A doctor told me that six year old Billy sucked his thumb and would I come out to the house and put Billy in a trance and make him stop sucking his thumb? So I made a house call. Billy had been told that Dr. Ericsson was going to come and he was going “to STOP you from sucking your thumb”. And Billy was very antagonistic towards me. I turned to the doctor’s wife and said
“Now, Billy is MY patient, and Mother you are a nurse and you know a nurse should not interfere with a doctor’s orders. And Doctor, you’re a physician and you know you don’t interfere with another doctor’s patient.” They were sitting there rather startled and I said, “Billy, I have something to say to you. Your father and mother wanted me to come out here and put you in trance and make you stop sucking your thumb. But Billy, EVERY six year old boy, EVERY six year old girl is entitled to suck their thumbs as much as they want to. Of course, the day is£OMING when you’ll be a big seven year old and you won’t want to suck your thumb when you’re a big kid, seven years old. As long as you’re a little kid and want to suck yourself I want you to keep sucking your thumb.” Billy looked very happy—his parents rather bewildered. Billy’s birthday was coming up in less than two months and two months is a long, long time for a six year old kid. And Billy stopped sucking his thumb BEFORE he got to be a big seven year old. Why shouldn’t he