Binkie or Thumb

When I was a little boy between the ages of four and eight, I would always suck my thumb whenever I wet or mess my diaper. That was a signal to my mother that I needed a change. She would take me to my room, put me on the changing table and remove my thumb iand put a pacifier in mouth while she changed me. After the change, I kept the pacifier in my mouth, often for several hours.

Regardless of whether I was sucking my thumb before a diaper change, my mom always use the pacifier during the change. She was concerned that it was unsanitary for me to put my fingers in my mouth during a diaper change.

My mom would always ask me if I needed to change before checking me. I could be wet, but not wanting a change. Since I did not want to lie, I would just start sucking my thumb and not respond. She would then check and see if I need to change. In the few cases that she decided a change was not immediately necessary, she still put a pacifier in my mouth.

My mom did not like me to suck my thumb. As I got older, the pacifier which uses punishment for sucking my thumb. It wasn’t that I did not like the pacifier, I did. But as I was older, I didn’t like being made to look like a baby.