I was just thinking again today about the tremendous resolve of my 4 yr. old, Maddie. I already mentioned that she decided to quit sucking her thumb. Well, it was a done deal from the moment she made the decision. There hasn't been any going back since.
One thing I noticed however, is that she is suddenly a lot less attached to her stuffed puppy. Puppy used to go everywhere with us and was highly requested -whenever she was tired, frustrated, sad, bored, etc.... Puppy sort of became a beloved member of the family over the past nearly 5 years. Her dad bought it for her in the hospital when she was born and she has loved that thing to shreds. Except, now we never see him. He stays in her bed all day and really isn't requested at all.
I thought this made sense, since previously at the moment she saw puppy, in went the thumb. The two always went together.
But then, there was a new realization. One evening when we were tucking her in, puppy was at the end of her bed and she kind of refused him when offered. The thing is that Maddie, realizing that holding puppy made her want to suck her thumb, made her own conscious decision to put away puppy as necessary in order to stop sucking her thumb. What child does that? I mean, this stuffed animal was seriously BELOVED. Her decisions go deep. When she resolves to do something, she follows through and she takes whatever steps are necessary to do so. She knows herself and takes stock before she commits, so her commitments are real. How she manages to do something that I and many adults fail at frequently is beyond me. I could take a lesson from her. And as I said before, I hope that she will retain that trait and that it will serve her well.
I caught her snuggling with her puppy in bed the other night when I checked on her before going to bed myself - but, she wasn't sucking her thumb.