Goodbye Thumbsucking

We're trying to get serious about stopping the thumb sucking around here. I've already talked to my husband, and he's working on it. : > Just kidding, sweetheart. : > Our soon to be 4 year old was reminded by her dentist last week about why it is important to mot suck her thumb. He told her that last time, too, but I haven't had the heart to reinforce it because her thumb sucking is so comforting for her.
Being the good educator and behaviorist that I am, I tried positive reinforcement the first day. I made a chart that says:
"Ginny can keep her thumb out of her mouth" at the top. I drew a line down the middle and put a smiley face on one side, and a frowny face on the other. When she wasn't sucking her thumb, I put smiley face on it. When she was, I drew a frowny face on the other column.
Things went well the first day and she got lots of smiley faces, and a few frowny faces. Teh second day, I decided to add treats as a reward. Not a good idea. She didn't need them and she got too fixated on the treats. We stopped that after she got treats down out of the cupboard (She has discovered the use of chairs and stools to get to all my high places where I put the treats so she can't get into them) and declared that she has not sucked her thumb in a while and should get a treat. She then grabbed 4 candies and shoved them in her mouth. I'm not sure what her dentist would say about that.
We started this last Friday. On Tuesday I told her I was proud of her because I hadn't seen her sucking her thumb all day. She immediately said "And so I get a treat". I told her her treat was feeling good about herself that she is so grown up and is doing something that is hard for her. She looked at me skeptically. I don't think she agreed with me.
Reminder to self- start out with the least intrusive postive reinforcement to change a behavior. In other words, just praise her and give her hugs and high fives and smiles. She doesn't need the treats. And neither do I. Strange thing, but when I get out a treat to give to her, somehow a few of the treats end up in my mouth, too. Wonder how that happens. : >