how do i get my 1 year old to stop sucking on her fingers without feeling like i am torchering her?

Marilynn - posted on 02/08/2013

my 19 month old sucks on her two middle fingers and i want to break the habit... especially since her hands are in everything... sometimes when she'd touch the floor in public places she would immediately pop her fingers in her mouth before i get a chance to catch her.. she's already had a few throat infections ... im thinking its because of this habit... my doctor is recommending for me to help her stop... she mentioned theres a solution i can buy at the pharmacy that i can put on her fingers that has a bad taste to it.... i hope it works...

Jenn - posted on 10/02/2011

I have this problem too but I'm worried because it looks like her lip is starting to swell from it and she's getting sores on her fingers from her teeth digging into them. I've tried EVERYTHING!!! Any idea's?

Kathleen - posted on 03/11/2010

yea i wouldn't worry about it now. i don't like binky's much but since my son doesn't suck on one all the time it wasn't such a big deal. There are kids who suck on their fingers and binky's till they're 3. So as long as the child isn't sucking past 3 i wouldn't worry about it too much. I'm sure once he hit 3 then the dentist will tell you to stop the behavior but at the moment it calms him from the pain considering he may be teething.

CC - posted on 03/11/2010

thanks the teeth are my main concern her fathers teeth stick out from sucking his thumb too much after he got his adult teeth.. i know it seems vain but i dont want her to be addicted to it for that long but seems that at this age its still ok for her. thanks.

Kathleen - posted on 03/09/2010

You said she's 1 yr old. check her teeth. She may be teething. My son does chew and suck on his fingers. His teeth are coming in and you can feel them. Might try giving her frozen washclothes. She can suck and naw on that and it's not her fingers.

Charlotte - posted on 03/08/2010

My 2 year old daughter sucks on her 2 middle fingers and uses her index finger to rub her nose at the same time and sometimes she places it up her nose. I have asked many different people on what I can do to get her to stop... here is a list:

1. put a glove on her hands. It never worked bc she pulled the gloves off

2. Use pepper on her fingers.. Well I never tried that bc i can just see her rubbing her eyes and could you just imagine how painful that would be!

3. put tape on her fingers that she sucks.... Well I tried that and she still just sucked her fingers with the tape on. She also ended up with a rash on hand from the tape

4. Keep a close eye on her and when she does it tell her to take her fingers out of her mouth.. I tried that and she just started sucking on them even more often than normal.

5. Give her a paci for teething... Well she used it but she would stick the paci in her mouth and she still sucked her fingers on top of that.

So one day while I was at a well baby check up with one of my babies I asked there doctor what I could about this.. She told me to just let her do it. It wont hurt her. I asked about it messing her teeth up and was told that her baby teeth will be fine and she will grow out of it!

If she was 4 or 5 and still doing it then she would find concern in the matter. So I just let my 2 year old do her thing and now I have noticed that she does it less often since I pay her no mind about it... I believe she will grow out of it!!!

Bethanie - posted on 03/07/2010

Is it hurting her in any way? Guess I don't see the harm unless she is inflicting wounds of some sort on her fingers. Maybe let her have a favorite blanket/animal to carry with her? When I was transitioning my son from a pacifier before a year old, I would tuck his little silky blanket bear under his arm and that worked like a charm. Now he carries it with him around the house and "sucks" on the silky edge like it's a "pacifier" and it's not hurting anything! :) I think it's sweet. Maybe she, too will take to an animal to snuggle with. The finger sucking is just something that is comforting to her. Either she can transfer this comfort to another object or she will eventually stop all together.