Thumb-sucking Has Been Zapped?!

A couple of weeks ago, I took Koji for his second trip to the dentist, the first having been six months ago. For some reason this time, the hygienist was so concerned about his thumb sucking. She suggested that we make a puppet out of a sock and put that on his hand before he goes to bed so that when he tries to suck his thumb in the middle of the night, it's a no go.

He didn't like that idea, and I felt like I had to think of something else on the spot. Having just read about a similar idea in a magazine, and knowing that when it comes to technology, Koji is his father's son, I said, "Koji, how about if I give you a remote control that helps you stop sucking your thumb? You're going to take it in your bed and hold it in your hand, and if your thumb starts to go in your mouth, then you push the buttons and they'll help you stop.".

If that sounds like a dumb load of hogwash to you, that makes two of us. But for some reason, he thought it was a great idea. So that night, he asked me to give him the new remote. Thankfully I was able to unearth a random remote to a heater that we never use.

I put him to bed with it that night, and for the most part, I haven't seen him sucking his thumb since. He even said to me yesterday, "Mama, I just remembered that I don't suck my thumb anymore!" (I didn't see what happened, maybe his thumb started drifting towards his mouth?) and I said, "I know, isn't it great that your remote worked!" as if I knew it all along... If I sound casual about this, don't be mistaken. If this is for real, then what I feel is an enormous sense of relief that's been a long time coming. Glory to God, because I don't think I can take credit!

PS I've taken my time about it, but at long last, I've put up some pics of our trip to VA last month. Take a look!