Thumb sucker at 9 years old

My daughter is almost 9 and still sucks her thumb, I've tried EVERYTHING, her teeth are being pulled out and she won't wear a mouth guard because that would mean she couldn't talk at the same time. What can I do, I can't afford braces, this is a habit nagging and bribes won't change. Any really worthwhile suggestions???

well if she contines sucking her thumb then she will have to get braces!! tell her that tell her that if she doesnt stop sucking her thumb that her teeth will look bad! maybe she will see that its serious and stop. if not make her chew on a washclothe of papertowel.

There's this really awful stuff you can put on kids' nails to stop thekm from biting them, maybe you could try just putting it on her thumb nail.

I sucked my thumb (I didn't even think about it) up until I was about 13, but when it came time to get braces, I chose not to get them. I do have a slight overbite, (and a few uneven teeth), but I'm not worried about my teeth really. She may choose not to have braces. My older sister sucked her thumb for ages too, and my mum started calling her 'Bucky' (like Buck teeth), and she was so humiliated, she stopped.

I wish I could be more help, but generally, I've found it's just something you grow out of.

maybe soak her thumb in vinegar so it'll taste terrible

your 9 year old sucks her thumb its like a comfort thing, mayb in her own time she will stop im proud 2 say I stil suck my thumb, im 18 years of age I only do it when im really tierd tho, an who ever reads this can say what they want :D my best m8s sister shes 24 an she still sucks her thumb 2 lol when I was a baby I never had a dummy I always sucked my thumb so mayb thats why I stil do it now, I dont know. you can buy nail polsih that you put on your nails 2 stop people from biteing there nails, an its tastes ABSOULTY DISGUSTIING! try painting that on her nails an when she sucks her thumb she may think twice next time? x

Dear cathyincayman,
Your daughter now sucks her thumb out of habit. She started for soothing and then as she got older kept the habit. If we examine habits we will see you must replace a bad habit with a good one. This will take some time but you must have some rewards in place and catch her at not sucking her thumb and reward her for this. You must get her out of this habit for many reasons and one being her teeth and teasing. How does she cope with things in her life? Is she a good problem solver, can she cope with upsets? If she can then it will be easier for her to give this up...if she can't then I suggest some counselling because the lack of these skill goes along with her thumb sucking.
Sue...good luck

my sister finally quit sucking her thumb at 12. we tried everything. nothing worked till she started caring waht kids at school thought. good luck