Would we be nuts to start using a pacifier with a 1yo to stop her from sucking her thumb?

[pacimom]

I had an avid pacifier user - 2 in fact. When I took my second's away, she looked like she was about to start sucking her thumb. I nearly cried as I recalled the agony I went through on weaning the pacifier. I thought about giving it back to her just to keep the thumb away, but then I just decided to wait and not worry too much. With a little distraction and some positive reinforcement we successfully got through 2 short periods of near- thumb-sucking (more like thumb licking, actually) and nail biting. I thought the nail biting was going to be the end of me for sure! My point is that when I started stressing a little less about the pacifier, the thumb, and the nails, she was easier to distract. Regardless, thumb sucking is a very natural habit. Most children naturally kick the habit around 4 to 5, but too much stress or negative re-inforcement can create power struggles and prolong the habit.
Both thumb-sucking and pacifiers are near and dear to my heart, as I have been researching and writing about these topics for the past few years. Awhile back I got together with 2 other moms, one a child psychologist with expertise in early child development and the other a SAHM to create a trifecta of doctor, psychologist and SAHM. Our goal was to get to the bottom of these issues and end the misery for all parents (myself included). So if you have any of the same concerns I had, please find us facebook - we're called pacifiers anonymous. The book is Pacifiers Anonymous:How to Kick the Pacifier or Thumb Sucking Habit. Good luck to you!!