Thumb sucking - Is this for life?

I have had a manager who did it. He used to do it when he was under a bit of stress. Any little problem and the first thing he would do is pop his thumb in his mouth and give it a suck.

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Aggressive-Mouse-913@reddit

I used to work with an adult who would suck her thumb, she'd even do it in the office it was crazy. Mid twenties guess she never grew out of it

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Parking_Dear@reddit

I do it occasionally. It's almost a sub conscious thing and I stop myself when I do it. Yes I'm a little bit anxious!

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Randa08@reddit

I suckled my thumb as a child and still do as an adult occassionally. I don't do it in public but if I'm tired I can end up doing it without thinking.

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ApexSpanker@reddit

I sucked my thumb until I was about 14, then just stopped one day and never did it again. Interestingly the thumb I sucked has a hyper mobile joint but my other one doesn't.

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Flat_News_2000@reddit

You can fuck up your soft palate by thumb sucking, which then can lead you to becoming a mouth breather. You'll also always have the thumb sucker teeth that lean forward.

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madame_ray_@reddit

The only person I knew who did it into their teenage years was someone who had suffered a lot of trauma. I've never seen it in an adult.

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LittleSadRufus@reddit

I was a huge thumbsucker until around 6 when a children's TV show did the story about the boy who gets his thumbs cut off because he didn't stop sucking them.

I had quite a dark time in my late teens and tried sucking again to see if that helped. Well a) it turned out a long legged man with a giant pair of golden scissors did not appear in my room and cut off my thumb, so that was an exaggeration; and b) it gave me no sense of relief or calm at all. It was just weird.

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madame_ray_@reddit

🎶snip snip, the scissors go....🎶

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LilacRose32@reddit

My sister still sucks her thumb as an adult. She stopped as a tween/teen due to dental intervention but started again.

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Acceptable_Silver_53@reddit

I know someone who used to do it when they slept… I guess it’s abit like babies doing it when they sleep… I don’t know if she still does it now but she did even in to her 20s…

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TSC-99@reddit

Yes. I sucked my thumb until my 20s and know others the same. I only stopped when my best friend fell pregnant and I thought I can’t suck my thumb around a baby. My little sister obviously then got a dummy. Whatever my parents did to try and stop me, I carried on.

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Mr_Bumcrest@reddit

Logic clearly dictates that if you don't stop sucking your thumb as a child, you will suck your thumb as an adult.

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Jamziboy0@reddit

And if you sit too close to the TV you'll get square eyes

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Boldboy72@reddit

if the wind changes direction, your face will stay that way

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Jamziboy0@reddit

My mum once nudged me and gestured towards a kid with Down syndrome. As if to say "I told you so".

I've never let her live that down

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Limp-Boysenberry1583@reddit

Not sure what age I stopped but I remember my brother painted my thumb with "Stop n Grow" in an attempt to kick my habit. Never done it as an adult.

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Sea-Possession-1208@reddit

Im an occasional thumb sucker now as an adult.

Not in public. Just... when really unwell or tired or stressed and i want comfort.

Like others who have posted. I'm neirodivergent. And in my teens I managed to break the nail biting habit that mostly replaced it.

I dont see it as a problem to be honest. Teeth are fine. My speech is fine. It was delayed but... that's normal for my neurotype. I've caught up.

I think it is fairly logical that kids that don't stop it when they're kids continue it into adulthood. But that doesn't mean it is a bad thing to allow children to do. Most stop. Some continue in private. Very rarely in public.

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EducationalBison5359@reddit

I know someone who still sucks their thumb when tired (52 year old male)

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sleepyprojectionist@reddit

I knew one kid who sucked his thumb well into his teens. He had some learning difficulties and sensory issues and it seemed to calm him down.

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Hankstudbuckle@reddit

I had an ex girlfriend who still sucked her thumb in her 30s while sniffing a scarf and rubbing cotton wool on a teaspoon.

I am not making this up.

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A-flea@reddit

All at the same time? That's quite specific!

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Hankstudbuckle@reddit

Yep the scarf in her thumb sucking hand and the other the spoon. It would've been better if I'd mentioned she had really messed her front teeth up.

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Mynameismikek@reddit

I've never known an adult who still sucked their thumb, but growing up I knew one or two tweenagers who still did. I did until maybe age 4 though? I remember my parents trying to get me to stop. I had/have a few other sensory... issues... though.

I will say that there's a fair bit of evidence that when you compare kids with dummies vs kids who suck their thumb, there are higher incidences of speech impediments with dummies. Basically, kids with a dummy tend to either not talk, or talk around the dummy while thumb-suckers will take their hand out of their mouth.

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peppermint_aero@reddit

Fascinating; the fact that they can move the thumb give them greater control.

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terryjuicelawson@reddit

I wonder how many adult thumb suckers ever admit it. But considering how few I have seen, they are either very good at hiding it or they do just stop later in childhood.

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Bulbasaurus__Rex@reddit

There are definitely adult thumb suckers, I've seen them out and about before, but couldn't tell you how common it is. I imagine most of them tend to do it in private.

I remember going to school with a girl that sucked her thumb in class. She was still doing it up until the end of primary so like 10-11 years old maybe? Her teeth were really fucked up from it.

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TysonTK@reddit

I sucked my thumb as a child but dropped the habit when I was about 8 or 9 after the threat of braces from my dentist.

I’ve since learned as an adult that it was an empty threat, my teeth were fine and my mum just wanted me to stop sucking my thumb.

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Yippym@reddit

I believe they are concerned about the development of open bite, which can occurs for prolonged thumb sucking. Hence the needs for braces, which is entirely preventable.

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Lostinaforest2@reddit

I have seen a forty year old vicar sucking his thumb!!!!! So it can persist.

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thatscotbird@reddit

Thumb sucking can definitely be a bad habit picked up from childhood, but a 1 month old doesn’t even come into this discussion. Completely developmentally normal at that age.

I know lots of adults that suck their thumb!

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No-Locksmith6662@reddit

Sucked my thumb as often as I could as a kid, reluctantly gave it up around age 8 after pressure from my parents and my dentist. Without that pressure I have no doubt I'd still be doing it now as I do seem to have an oral fixation. As disgusting as it is I'll chew pens when I'm concentrating and stuff like that.

Knew one or two people that carried on into adulthood but I imagine there will be a lot more that we don't know about. Wouldn't be surprised if it was more common than we think.

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leofab2802@reddit

I’m 25 now but when I was 11 I had to train myself to stop sucking my thumb so that I could get braces, which were needed because of thumb sucking all those years (it caused high arched palate, poor bite, my top teeth were in a V shape instead of a U and I needed like 6 teeth out)

So yeah nip that in the bud when you can I say! My little sisters didn’t suck their thumbs and they have lovely straight teeth without braces.

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seriousSeb@reddit

I did until my early twenties. Eventually I put duct tape on my thumb to break the habit which worked after a few weeks.

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Boldboy72@reddit

I know of two adults that still do it when they are particularly stressed. (they are brother and sister). He doesn't suck his thumb, he puts three fingers in his mouth and his leg starts bobbing up and down. he ain't great at poker lol.

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Awkward_Chain_7839@reddit

I sucked my thumb. I do not now (46). My daughter did too, she started only doing it when asleep and no longer does it at all (12). However, you can't take a thumb away, and if they don't naturally stop then there's not a lot you can do about it.

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ArtisticWatch@reddit

I went to school with a girl who sucked het thumb until secondary school. Her teeth were slightly forward as a result and she needed braces.

Its a comfort thing but not recommended to continue indefinitely as it can change the shape of the mouth & teeth which would require expensive dental treatment to fix.

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IneptusMechanicus@reddit

Some but it's rare, all babies suck their hands to an extent and will go through a phase of jamming their hands in their mouths as a normal developmental thing, it's how they work out what size and shape their mouth is and practice chewing.

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Lexi839@reddit

You will want to stop it at some point as it will interfere with how thier front teeth grows

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Yokabei@reddit

Yep, my cousin has done her whole life and she is in her 30s now. Just becomes a comfort thing I suppose

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MysteriousBelt@reddit

Anecdotally, both my sisters were thumb suckers as children, and ended up as thumb suckers as adults.

My mum would put bandages on their thumbs to stop them doing it.

C One sister stopped doing it, but during the night as a fully grown adult would do it whilst sleeping, and the other would do it whilst watching TV.

They both stopped in their 20s with a lot of conscious work.

As a result, my mum gave me a dummy and then when she took it away only had to deal with a week or so of crying rather than years of thumb sucking.

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BananaPeacock@reddit

Sorry to say your wife is right. Myself and 3 other members of my family are adult thumb suckers 😭 and I know several other adult thumb suckers (but most people don't want to admit it!) now I just do it for comfort when I'm upset and to make myself tired if I can't sleep. But as a child I got so used to it that if I couldn't suck my thumb then I couldn't sleep (had a great 6 weeks of little sleep when I broke my arm and had it plastered past my elbow!)

Tried to stop many times as a teenager and an adult but I've just given up now and accepted its a part of who I am. But if I'd managed to stop as a child, it would've been a lot easier and would've saved me a shit ton of money in orthodontic work. It also ruins your palate, your jaw and your breathing so its vital children are weaned off of it whilst their bodies are still developing. I'm too far gone now and I can't afford to fix the mess that thumb sucking has done to me!

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BananaPeacock@reddit

To note though, myself and everyone I know who thumb sucks are neurodivergent and is used as a stimming/comfort tool. So its probably a lot easier to kick the habit if neurotypical and maybe all the neurodivergent people I know are skewing my results 🤣

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HealthyWhereas3982@reddit

I still do when I'm tired, shutting down or trying to concentrate - ADHD stimming / comfort thing. Helps me sleep if I can't shut my mind down. F late 40's. Don't tend to do it in public! I don't realize I'm doing it either a lot of the time.

My front teeth are uneven from it though.

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BananaPeacock@reddit

Mines also an ADHD stimmimg/comfort thing! F early 30s. Would neverrrrr do it in public and I don't tend to admit it beyond the Internet lol people who say that they don't know any adult thumb suckers very likely do, they just aren't open with it!

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TemporaryUnion4637@reddit

I am 38 and have sucked my thumb all my life. Started as a kid. My mum tried to replace my thumb with a dummy and then take the dummy away but the thumb went back in. Can’t fall asleep without doing it.

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iwannabeinnyc@reddit

I stopped in my teens and only did it as an adult when I was really poorly as a comfort thing!

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Fearless-Dust-2073@reddit

I wouldn't say "common" but they do exist. It's a bit weird but they're not hurting anyone, there are far worse habits to have.

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Princes_Slayer@reddit

I remember seeing a kid in senior school suck their thumb. It was just an automatic movement to put her thumb in her mouth. Not for comfort or anything. Not ever seen anyone of adult age do it, and I’m pretty sure a lot potentially sucked their thumb beyond their first year. I had a dummy until I was maybe 2….I don’t use a dummy as an adult (well there was those teen years as a Take That fan…let’s not go there)

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thecuriousiguana@reddit

To an extent, thumb sucking is a habit that can persist. But not at 1 month old - children that age use their mouths as their most sensitive sensory input to explore the world, that's why virtually everything you give them goes straight there.

You transition them away much later.

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BuncleCar@reddit

An uncle of mine said the woman next door to him had a permanently bent little finger from hooking things out of her toddler's mouth

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Yooustinkah@reddit

I was a chronic thumb-sucker as a kid to the point where I had a severe overbite. Stopped when I was about 5 or 6 and I haven’t done in the 30 years since. I can’t say your wife if wrong, but it’s not true in my personal experience.

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Redgrapefruitrage@reddit

I grew out of it at around 11-12. But it was hard to change the habit as it was a "comfort" habit.

Once I kicked that habit, what replaced it was biting my nails which took another 10 years to defeat!

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Thick_Cow_8098@reddit

I sucked my thumb as a baby/young child because my mother didn't want to give me a dummy. Totally wrecked my teeth and it took them YEARS to get me to stop. I only stopped around the age of about 6. You can take a dummy away but you can't take a thumb away. However once I stopped I don't recall every wanting to go back to it.

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animalcrossingATB@reddit

I ducked my thumb from a baby until approx 12. Couldn’t kick the habit until my dad bought me this foul stuff he dipped my thumb in. After a few weeks of putting my foul-tasting thumb in my mouth, I never sucked it again. You’ll be fine!

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Judging_Jester@reddit

Pictorial proof that your wife is onto something

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OmniWise@reddit

I stopped sucking my thumb when I was about 13.

I replaced it with smoking.

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Independent_Push_159@reddit

I was a thumb sucker. My daughter was a thumb sucker. Neither of us had anyone make us stop. But neither of us do it now.

I've met two adult thumb suckers in my life and given thumb sucking is pretty common, I guess you can say the chances are pretty negligible that your kid will grow up to be one.

Nail biting - now that's a different story...

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fernofry@reddit

Had an ex who did it in secret in her 20s. Fucking weird.

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A-flea@reddit

I've met one adult thumb sucker before. In her early 40s...

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MeOldChina321@reddit

Me too, she openly admitted it as well

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Valuable-Wallaby-167@reddit

My sister sucked her thumb pretty much until adulthood. She doesn't now.

I didn't suck my thumb as a kid that I remember but now I have a bad habit of chewing my nails and fingers, which I also didn't do as a kid. Habits change.

Most kids grow out of thumb sucking naturally as they get past the stage where they want to shove everything they come across into their mouths. Occasionally people keep doing it longer but it doesn't mean they can't stop when they're older if they want to. It's definitely not "for life". There'd be a lot more adults sucking their thumbs if it was.

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