Caught in the grip of the thumb

Uncle, Vamshika is sucking her thumb. I can’t wean her away from this nauseating habit in spite of my best efforts. She continues to suck her thumb all day and night, even in her sleep,” complained our daughter-in-law about our three-year-old granddaughter, when they were visiting us for Pongal.

Looking at Vamshika playing happily, with her right thumb in her mouth, I smiled, recalling the childhood days of our eldest son, Vamshika’s father. He too was an inveterate thumb-sucker. He picked up the habit when he was two and would suck his right thumb as if it were ice cream. My wife was surprised and pulled the thumb out of his mouth. But every time she did that, the boy would immediately put it back and suck it quietly and persistently. As my wife failed in all her efforts, she complained to me and asked me to make the boy give up his habit of thumb-sucking.

So I made up my mind to rid our son of this nasty habit. I tried many a time, adopting various strategies. But failed, every time. So I abandoned my attempts to wean the boy from the firm grip of his thumb, hoping that in the course of growing years the habit would fade away. But even when the boy stepped into his third year, he remained a stubborn thumb-sucker. Though I simply brushed this issue off my mind, it was a matter of great worry for my wife for she feared that the habit would give the boy a protruding mouth.

Those were the days when Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana was being telecast from Delhi Doordarshan. Like all families, we too watched it every Sunday with keen interest. On one such morning, as our entire family sat glued to the TV with my little son, with his thumb in his mouth, ‘Hanuman’ appeared. I suddenly hit upon an idea.

Turning to my son, I said, “Dear, look at Hanuman, not his strong body, but at his mouth. Do you notice anything different about his mouth?” The little boy watched wide-eyed. “Yes, it is different,” he said.

“Yes, you are correct. His mouth is protruding. It is a snout he got because Hanuman had the habit of sucking his thumb like you in his childhood.” With his eyes widened, my son asked, “Will I too get a snout like Hanuman?”

“Certainly, you will if you do not stop sucking your thumb,” I replied in all seriousness. He ran to the bedroom, stood before the large mirror and kept looking at himself, checking his mouth carefully. From the next day, there was an incredible change. Gradually, my son overcame his thumb-sucking habit.

I was happy that my strategy worked. Hearing me narrate the story, our daughter-in-law laughed as Vamshika stood beside me with her thumb in her mouth.