Customer Reviews
Perfection! 
2008-07-01
My husband and I purchased this product based on the reviews that we read. We have a 6 year old son who has sucked his thumb from day 1 of life. We figured 6 was past time to stop sucking his thumb and tried various ways of having him stop. But, as you know if you used to be a thumb sucker (and I was,) it's a habit that is hard to break - especially when you pop that thumb in your mouth while you're asleep.
After one night of using this product I would say that my son stopped even subconciously sucking his thumb. The first night was painful - I'm not going to lie - every time he tried to suck his thumb (rather if awake or asleep) he was in our room waking us up and wanting to get the taste out of his mouth. Ever since that one night we weren't awakened anymore and I would say that after one week of using it he doesn't want to, or try to, suck his thumb at all. Last night we didn't put the product on his thumb and checked on him often. No thumb in his mouth that we saw. We would even let him put the product on his thumb to encourage active participation in this endeavor - he was very proud to use it and I think is happy that he's not doing this anymore.
My recommendation would be to use this in the summer while school is out based on the length of time it may take your child to stop sucking their thumb. Better to have a restless night sleep during the summer than on a school night. Thanks and good luck!
Brutal product, in a good way 2008-07-01
I've tried a couple different products to stop nail biting and this stuff is by far the best one I've used. It tastes horrible and an application lasts for days. I put this on for the first time about 5 days ago and it's still working. I expect that after about a month or two of using this I'll have broken the habit. If you are going to use this and you like finger food watch out. It makes most things that you eat with your hands taste terrible as well.
Just OK 
2008-06-30
I read all kinds of great reviews about this, but I thought it was just OK. My polish still chipped as early as ever, but I have problem nails. I bought the whole Mavala set, but it didn't do much better than the cheap stuff. Wish it worked better for me!
miracle!! 2008-06-30
This stuff is so great! I have a compulsive thumbsucker who's 6. His permanent teeth just started coming in and as a childhood thumbsucker myself, I didn't want him ending up with an overbite like I did. After doing some research, we ordered Mavala Stop and he quit sucking his thumb completely as soon as it dried. I put some on my finger with him the first time and it tasted TERRIBLE. Even after a shower and a nights sleep! After a week, we lost the bottle. We tried THUM (another stop sucking polish) and it did not work at all. I think he actually liked the taste. He asked us to reorder the STOP because he wants to quit sucking his thumb (now that hes a "big boy"). We're back on the Mavala with NO problems. This stuff is like liquid gold for frustrated parents!!
Not great for a kid 2008-06-29
We bought this product for my four year old. She likes to suck on two of her fingers on a particular hand and we had hoped to help her to stop. We explained to her while we waited for the product to arrive what would happen and she was very excited and happy. She has made comments that she wants to stop to. When we got the product we applied it to her fingers and it did taste nasty. It worked great for the first day. But while the box says to apply every two days, we discovered on the second day that it needed to be applied every 12 hours and then by the third day every 8. And by the fourth, it seemed to not have an effect on her at all. She may have gotten used to the taste or it may have been washing off, but either way, by the fourth day it wasnt working. A habit supposedly takes 21 days to break, but we didnt even make it past 4. I would not recommend this for a younger person. It may work on an adult though.
Two Day Fix 
2008-07-25
We've been trying to get my daughter to stop sucking her thumb for a year now. THis did it in two days. We put it on and told her that her fingers would make her mouth taste yucky if she put them in her mouth. She agreednot to and ofcourse a few minutes later ran to her bed and lay down saying she was sick. She was holding her saliva and admitted that she had put her fingers in her mouth we drank and spit and she has not (after those two days) put her fingers in her mouth- one application was all it took.
Worked in 1 day for our 3.5 year old 2008-07-24
Took one day,
(tried positive reinforcement/rewards for 6 months with no successs)
Prepped our child for its arrival. Let her know she is big now and that she had to stop and we had medicine to help her. Let her apply it to her nails since she is so big (never let her touch medicine so this was a big treat). On the 1st night we both tasted a very very very small amount. It is very bitter. She woke twice the 1st night after putting her thumb in her mouth. Applied it to the nails over the next 1 to 1.5 weeks but she never sucked her thumb after the 1st night.
other things we learned:
only apply it to the nail and wrap the bottle in a tissue. The smallest drop will work its way to your child's mouth.
If they do get it in their mouth. Make sure the cup or sippy they drink from to clean their mouth out is also cleaned or change after drinking. The cup will get the product on it, therby continuing the taste in their mouth.
Finally, toothpaste was the best to get the taste out.
The taste for our child was not horrible just annoyong and letting her apply it empowered her to be able to stop sucking her thumb by herself.
Good Luck.
Better than I thought it would be~ 2008-07-18
I had serious doubts that this product would work for my nearly 7 year old, but it did the trick! She finally stopped sucking her thumbs!
great product but wears off. 2008-07-10
It works very well for the first few days, but washes off with showering and handwashing after only two or three days, so, if you want it to work, you have to be really diligent about re-applying it often.
Incredibly Effective 2008-07-08
As far as negative reinforcement is concerned, this product is extremely effective. I HAD a 17-month-old thumbsucker who was so attached to her thumb that her top teeth were starting to buck. I had already tried several other tactics with no positive results. My brother recommended Mavala Stop, so I tried it.
The first night was rough on my daughter (and on us), but she very quickly stopped the thumbsucking. The next day, however, she discovered her OTHER (non-treated) thumb, so I applied more Mavala. In hindsight, I probably should have just painted both thumbs from the start.
Anyway, after reading another reviewer's comments, I had only put a tiny bit on the tip of my daughter's thumbnails. I found it didn't last long that way, so just ended up painting the entire thumbnail on both hands. Since then, I've been thrilled to see that the habit is completely gone. This product is perfect for ending thumbsucking. I couldn't be happier with the results.
