the day asap. Anyone I talk to with finger suckers says it just gets less and less till they stop eventually. 

He also has a blankie (which does not leave the house) and has since a very young age…he definitely associates the blankie with the finger sucking so we try to keep that in bed. He often uses his fingers to calm down so we are trying to teach him other coping mechanisms.

My daughter who is 4, also started with a soother and just before age 1 out of no where (during a car ride to the lake) started sucking her right thumb and has not stopped (she ditched the soother on her own)…we think she started as copying her brother 

Again super cute, easy, hard outside in the winter

No plan but she’s also much more chill than her brother in so many ways - even to the point where when Porter sucks it’s aggressive, she’s super chill, she’s much less dependent on it than her brother, and is a much more chill kid. 

She also associates her thumb with her 2 little blankies so is pretty good about not sucking it without blankies. Her blankies also do not leave the house and she even sometimes will not suck her thumb in the car cause she does not have her blankies

All in all I think the fingers are easy and make for good sleepers but often wonder if in the long run a soother would have been nice to take away when we wanted. 

Anonymous -

Both myself and hubby were thumb suckers and both have had braces as a children as well as in our mid 20s to get that “ perfect “ smile. At a great cost !

We both made the decision to introduce a dummy to try and stop the chance of having a thumb sucker. Our daughter had other ideas and sucking on a dummy was not so her ! 

Very fortunate to establish a good breastfeeding journey from birth which meant for the 1st 12 weeks she was fully attached to me so thumb wasn’t needed or a dummy as I fed on every cry ! 

12 weeks we could see a routine forming in her wake window. I fed to sleep which I no longer wanted to do so we reintroduced the dummy. Every make of dummy was spat out so we gave up. Sure enough the thumb ventured in to her mouth! But she slept through from 12 weeks. Her thumb soothers her and I was a new woman, after 12 weeks of feeding on demand. So we gave up on the dummy’s and started a savings account for dentistry! 

She’s coming up 4 and only really sucks it to fall asleep, thankfully her teeth seem good for the time being. 

As a baby/toddler we used to encourage her to hold and play with small toys as this meant her thumb wasn’t in her mouth. 

She has taken to sucking her left thumb which means she has her right hand which seems her dominant hand ( still early days at 3 years old ) for drawing/painting . So we are starting to see now if she’s doing drawings the left thumb sneaks in. Most activities she still uses both hands. 

No negative comments as such. Lots of that’s so cute when she was a baby. A few you need to stop that it will mess up her teeth. How ever her teeth are straight .

No real plan to work on breaking it yet, as she only sucks it when tired in the evening. She starts school in September so I feel she will be to busy to suck her thumb. 

Other thoughts about it, just last week we met a little girl the same age as our daughter, the girl still had a dummy. Chatting to the mum and the mum said how many disapproving looks they receive daily. And my 1st thoughts where a 4 year old shouldn’t have a dummy. Then realising I’m Such a hypocrite as my daughter still sucks her thumb! No one has really given us a look of disapproval or said any thing when her thumb is in her mouth. I do feel dummy’s seem to effect teeth more then a thumb does just from comparing our daughters teeth to the girls teeth. 

Her thumb sucking I feel helped with her sleeping through from an early age, helped her to self sooth day and night. She not always got it in her mouth as she needs to use her hands to do things and play so in some ways I think a thumb is better then a dummy. Till it comes to kicking the habit. 

My main concern is her teeth but we live in a world where we can fix that later on in life with braces so we not to concerned with lasting effects. 

Brittney Rowan -

I don’t have many feelings about it. My first born never sucked his thumb, but my second born does. I know he sucks his thumb when he’s relaxing or tired.

I don’t really know how to break it or when. I’m assuming he would stop doing it on his own but I’m probably wrong and unprepared about that. When it’s time, I will figure out other coping mechanisms or ways for him to calm himself down. I’ll also probably reward him while he’s breaking the habit 

I’m planning on breaking if it hasn’t happened on its own by next summer, before he starts pre primary. 

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