question
My daughter (9.5) got an expander at the beginning of the summer and will get braces tomorrow! She is pretty nonchalant about all of it, but the orthodontist told us we need to cut out the thumb sucking.
She still sucks her thumb at night and sometimes but rarely in public as a self-soothing gesture (mostly when she is very tired). She is very good at self-regulation generally; the orthodontist recommended we put her arms in a man’s dress shirt and tie the sleeves together while she sleeps (umm… no); we tried the nail biter potions that really bothered her when she ate.
She said she wants to stop but needs a way to calm herself. ideas or suggestions?
Answer
The orthodontist is not 100% wrong but their idea is off.
Sucking of the thumb is automatic. So it's hard for her to stop doing it since the habit is mostly unconscious. The good news is that SHE is up for the challenge and can slowly bring consciousness to stopping.
My recommendation is to buy gloves. Tell her to put them on at night. The texture of the glove and the thumb will cause the brain to have a "new sensory" input to analyze and will help her be conscious of the habit.
This will take time. Have her try different ways to move her tongue in her mouth to replace the sensation of sucking. This is one way to start working to calm down. She can also do a body scan meditation or a breathing meditation at bedtime to soothe her to sleep.