Sounds like this little guy has more problems than thumb sucking. Best to completely ignore the habit, and maybe if his home life has been rough, he could use a bit of counsling.

The Mom's boyfriends need to but out!

He'll outgrow it if everyone stops making a fuss about it and i'm in agreement that mom's BF needs to butt out and leave the poor kid alone.

Call a dentist. I think they can attach something to the teeth to make it unpleasant for him to put his thumb in his mouth.

When he is embarrassed enough he'll quit......you sure don't want to make a smoker out of him do you?
Maybe grandma could buy him lots of sugar free gum and keep his mouth occupied that way.
Linda C

~~~~~~~~~ WARNING: DISGUSTING MATERIAL FOLLOWS ~~~~~~~~~~

I have to disagree with all those who say that he will grow out of it. I married a man who picks his nose CONSTANTLY. Yes, when I married him I knew he had what I thought was a mild problem. When we were still dating, he made some effort to conceal this "activity" from me, but now that we're married, like everything else, he's used to me being around and doesn't much care that I find it disgusting. He does it in public, at the dinner table, when visiting relatives, wherever, whenever, his finger goes up his nose. And it's not the quick, inconspicuous "ooh I have an itch" or "I just got out of the pool and I think there's something hanging down" kind of pick. It's the brain-tickling, bury-your-pinky-up-your-nose kind of pick. He pulls "stuff" out and then plays with it. No tissues. Sometimes he will look away when doing it, but it's easy to tell what he's doing even with his back turned to me. He usually stops when I ask him to, but shrugs me off with an "All right, all right. Stop nagging me." Within two hours, he'll be at it again. This is not an exaggeration.

It's so revolting I can't put it into words. We argue about it constantly. He also gets frequent nose-bleeds. He says he had frequent nose-bleeds as a child and that he had a procedure done that was supposed to alleviate the problem, but in fact it made the walls of his nostrils thinner and only made the nose-bleeds worse. His mother backs him up on this, so I asked her once if she had told the doctor that the child CONSTANTLY picked his nose and that perhaps this was causing the frequent nose-bleeds. She failed to see the relevance of constant nose-picking to frequent nose-bleeds in a 5-6 year old. What a shame. They were different times back then, perhaps she was just too embarassed, but whatever the reason, perhaps if she was more honest with the doctor at the time, there might have been a different outcome.

I can't get a 37 year old professional to stop picking his nose. I don't think a 10 year old with a thumb-sucking problem (which is much less offensive to others) will just grow out of it. It sounds like he will need some type of counselling, but I suggest you start with your family doctor. And DON'T let the doctor pacify you by offering that it's a harmless habit and that he'll grow out of it. Be persistent. Be specific. Tell the doctor all the things you've tried over the years. Tell him you need a solution NOW. If the doctor can't help you, see another one.

Best of luck.

Since he is aware if it, half the battle is won. One thing that SOMETIMES works is have him think of something that he likes to do, or wants, something very pleasant....then suggest to him that whenever he catches himself sucking, think of that thing instead. Then, get a code word, maybe something silly or funny, that you can say to him that will remind him of this pleasant thing. Say it with a smile. Maybe even a hand signal to reinforce the word.

I think one problem that parents run into is that the child is already a little uneasy and saying "stop that" makes him more so. You want him to relax.

It's going to take time. Keep at it.

I used to bite my fingernails down to the quick. I was 19 before I could quit. What he needs first is a substitute for the behavior. My suggestion is that he try chewing a sugar free gum(like wrigley's extra) as a substitute. Keep plenty around, in all the rooms, the car,his pocket, your purses, etc. Don't tease him about the thumb problem, the way I quit my nails was to smoke(and that's what he'll turn to as he gets older). But I quit the cigarettes with Nicorette gum, then wrigley's extra. He needs a substitute for the stress relieving his habit gives him. And that boyfriend of your daughter's - I bet anything he smokes and/or drinks! So he probably has no room to talk. Let us know if this works. PS: This is also great for cavities. Sugar free gum cleans your teeth.