{"id":247,"date":"2023-05-10T20:40:47","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T20:40:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kendramartin.org\/https-wwwkendramartinorg-the-thumb-sucking-saga\/"},"modified":"2024-02-29T20:31:28","modified_gmt":"2024-02-29T20:31:28","slug":"https-wwwkendramartinorg-the-thumb-sucking-saga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendramartin.org\/https-wwwkendramartinorg-the-thumb-sucking-saga\/","title":{"rendered":"The Thumb-Sucking Saga"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"247\" class=\"elementor elementor-247\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-421a5508 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"421a5508\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-core-v316-plus=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-40db46b9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"40db46b9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.20.0 - 26-03-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<div class=\"\\&quot;sqs-html-content\\&quot;\"><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;\">My first son took a pacifier.<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;\">My second son did not.<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;\">My third son found his thumb.<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;\">My fourth son is still figuring it out.<\/p><\/div><hr \/><div class=\"\\&quot;sqs-html-content\\&quot;\"><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">With my firstborn, I did all the right things.<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">I was annoyed when the nurses gave him a pacifier before the first 24hours of his life were completed because I had read all about how a newborn needs to have a good nursing latch\u00a0<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">before being introduced to the pacifier.\u00a0 I had anticipated giving it to him around the two-week-mark, but no, the nurses popped it in even before I could refuse it.<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">In the next several months, he had his pacifier only when he was sleepy.\u00a0 And he quickly associated pacifier and his Mr. Snuggy with sleeping.\u00a0 He was a\u00a0<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">great sleeper &#8211; dropping off to sleep happily on his own, and enjoying his own bed with the combination of Mr. Snuggy and pacifier.\u00a0 He could sleep anywhere and go back to sleep easily if woken.<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\"><em>At about one year old, I started weaning him off his pacifier.\u00a0 Snipping a hole in it and then taking it from him.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">His solution?\u00a0 His thumb.\u00a0<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\"><em>Having heard the horrors of thumb-sucking, I returned the pacifier to him for another half year.<\/em><\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\"><em>At 18 months, I decided were were done with the pacifier.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p><p>His solution? His thumb. Again.<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\"><em>We tried that awful nasty stuff that is applied to the nail.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">At first, he complained. But eventually, he just sucked anyway.<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\"><em>I taped the thumb.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">No problem, he just sucked another finger.\u00a0<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\"><em>Taping every finger seemed a bit extra.\u00a0 And I wasn\u2019t quite ready to put him in a <\/em><a href=\"\\&quot;https:\/\/www.braceability.com\/products\/thumb-sucking-guard\\&quot;\"><em>straightjacket<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">I decided to let him have his thumb.\u00a0 We would re-address the issue when he was 2.<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">At 2 years old, I talked to him and explained to him the damage that could be done to his teeth if he continues sucking his thumb.\u00a0 He agreed to try to stop.\u00a0 But it only ended in tears as he was certain that he couldn\u2019t go to sleep without sucking.\u00a0 So, we compromised.\u00a0<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\"><em>He agreed not to suck his thumb as long as I permitted him to suck his arm.<\/em><\/p><\/div><hr \/><div class=\"\\&quot;sqs-html-content\\&quot;\"><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">My reasoning?\u00a0 Sucking the arm should not cause the damage to the teeth that a thumb could cause.\u00a0 He was only sucking it when he was trying to fall asleep. <em>There should be no negative side effects from a physical stand point.<\/em><\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">Because he only sucked on his arm when he was sleepy, he was not likely to walk around our house or be seen in public sucking his arm.\u00a0 <em>There should be no negative emotional side effects from teasing or rude comments.<\/em><\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">And, by now, I had spent several years in close contact with Hispanic culture.\u00a0 I knew of several youth and adults who sucked their thumbs into adulthood and still do to this day.\u00a0 <em>Was quitting-thumb-sucking simply a white-culture-standard?<\/em><\/p><\/div><hr \/><div class=\"\\&quot;sqs-html-content\\&quot;\"><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">Over the next years I would address the subject briefly within him.\u00a0 Asking him if he was ready to quit?\u00a0 \u201cMaybe when I am five,\u201d he said when he turned four.\u00a0 His five-year-old birthday came and went, and he was no closer to giving it up.\u00a0 And then I read a story in the latest Motherhood Edition that prompted me to try a new strategy &#8211; <em>helping him to realize that he <\/em><strong><em>wants<\/em><\/strong> <strong><em>to<\/em><\/strong><em> quit.<\/em><\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">His brother had successfully completed a chart the month before of eating 9 meals in a row with no complaining about the food.\u00a0 No fussing, no complaint, no asking to be helped, no saying-he-was-full-3-bites-into-the-meal (<em>trust me, he was not truly full because he would be asking for a snack within an hour after the meal). <\/em>He had simply gotten into a bad habit that needed kicking.<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">Introduction of the chart.\u00a0 After every successful meal, Daddy drew one of his famous smiley-face-creations.\u00a0 After 9 successful-meals-in-a-row, he won a family trip to Plum Creek for ice cream.<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-679\" style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kendramartin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/He-can-fight.png?resize=1024%2C819&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"819\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kendramartin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/He-can-fight.png?w=2000&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kendramartin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/He-can-fight.png?resize=300%2C240&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kendramartin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/He-can-fight.png?resize=1024%2C819&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kendramartin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/He-can-fight.png?resize=768%2C614&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kendramartin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/He-can-fight.png?resize=1536%2C1229&amp;ssl=1 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\"><span style=\"font-family: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-family ), Sans-serif; font-style: inherit; text-align: var(--text-align);\">My oldest was desperately wishing for a chart of his own to complete.<\/span><\/p><\/div><div class=\"\\&quot;sqs-html-content\\&quot;\"><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">So I broached the question to him, <em>\u201cDo you want to win a family trip to Plum Creek by not sucking your arm for 10 days?\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 He thought about it- and eventually, agreed.<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">I tacked on my reverse psychology.\u00a0 <em>\u201cAre you sure that you are ready to grow up?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cAre you sure that you don\u2019t still want to be my little boy who sucks his arm?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWhat if I miss my little-boy-who-still-sucks-his-arm?<\/em><br \/>He was determined.<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">\u00a0<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">The first night was hard.\u00a0 He called me back into his room to ask if I would pray for him so that he would not suck it.\u00a0 I prayed, and we talked about different strategies to fall asleep.\u00a0 I gave him a stack of books to look at.\u00a0 I suggested that he thinks about his day that he just had and what his favorite part was and what he wants to do the next day.\u00a0 And then say all the ABC\u2019s. And then count to 100.<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">In the morning, he was so. very. happy.\u00a0 He said that it was hard and that he had needed to fold his arms over to his chest so that he wouldn\u2019t be tempted to suck on them.\u00a0 And that he had counted, but he didn\u2019t even get to the forties.\u00a0 And he was so proud of that first smile made by daddy on the chart.<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">\u00a0<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">And the next night, it became a little easier.<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">And the next, even easier.<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">And so it continued.<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">\u00a0<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">I was concerned that maybe it would return after that 10 day mark, but its been well over two weeks and I am not longer concerned about a regression.\u00a0 He has also given up his \u201cMr. Snuggy\u201d on his own accord and is trying to convince himself that he doesn\u2019t need to <a href=\"\\&quot;https:\/\/www.lovetoknow.com\/parenting\/baby\/your-babys-obsession-tags-is-totally-normal-heres-what-know\\&quot;\"><span style=\"0text-decoration: underline\\&quot;;\">rub on tags<\/span><\/a> to fall asleep either.<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">And just like that, it\u2019s over.<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\">And I am surprised at just how easy it all was.<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\"><strong>And I hope I have learned a lesson in it.<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0white-space: pre-wrap;\"><strong>Or 2.<\/strong><\/p><\/div><hr \/><div class=\"\\&quot;sqs-html-content\\&quot;\"><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-678 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kendramartin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/The-Battle.png?resize=1024%2C819&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"819\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kendramartin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/The-Battle.png?w=2000&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kendramartin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/The-Battle.png?resize=300%2C240&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kendramartin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/The-Battle.png?resize=1024%2C819&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kendramartin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/The-Battle.png?resize=768%2C614&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kendramartin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/The-Battle.png?resize=1536%2C1229&amp;ssl=1 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1024px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1024\/819;\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-678\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kendramartin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/The-Battle.png?resize=1024%2C819&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"819\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kendramartin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/The-Battle.png?w=2000&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kendramartin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/The-Battle.png?resize=300%2C240&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kendramartin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/The-Battle.png?resize=1024%2C819&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kendramartin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/The-Battle.png?resize=768%2C614&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kendramartin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/The-Battle.png?resize=1536%2C1229&amp;ssl=1 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/noscript><\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;\">Some things do not need to be fought.<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;\">Your child\u2019s situation is probably different &#8211; delayed-pacifier-weaning, or potty-training that isn\u2019t following the 11 steps, or not knowing all the ABC\u2019s by kindergarten, or not learning to ride a bike or scooter at the same ages as all the other little people, or army-crawling instead of actual crawling, or waking every morning by 6AM, or not taking naps well, or whatever else is currently fitting into the expectations American mothers currently hold for children.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"\\&quot;\" data-test=\"\\&quot;image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\\&quot;\"><figure class=\"\\&quot;\" style=\"0max-width: 2000px;\"><div class=\"\\&quot;image-block-wrapper\\&quot;\" data-animation-role=\"\\&quot;image\\&quot;\"><div class=\"\\&quot;sqs-image-shape-container-element\" hidden=\"\"><p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"0display: block;\" data-src=\"\\&quot;https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/636ea7e1f1c98358b43aea9f\/b070161f-d442-4b4f-8531-8e696bf4a34f\/The+Battle.png\\&quot;\" data-sizes=\"\\&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"\\&quot;https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/636ea7e1f1c98358b43aea9f\/b070161f-d442-4b4f-8531-8e696bf4a34f\/The+Battle.png?format=100w\" alt=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" width=\"\\&quot;2000\\&quot;\" height=\"\\&quot;1600\\&quot;\" data-stretch=\"\\&quot;false\\&quot;\" data-image=\"\\&quot;https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/636ea7e1f1c98358b43aea9f\/b070161f-d442-4b4f-8531-8e696bf4a34f\/The+Battle.png\\&quot;\" data-image-dimensions=\"\\&quot;2000x1600\\&quot;\" data-image-focal-point=\"\\&quot;0.5,0.5\\&quot;\" data-load=\"\\&quot;false\\&quot;\" data-loader=\"\\&quot;sqs\\&quot;\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"0display: block;\" src=\"\\&quot;https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/636ea7e1f1c98358b43aea9f\/b070161f-d442-4b4f-8531-8e696bf4a34f\/The+Battle.png\\&quot;\" sizes=\"\\&quot;(max-width:\" srcset=\"\\&quot;https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/636ea7e1f1c98358b43aea9f\/b070161f-d442-4b4f-8531-8e696bf4a34f\/The+Battle.png?format=100w\" alt=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" width=\"\\&quot;2000\\&quot;\" height=\"\\&quot;1600\\&quot;\" data-stretch=\"\\&quot;false\\&quot;\" data-image=\"\\&quot;https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/636ea7e1f1c98358b43aea9f\/b070161f-d442-4b4f-8531-8e696bf4a34f\/The+Battle.png\\&quot;\" data-image-dimensions=\"\\&quot;2000x1600\\&quot;\" data-image-focal-point=\"\\&quot;0.5,0.5\\&quot;\" data-load=\"\\&quot;false\\&quot;\" data-loader=\"\\&quot;sqs\\&quot;\" \/><\/noscript><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"\\&quot;sqs-html-content\\&quot;\"><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;\">If there is nothing \u201cright or wrong\u201d with it, but simply just \u201ca way that everyone else is raising their child\u201d, it is ok to choose not to fight that battle with your child.<\/p><\/div><hr \/><div class=\"\\&quot;sqs-html-content\\&quot;\"><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;\">Also. When the child reaches a certain age, they can choose to make it <em>their<\/em> battle.<\/p><p class=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" style=\"0text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;\">Then it doesn\u2019t have to be <em>yours<\/em>.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"\\&quot;\" data-test=\"\\&quot;image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\\&quot;\"><figure class=\"\\&quot;\" style=\"0max-width: 2000px;\"><div class=\"\\&quot;image-block-wrapper\\&quot;\" data-animation-role=\"\\&quot;image\\&quot;\"><div class=\"\\&quot;sqs-image-shape-container-element\" hidden=\"\"><p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"0display: block;\" data-src=\"\\&quot;https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/636ea7e1f1c98358b43aea9f\/f7bd62e1-7ef4-4bf8-a8d9-50b0c88d0446\/He+can+fight.png\\&quot;\" data-sizes=\"\\&quot;(max-width:\" data-srcset=\"\\&quot;https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/636ea7e1f1c98358b43aea9f\/f7bd62e1-7ef4-4bf8-a8d9-50b0c88d0446\/He+can+fight.png?format=100w\" alt=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" width=\"\\&quot;2000\\&quot;\" height=\"\\&quot;1600\\&quot;\" data-stretch=\"\\&quot;false\\&quot;\" data-image=\"\\&quot;https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/636ea7e1f1c98358b43aea9f\/f7bd62e1-7ef4-4bf8-a8d9-50b0c88d0446\/He+can+fight.png\\&quot;\" data-image-dimensions=\"\\&quot;2000x1600\\&quot;\" data-image-focal-point=\"\\&quot;0.5,0.5\\&quot;\" data-load=\"\\&quot;false\\&quot;\" data-loader=\"\\&quot;sqs\\&quot;\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"0display: block;\" src=\"\\&quot;https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/636ea7e1f1c98358b43aea9f\/f7bd62e1-7ef4-4bf8-a8d9-50b0c88d0446\/He+can+fight.png\\&quot;\" sizes=\"\\&quot;(max-width:\" srcset=\"\\&quot;https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/636ea7e1f1c98358b43aea9f\/f7bd62e1-7ef4-4bf8-a8d9-50b0c88d0446\/He+can+fight.png?format=100w\" alt=\"\\&quot;\\&quot;\" width=\"\\&quot;2000\\&quot;\" height=\"\\&quot;1600\\&quot;\" data-stretch=\"\\&quot;false\\&quot;\" data-image=\"\\&quot;https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/636ea7e1f1c98358b43aea9f\/f7bd62e1-7ef4-4bf8-a8d9-50b0c88d0446\/He+can+fight.png\\&quot;\" data-image-dimensions=\"\\&quot;2000x1600\\&quot;\" data-image-focal-point=\"\\&quot;0.5,0.5\\&quot;\" data-load=\"\\&quot;false\\&quot;\" data-loader=\"\\&quot;sqs\\&quot;\" \/><\/noscript><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\\\"\\\" style=\\\"white-space:pre-wrap;\\\">What do you do when your child doesn\u2019t want to fit into the steps and expectations others have for \u201cnormal-child\u201d behavior?  Is the battle worth fighting?  And if so, what is the easiest way to fight it?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[228,6,13,105],"tags":[224,223,104],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kendramartin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/TheThumbSuckingSaga.png?fit=2000%2C1600&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kendramartin.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kendramartin.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kendramartin.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kendramartin.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kendramartin.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/kendramartin.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":682,"href":"https:\/\/kendramartin.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247\/revisions\/682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kendramartin.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kendramartin.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kendramartin.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kendramartin.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}