Tasty

Despite our efforts to try to convince Anya that sucking her thumb is a bad habit, she continues to be quite attached.
Among other things, we've tried covering her thumbs with tape and tried attaching fuzzy socks to the arms of her pajamas, to no avail. People have suggested all sorts of odd concoctions to coat her thumbs with, none of which have sounded all that practical or effective, but someone wondered the other day if we had tried alum, a spice used for canning and purportedly quite bitter.
Worth a shot.
Anya dutifully dipped her wrinkled little thumbs in the solution, then took a tentative suck. With a slight shiver and a mischievous little smile on her face, she popped it back out again and said, "Tasty!"