Since I’ve been substituting, I’ve noticed a lot of middle school girls who suck their thumbs in class, especially when working on an assignment. Some also do it after I get on their case for talking or goofing off. I’d say I see it about once a week. Is this some kind of new trend? When I was in middle school, anyone who sucked their thumb would have been ridiculed mercilessly.
Sounds like one of those silly micro-trends that occur in schools. Or they’re all on Ecstasy.
I remember it happening when I was in middle school. Some of the teen girls went through a “toddler” phase. Thumb-sucking, baby talk, and even carrying around pacifiers in a few cases. It wasn’t done all the time, though.
My aunt told me that she sucked her thumb until she was 12 or so. My wife also told me she was just told that someone she knows husband sucks his while he’s asleep. Though if you’re seeing it from different girls it could be some new thing going on.
Behold the product of a generation of permissive parents. The girls probably started sucking their thumbs as toddlers, and never lost the habit because mom and dad couldn’t discipline it out of them.
One of my friends in grade school sucked her thumb all the way through to our gr 8 graduation. In fact, she apparently didn’t stop until she got to high school, likely because she finally had incentive to stop (ie. she couldn’t get dates).
Or it’s an affectation, suggestive of extreme orality, directed towards the (likely clueless) boys in their vicinity.
My almost eighteen year old cousin has sucked her thumb (and twirled her hair) since she was an infant, though she’s the only one I’ve ever noticed the habit in.
This is not a new trend. There were number of girls who did the toddler sort of behavior back when I was in high school. IME, it tended to be drug related (primarily the ecstasy and rave scene), but it may have evolved since then into just a general sort of trend.
Another thought: CHTT, are you a man? The girls who do this after getting scolded could be trying out the doe-eyed, sweet and pout-y routine to get out of trouble.
Given that 1 in 4 teenage girls has an STD, I’d say the boys are plenty clueless.
Sucking your thumb doesn’t ruin your nail polish as fast as chewing on your nails. Chewing on your hair gives you fuzzy split ends.
Why all the teenage girls around you are suddenly sporting nervous habits, I dunno. But they probably think thumb-sucking is more ladylike and cute than the common alternatives.
I would think that under the right circumstances, it might be an INCENTI…
…err, never mind.
If the girls had done this when I went to school, I’d probably be homeless now.
It’s a fad, and they’re trying to be cool.
I remember in Grade 8 I brought my toothbrush to school, in my mouth. I chewed on it all day. The next day, my BFF brought hers. I had started a fad! Soon, many of the more popular girls started doing the same, just chewing on the toothbrush all day.
It actually lasted a couple of years as a fad.
That was YOU?!
::sheepishly pulls out ancient, frayed toothbrush from mouth::
Same here. Middle school was '91-'95. They’re just trying to be cute and/or cool.
People did the toothbrush thing at my school, too. One guy wore a towel over his shoulder every day and people eventually started imitating him. He apparently got tired of it because he dropped the towel and started carrying a roll of toilet paper everywhere instead. That one never caught on. I’m not sure if he was happy about that or not.
This is coming from a law enforcement background and training, and may not be the answer to the OP.
But thumbsucking and pacifier use among teens has been known to signify ecstasy and/or meth use.
Why am I admitting this?
I’m 24 and I suck my finger (forefinger, left hand). Have done since I was a baby. It’s attached to a stroking reflex that occurs whenever I touch anything soft and silky/satiny (eg. Satin clothing, cat fur, rabbit fur, chenille cloth etc.). I do it subconsciously now, and even do it in my sleep. And my mother tried to discipline me out of it, believe me. Smacking my hand, painting that “no nail biting” stuff all over my finger, telling me only babies sucked their fingers. Nothing she did stopped it, and after doing it my whole life it’s so far ingrained I don’t know that I can stop it any more.
As for why these girls do it, I don’t know.