I thought my 10 year old son had been cured of his thumb sucking habit after having a thumb crib removed which he had worn for 3 months. He seemed fine after his braces were on till we noticed those calluses on his thumbs had come back. He started thumbsucking somewhere down the line, only he was doing it after falling asleep. It really seems like he is being punished for something he isn’t even aware of doing. He dreads having that thing replaced if he can’t stop and the pressure of having a deadline to quit has made him quite depressed. He said he hates his teeth and thumbs and is worried that he might become one of those adults who still suck their thumbs. I am heart broken and would like to try your Unplugging the Thumb program but it looks like it is geared towards much younger children. What do you think?
Let me try to address your concern: The crib and other devices are not great choices because they are more or less “inflicted upon” the child rather than involving him in the process. The general “feel” of the video and book and activities might or might not be more juvenile for a bright 10 year old; however, depending upon your creativity, the “concept” and guidelines are quite appropriate for any age. There are ways to make him feel “older” when presenting the materials and I will be happy to discuss those methods if you do decide to use Unplugging the Thumb. I feel so sad about his situation and certainly about his negative attitude about his thumb, teeth, and confidence, etc. It sounds like there is not much to lose, based on his need to quit while maintaining a decent self-image. My schedule is always horrendous, but I will still “walk you through it,” working with you to make the necessary alterations to keep his interest level. Be sure to remind me of this email because I literally get over 100 per day sometimes and not many are spam! I think you need individual attention and will do my best to make it work for your son. What’s his name, by the way? Contact me at the other email because I am not able to check Facebook as often. I monitor the other emails almost nonstop throughout the day, when I am not away giving courses. I believe we can make it work for your son and help him feel successful.