Dora Does the Hard Parenting

Cameron,
You gave up on your pacifier at about 4 months, but for some reason, you decided that your left thumb was just right. You can't lose it or drop it or forget it somewhere. You learned to soothe yourself right to sleep with it and often zoned out to Sesame Street by sucking on it. But Daddy and I realized that it might not be the best habit to keep forever and we wondered if it would be a difficult thing for you to give up.

At some point, I told Daddy that the only techniques that I knew of for getting kids to stop sucking on their fingers were those icky pastes or hot sauces meant to instantly revolt you. But I hated to do that when you are still so little and it seems harmless.

But apparently, Daddy thought it was now or never. So one night, he stuck a Dora bandaid on your thumb. You two talked about how Dora doesn't want you to suck on your thumb because it can be bad for your teeth and that you are a big girl now.

The first night, you laid in bed for a while because you had no idea how to put yourself to sleep. You talked and sat up and played with your animals for at least an hour. I was mortified that we embarked on this SURELY HORRIBLE journey on a weeknight when we all had to get up the next day. But eventually, you fell asleep. The next morning, we took the bandaid off and it was just another normal day. We did the bandaid for about three nights in a row and no kidding, you just stopped.

We haven't really had to remind you about it, you don't do it anymore while watching TV, and when I peek in on you at night, you usually have your arms up above your head or curled up under you. It's like it was no big thing.

Apparently we just need to bring Dora in on all our future parenting decisions. She knows how to run the show.