When Abby stopped using a pacifier when she turned 2, she unfortunately started thumb-sucking - a habit she picked up by observing other kids in her class. When we found her pediatric dentist, we mentioned to him our concerns about her thumb-sucking and talked to him about all the methods we have tried to get her to quit.

Right there, he turned to Abby and gave her a very serious talk about why she doesn't need to suck her thumb any more. Whispering to us, "that's usually all it takes, so we'll see..."

Then, he offered a challenge to Abby. If she could stop sucking her thumb by the next check-up, he would give her a special award.

The pep talk worked like a charm. Abby immediately stopped thumb-sucking with just a few occasional reminders.

Well before her next dental check-up, we felt she had earned her award. So, at the following checkup, the hygienist used dental plaster to make a mold of Abby's sucking thumb and created a really cool trophy, complete with Abby's name and decorations!

Abby is so proud of her trophy that she took it for show-and-tell that week. It now sits on a shelf in her bedroom, a display of her achievement.