I'm listening to my 6 (almost 7) year-old crying in her bed, trying to fall asleep for the first time without the aid of her trusty left thumb. I realize that I probably should have addressed this issue a long time ago, but it was never a huge deal until now.
You see, she only ever sucked her thumb when she was falling asleep, or was badly hurt and needed a little comfort. Now, however, her big front teeth are coming in - and they aren't coming in nice and straight like her baby teeth. They are turning into quite the pair of "bucky beavers" (I don't use this terminology with her, of course).
Anyway, Mike heard a broadcast by Dr. Dobson the other day addressing the issue of thumbsucking. He had some good ideas for how to deal with the issue. First he said that you need to talk with your child about why thumbsucking isn't such a good idea:
1. it can make your teeth stick out.
2. if your teeth stick out, you might get teased.
3. no-one wants to be teased.
4. it's "babyish", and 6 year-olds definitely don't want to be babyish
Check!
He also suggested wiping the child's finger with the inside of a jalepeno pepper.
Check!
We added the extra incentive of pierced ears if she can make it to sleep 10 days in a row without her old friend.
We'll see how it goes . . . we're praying that her "strong will" and "stubborn streak" will be put to good use. We hope she can remain perseverant over the next 10 days.
As of now, the crying has stopped . . . here's hoping the hardest day is a successful one!
1 comment:
Poor Faith. That is so tough.
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