I'm looking for ideas on how to get Karlie to stop sucking on her fingers. She only does it now just as she's falling to sleep (nap & bed times). We've resorted to putting a sock on at nap time & bed time. We try to explain to her why she should stop sucking them: school, she's a big girl now, her teeth will get crooked, etc., but this girl has an answer for everything. The other night Adam's like you have to stop sucking your fingers or they may fall off (I know you're thinking what a terrible thing to say, but we're at our whits end; we don't want it to start affecting her fingers & teeth & it's starting to). We've tried rewards & all. The other day she actually made it through the night & got a little ice cream for breakfast (one scoop).
Then not so good the next night. Her answer to her fingers falling off was, "OK, I'll just use my other hand", and we're like "no, this is the hand you have to use to eat, color pictures, catch a ball, dig in the sandbox, play with your princess, etc., so you really need these fingers". She just looked at us and said, "yeah, I'll just use this other hand". We hard time keeping a straight face. The reason I ask for new ideas is the sock over her hand at night seems to be working OK at times, but sometimes it comes off in the night (I know this because I check on her before we go to bed), and then in the morning she'll come out, realize she's forgotten it (because I can see a bare hand), run back in her room to put it back on, and then come back out and say, "mom, is it OK if I take this sock off right now". Thank goodness Tanner took the nuk (I can actually take that away. Help!!!
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6 comments:
Renee sucks on her hand too and adamantly refused a pacifier of any variety so keep me posted if you figure out a way to make it stop! :)
I sure will. I thought it was so cute to begin with, but now it's really hard to get her to stop. Good luck to you too! I think being consistant is the key. I'm really good for awhile & then I forget or get slack with it.
This sounds really terrible, but I remember when we were little Carissa Conats mom put vinegar on her finger to get her to stop sucking. I don't know if that will work, but you could try it.
You could try shamelessly bribing her with a toy you know she really wants. My parents put a Hot-Cycle 3-wheeler at the top of the front closet (within eyesight) until I stopped. Have to stop for at least 3 weeks. :-) I still forget if that's what really did it though...
I remember that Vonda, and yes it actually did work for you. I think you started to go back to the fingers and you knew it had to go back on the shelf if you did. Poor baby! As a grandma it all seems way too harsh. I sure enjoy being in this position:) Don't worry about the teeth or fingers too bad, Jennifer. Val sucked her thumb for a l-o-n-g time and even though it appeared that it was bothering her teeth, after she did quit on her own, they went back and her adult teeth came in nice and straight. Just gently keep pulling them out as you go to bed and keep reminding her, and it will end eventually. You could try the bribe, but although that worked well for Vonda, it probably won't work for all children. Auntie Vonnie
Thanks for all the helpful hints guys. We'll keep with the sock & rewards and see where it gets us. Because obviously telling her stories like her dad doesn't work...she just giggles at us & tells us we're silly. Love you guys!!!
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