My little sister sucked her thumb until she was about 15. Here's the thing though, she stopped doing it in public when she was little. I have a student who was retained last year and seems to functioning below grade level so far this year. He will understand directions and complete all of his work sometimes and really be a great student. At other times, he just sits at his desk doing nothing but sucking his thumb. He is 10 and sucking his thumb in class! Do I say something? Do I tell him to stop? It seems to be much more than an unconscious habit. I contacted the teacher he has last year and apparently he would talk about suicide a lot! How is he not in counselling. I just put in a request form, but his thumb sucking must be some clear sign that this kid is not okay. I can't believe he has to wait for this form to go through some administrative process before he can get some counselling.
On a related note, maybe I am just looking for it now, but I saw a junior/senior high student (maybe she was about 15) on the bus this morning sucking her thumb! I was shocked to see such an old girl doing this on public transit. If you know, does thumb sucking in an older child signify some emotional or developmental problem? Or is simply a habit that dies hard?
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Thumb sucking is a lot more indulged in by teens and adults than most people are aware of. For every one you see, there's probably 30 or more you'll never see. The Internet has broadcast this fact and, as a result, it's become less hidden, even thought to be somewhat cool (to whit: several famous entertainers have been photographed and interviewed to this fact).
It's mostly about habit with the social constraints slowly devolving.
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