First and foremost, remember that you are telling your child to stop doing something that they have been doing since the beginning of time for them; something that they always thought was right for them to do and, in most cases, encouraged by you.

Let the work be yours and the success be your child’s. Encourage them. Give them confidence. Make them believe that they are not alone in this quest. Attacking the problem with these things in mind makes your success inevitable. Now, let’s get started.

Remember, no one knows your child better that you and, unfortunately, no one knows you better that your child. What I am trying to say is that your child knows exactly what “buttons” to push in order to get you to do and stop doing something. Take a definite yet patient approach to this problem. Pick a perfect day to start the procedure. If your child is in daycare or grade school, start on Saturday morning. The first 36 to 48 hours will be the most difficult.

When using the HANDAID to cure your child’s sucking thumb or sucking finger problem, place the HANDAID on their hand and secure the closure with the understanding that it is not coming off for 3 full weeks except for meals and baths. Your child will quickly realize that they are not able to suck their thumb. They will try to remove it and will be unable to. Then, they will come to you and delve into their vast memory bank and use the most effective way to get you to take this thing off!!!

Do NOT give in to their demand. If you do; they win. It will be 5 times harder for you to even put it back on their hand if you give in just once. Children have a very short attention span. They will try as many different ways as possible to get you to take it off. But, they will always give up because they just don’t have the patience that an adult has. Just keep telling yourself that if you fail at this the next step is taking them to the orthodontist to solve their thumb sucking problem. It will be expensive and the orthodontist will incorporate pain and much discomfort to accomplish their mission.

The first night of wearing the HANDAID, keep them up as late as you have to. Take them for a long walk or play some very active games to tire them out. When they start to get tired put them in their car seat and take them for a drive until they fall asleep. Keep driving and let them wake up 1 or 2 more times so that they can be introduced to falling asleep without the help of their thumb. Now, put them to bed. They will probably wake up 1 or 2 times during the night and cry. Don’t run to their side. Give them a chance to fall back to sleep again by themselves. They did it before, they can do it again. Thumbsucking during sleep time takes your child to a very secure place where they can fall asleep. They have to learn that they can achieve that security without sucking their thumb.

In the morning, praise them for their success. Explain to them what they have accomplished. Get your spouse involved also. Even if they do not know exactly what your happiness is about, they are exited to see you happy about them.

When you get through the first full day and the first full night, your chances of complete success have multiplied ten fold. Each day will be easier that the previous. The HANDAID is designed so that it does not impede the use of your child’s hand in any way. As the days go by, they will forget that it is even on their hand. DO NOT BE FOOLED BY EARLY SUCCESS ! ! Just because your child is no longer complaining about the HANDAID does not mean that they are cured. It must stay on for the full 3 weeks and then 1 more week during sleep-time only. They have to forget about their dependency on their thumb.

With some Orthodontists, asking them to cure your child’s thumb sucking problem is like asking the drug companies to concentrate their efforts on curing cancer. For both of them, treating the damage is much more beneficial to them than curing the cause of the problem. I get so many e-mails from parents who went to an orthodontists or pediatric dentists for information on how to stop their 3 or 4 year old child’s sucking thumb habit. This professional then responds by saying “ Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that until they are 7 or 8 years old”. By that time, all the damage has been done and the child’s  “habit “ has turned into an “addiction“. There addiction is now 10 times more difficult to break and there are now emotional issues that the child is also dealing with. I would recommend going to your child’s pediatrician for help and referral. If you are referred to a dentist or orthodontist, be very selective about the advice that you are given. There is nothing to be gained by extending your child’s thumb habit. And in my opinion, it is never too early to stop your child’s thumbsucking or fingersucking habit. At HANDAID, we have provided a thumb sucking cure for children as young as 18 months and as old as 15 years.