Sucking

 

Wren and Quinn have been sucking something all their lives. First it was the boob, then binkies, then their thumbs.



When we moved here we promised the girls each a scooter if they stopped sucking their thumbs. That's the preferred mode of kid transport here given the hills so we were wanting to do it anyway. Quitting, however, had not been successful.



But when we were up in Ohakune Derek told the story of how Summer quit when she was 3 by painting on some foul tasting paint on her thumb. Wren was inspired to quit and set about to make it happen. She painted on the paint and put socks on her hands for a few nights before it was done. The power of positive peer pressure and a strong will!

Quinn's love of her thumb and Mr. Big Nose Tarantula Kana is legendary. We figured quitting was at least a few years off for her. But she determined to make it happen a week after Wren. That first night we put her to bed and sat downstairs, waiting for her to come down. All quiet. She'd fallen asleep and that was it, no more thumb sucking.

Victorious! It was empowering for them to come to the decision on their own and to make it happen on their own will power. The bribe of a scooter certainly helped.



And just like that, the era of sucking is over...