Cassidy has been a thumb sucker since day one. I used to think it was soooooooo cute (and honestly still do sometimes). However because her father is a dentist, and has 9 year olds come in who sucked their thumbs and now look like Bucky Beaver, and because we are starting to see signs of our own little Bucky, this habit must come to an end. We have tried duct tape. The sneak can rip of any style of tape job you can create. Vinegar: 'Mmmmm tasty!' (what!?) Icy Hot: Only limited success; wore off too quickly to make any difference. Trying to educate her on why she has had Hand Foot Mouth disease 2 times in the past few months (in simplified terms)- too young to understand or correlate. Telling her she'll get buck teeth: once again too young to understand- just simply repeats it back to you when you tell her to stop sucking ('why? Cause I'll get bucky's?) Hot Sauce: worked for a bit but the child got wise and simply goes to wash her finger off once it is applied. Enter story: 'Kick the Habit' bitter nail polish. You'd a thought I was poisoning her with Draino the way she reacted to the bitter taste. Spittering, sputtering, gagging, licking her arm, licking towels, drooling, crying, repeating "this tastes yucky"over and over and over... then finally tiring of the act (because over half was an act) until she tried to sucky again. I will say I think this stuff finally has potential. I plan to apply it each night when she is asleep- because there is no way in h-e- double hockey sticks- she is going to let me do it willingly. But I am not going to hold my breath. We have been foiled one too many times.
She could be the poster child for this stuff, don't you think?
Update 9/22- it has been 48 hours since the initial application and I have not had to tell her to stop sucking one time! But I tasted the stuff, and let me tell you it is bitter... and it lingers for a few seconds. The first night she woke 3 or 4 times crying because she wanted to suck to fall back asleep or soothe but couldn't. Last night she slept through the night. I haven't even seen her put her thumb to her mouth in the last 24 hours. She twirls her hair a lot more and seems more attached to her black blankee when it is time to rest. I'll take it!
