Why should my child stop sucking his/her thumb?

Most children will naturally stop sucking their thumbs between the ages of 2 and 4 years of age. As therapists, we like to encourage parents, and work with them, to have children stop sucking their thumbs between the ages of 3 and 5, especially if a child is a perpetual thumb sucker. The reason for this is that should thumb sucking persist, it contributes to a variety of dental problems as permanent teeth grow in, around the age of 5 years of age. Frontal lisps can develop, which impact speech production, tongue thrusts, teeth may be malformed, and malocclusion of a child’s jaw might develop, which needs correction from a dentist or orthodontist.

« Back To FAQs