Pacifiers - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
I find daytime pacifiers annoying. When I see older children in my clinic with a pacifier sticking in their mouths, I often just reach over and pull them out. During the day, children need to talk, or at least learn to talk. It is very difficult to verbalize when they are sucking on a piece of latex.
A decade ago, teenagers were even sucking on pacifiers, much to the horror of their parents. There is even a hard candy-shaped pacifier that I absolutely refuse to buy for my grandchildren, pacifiers that whistle, and even pacifiers made of sterling silver.
There are pacifiers that record body temperature - something that is really not that important to constantly monitor. At a recent meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics, I picked up a pacifier with an attached reservoir to put medications. Very clever, but not really needed.
My anti-pacifier bias probably stemmed from my childhood. My brother, eight years my younger, was addicted to using them. He had them in his pockets and around his neck on a string like some kind of bizarre bandolier that had the potential to strangle him. He religiously used them well beyond the first grade.
My own children used them for a while as infants, but they preferred to have food in their mouths instead. Kids do like them, and they do help for those fussy or colicky times, but like all good things, there is a bad side. Sucking is a basic and natural instinct.
Dentists were never fans of the original-shaped pacifiers (or thumbs, for that matter) due to their potential to cause dental malocclusions. Fortunately, most children give up the pacifiers and thumbs well before the age of four to five, when damage to the permanent teeth or jaw could occur.
More ergonomically, natural-shaped pacifiers are now commonplace. However, I must say that I have never seen a human nipple take that odd shape. I recently saw some novelty Billy Bob pacifiers with buck teeth already attached to them, so parents can find out how those chronic pacifier-users are going to appear in a few years.
I am less militant about nighttime pacifiers for infants, especially now, due to the results of a recent SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) study. This California-based study found that infants under the age of one were less prone to SIDS if they were pacifier-users, even if they slept in less-than-ideal positions (like on their tummies or sides) or settings (such as soft bedding).
For years, we have recommended putting infants only on their backs and on hard bed surfaces for SIDS prevention. Now, the American Academy of Pediatrics has now recommended pacifier use to the preventative guidelines.
Now I have a minor dilemma. If pacifiers help prevent SIDS, I am all for it. However, there is a well-known association between pacifier users and a higher incidence of middle ear infections.
About five years ago, a Finnish study found that children who stopped using pacifiers regularly after the age of six months had more than a third fewer middle ear infections than children who use them. The association is felt to be due to negative middle ear pressure created by the sucking action. Pacifiers, especially those that are inadvertently shared in day-care, can be a vector for the spread of microorganisms, including many that cause ear infections.
A compromise and a suggestion: Allow children to use pacifiers at bedtime or nap time until age 10 to 12 months. After that, it's time to consider taking them away. Younger children will often give them up relatively easily; older children may experience more of a psychological struggle.
Not every method will be successful, but here are a few suggestions to help an older child give up the pacifier habit:
Related Topics: Why American Kids Go To Hospitals, Sleeping with a Pacifier Lowers SIDS Risk
A decade ago, teenagers were even sucking on pacifiers, much to the horror of their parents. There is even a hard candy-shaped pacifier that I absolutely refuse to buy for my grandchildren, pacifiers that whistle, and even pacifiers made of sterling silver.
There are pacifiers that record body temperature - something that is really not that important to constantly monitor. At a recent meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics, I picked up a pacifier with an attached reservoir to put medications. Very clever, but not really needed.
My anti-pacifier bias probably stemmed from my childhood. My brother, eight years my younger, was addicted to using them. He had them in his pockets and around his neck on a string like some kind of bizarre bandolier that had the potential to strangle him. He religiously used them well beyond the first grade.
My own children used them for a while as infants, but they preferred to have food in their mouths instead. Kids do like them, and they do help for those fussy or colicky times, but like all good things, there is a bad side. Sucking is a basic and natural instinct.
Dentists were never fans of the original-shaped pacifiers (or thumbs, for that matter) due to their potential to cause dental malocclusions. Fortunately, most children give up the pacifiers and thumbs well before the age of four to five, when damage to the permanent teeth or jaw could occur.
More ergonomically, natural-shaped pacifiers are now commonplace. However, I must say that I have never seen a human nipple take that odd shape. I recently saw some novelty Billy Bob pacifiers with buck teeth already attached to them, so parents can find out how those chronic pacifier-users are going to appear in a few years.
I am less militant about nighttime pacifiers for infants, especially now, due to the results of a recent SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) study. This California-based study found that infants under the age of one were less prone to SIDS if they were pacifier-users, even if they slept in less-than-ideal positions (like on their tummies or sides) or settings (such as soft bedding).
For years, we have recommended putting infants only on their backs and on hard bed surfaces for SIDS prevention. Now, the American Academy of Pediatrics has now recommended pacifier use to the preventative guidelines.
Now I have a minor dilemma. If pacifiers help prevent SIDS, I am all for it. However, there is a well-known association between pacifier users and a higher incidence of middle ear infections.
About five years ago, a Finnish study found that children who stopped using pacifiers regularly after the age of six months had more than a third fewer middle ear infections than children who use them. The association is felt to be due to negative middle ear pressure created by the sucking action. Pacifiers, especially those that are inadvertently shared in day-care, can be a vector for the spread of microorganisms, including many that cause ear infections.
A compromise and a suggestion: Allow children to use pacifiers at bedtime or nap time until age 10 to 12 months. After that, it's time to consider taking them away. Younger children will often give them up relatively easily; older children may experience more of a psychological struggle.
Not every method will be successful, but here are a few suggestions to help an older child give up the pacifier habit:
- Create a Pacifier-Free Zone. Allow them to suck away in their rooms or in their beds, but do not permit them to bring them into other parts of the house. This is not unlike requiring smokers to smoke outside.
- Don't buy any new ones, but be careful that they don't choke on pieces that begin to fall off the old, ratty ones.
- Offer rewards. Exchange the pacifier for a healthy snack, or distract them with an interesting toy or project.
- Make it fun. In children who understand money, start with a supply of nickels. For each time that they want to suck on their pacifiers, they have to pay YOU a nickel for the privilege. At the end of a pre-established time frame, they can keep all of the nickels they have left.
- Positive Encouragement. When you see your child NOT sucking on a pacifier, call it to his attention and tell him how proud you are. If you are using the nickel method, give him a random nickel or other reward from time to time when you see him not using it.
- When the time is right, create a fun bon voyage party for the pacifiers. Tie them to a helium balloon and send them airborne, or better yet, meet the weekly garbage truck and present them to the trash collector. Allow children to observe those pacifiers being dumped in the truck and drive away...for good.
Related Topics: Why American Kids Go To Hospitals, Sleeping with a Pacifier Lowers SIDS Risk
Technorati Tags:
48 Comments:
My daughter never liked Pacifiers and when she sees other babies n kids with them she would try and take it away from them.. But since my son has been born im always seeing her with one hanging out of her mouth.. Is there a reason for this??
The only reason a non-pacifier using child will resort to useing it is if she sees her younger brother using it. It would be her way of trying gain some attention she felt she lost when her brother was born. She may associate a pacifier with being a baby and she does't want to loose that status in your eyes.
An important note from the article about teenagers using pacifiers:This could be a warning sign of club drug use, like ecstasy or other similar drugs.One of the side effects of esctasy, or "E", is that the user has a tendency to grind his or her teeth incessantly, so many "E" users took to using pacifiers, sports mouthguards, etc. to prevent damage to their teeth. Hanging a pacifier around one's neck is like a "badge" saying, "Hey, I'm an 'E' user, just in case you're interested to know...", or like an unwritten request to be invited to a rave event.
Respectfully, I would strongly object to you plucking a pacifier out of my child's mouth. She is three and still ocassionally uses them for sleep, but is a particularly anxious child, and I intentionally let her use a pacifier in a stressful situation, such as a clinic visit. Removal of a pacifier in this context, when specifically permitted, would be upsetting for her. So would be an unknown person reaching in and touching one of her prized posessions. My main aim of calming her down would be very thoroughly sabotaged by a person who didn't check.
Please be aware that there are reasons for children to have pacifiers while visiting doctors. Some of them are traumatised by the visit, even if no painful procedures are engaged in and even if prepared by books, role plays, etc. beforehand.
Also, I would consider it impolite for you to do things to my child without consulting me. Rather high-handed.
What do you think of my take on the matter?
Catherine...In a clinic situation, I want to TALK to the children. It is part of my responsibility to help relieve their anxiety about a medical encounter. To do this, I need to engage them with the visit. Rather than let things just happen to them, I want them to participate. I don't just lunge out an grab that pacifier....I am not that stupid, but I do ask for it, and I do take it out, since it is a true barrier to an effective patient encounter. They can hang on to their blankets or the teddy bear, but the pacifier will need to go. Besides, at some point,I need to look in their mouths.
Also, I don't like talking to people with sunglasses either. Do you wear sunglasses during your own medical visits?
Steve and Thuy....Thank you for educating me about pacifiers and Ectasy. You made some wondeful points and suggestions, and it is truly appreciated.
And, to the person that had their comment deleted.....SORRY. You must have really hated my opinion.
Dr. Moser...lol...It was my message that was deleted..It had nothing to do with you. I was very tired when I was typing it, after I posted I realized I had made so many typo's it looked like a foreign language. So I deleted it and went to bed.
I was just going to say that my grandaughter never liked a pacifier. The nurses in the hospital tried to stick one in her mouth when she was all of about 2 hours old. She made a face and spit it out and that was that. She never took one. Occasionally, her cousin, who was never without a pacifier, would show up and my grandaughter would pull it from her mouth and stick it in her own, take one suck, pull it back out and give it back to cousin. I guess she just wanted to make sure there was really nothing in it. She wasn't going to be fooled sucking all day and getting nothing.
I love your BLOG and your sense of humor!
I find it interesting that you did not mention the link between pacifier use and shorter durations for breastfeeding. It is a well documented fact that children who are given pacifiers often nurse for a shorter time and not as often. This is yet another downfall to pacifier use.
Cathy.....thanks for posting again. And also, thanks for your kind comments about my blog.
Yes, infants have a natural and highly-desirable instinct for sucking. Your granddaughter is smart, since she quickly discovered that sucking on a pacifier can be a lot of work with little nutritional reward.
I was not aware of a proven link between the use of pacifiers and decreasing duration of breast-feeding....I would love to see and read that study.
My daughter is 15 months old and still is on a pacifer, she also keeps an ear infection but I just can't keep it away from her. She occasionally goes maybe 30 min. to a hour without it but then realizes that it is not attached to her shirt and start throwing the biggest tantrums. Sometimes she prefers it over eating or she takes a couple of bites then shoves it right back into her mouth. I have no idea what to do.
My son is just over 6 months old and has been using a pacifier since he was just over a month old and was very colicky. He was until recently with the introduction with solids, solely breastfed and I never noticed a decrease in the amount of times or the length of his breastfeeding sessions.He can go through days of only using them for sleep or wanting them on and off all day. I do not however plan on letting him carry on with one after he is past the age of 1.
When my daughter was born almost 11 years ago, she didn't enjoy pacifiers at all. She got very annoyed that no formula came out of them and didn't want them. However, she also lived with chronic ear infections (three surgeries for tubes and adenoids before age 2), so the lack of pacifier didn't help much. My son, who is 6 weeks old, actually likes a pacifier occasionally, but for only brief spurts when he is overly "wound up" and dismisses it when he's calm. I've never been a fan of pacifiers because I think they are portable germ factories and was dismayed to see the hospital gave him his first pacifier. Since he doesn't have a strong dependence on it now, it is downplayed significantly in an effort to get rid of it entirely. Babies cry. It's how they communicate. Mothers who "cork" their children with a pacifier every time they make a noise for fear of embarassing moments in public should remember that EVERYONE was once a baby and EVERYONE cried at inappropriate times -- it's part of the fun of parenting.
I love this article. It makes so much sense...and well I'm sure that the same thing can be said about bottle usage. My sister-in-law lets her son who is almost two...sleep with his bottle, whether there's anything in it or not. The boy never goes ANYWHERE without his bottle of milk. His teeth are in horrible positions now because of this, and because not only is he attached to his bottle…but she uses the hard silicon nipples that have no give. My daughter refuses those kinds of nipples.
She's 4 months old now and took a pacifier for about a few weeks out of her little life. After that…her hands (just her fist, not her thumb) or her bunny's ears were her preferred method of sucking, unless of course she is at the doctor getting a shot of blood taken. Then we normally have to give her a pacifier just to calm her some…but once she's calmed down she spits the pacifier out immediately. As the woman above stated…my daughter knows there's nothing in it therefore she has no interest in it. She'd rather be talking and laughing.
But thanks for this informative article, I'll pass this information on to my sister-in-law!!
This article was very interesting. i have a 2 year old and i never gave him a pacifier. My lactation consultant advised against it. I cringe at the sight of a toddler walking around with one in their mouth. However i am pregnant again and i do plan on doing research on the use of a pacifier to prevent SIDS.
I have to say that I resent the comment about mothers putting a 'cork' in their babies in public to prevent embarrassing moments. My daughter is 2 1/2 months old. She has used a pacifer since she was in the hospital. She has such a strong need to suck that if it wasn't for the pacifer, she'd constantly be on the breast. However, I have noticed that since she's found her fingers, her need for the pacifer is weaning. I'm happy to let her use the pacifer until she's one if it makes her happy and soothes her. So far we have had no problems with breastfeeding and the pacifer. I'm more worried about the bottles she gets at daycare interfering with breastfeeding than the pacifer.
Thanks for the wonderful article. I really like your great suggestion and plan to use it.
I personally don't see a problem with letting a child use the pacifier for a little while. However once they swtich to solid foods and off the bottle... It's a goner! Their "sucking" instinct should die down once they are on solids. I'm not paying an orthodontist an arm and a leg to correct something that could have been prevented.
I know ear infections probably have a lot to do with genetics BUT my first son who never took a pacifier had more ear infections then I can count. My next two sons were/are pacifier addicts and each have had one ear infection a piece. I think pacifiers, like potty training, is just one more thing for Mom's to worry about and feel like failures about. I heard so many horror stories about how horrible it was going to be to rid my middle son of his binkie....so not true...one day we woke up and decided to throw them all away and we never looked back! I say if a pacifier makes baby and Mommy happy let baby suck away! (Oh and I would probably be a little irritated if you simply plucked my child's binkie out as well...sorry.)
I have a five year old and a 11 week old and neither have pacifiers. As for evidence about SIDS why don't all parents buy the baby monitor that sets off an alarm if your baby stops breathing? Surely this is a better way to prevent SIDS then sticking a plastic thng in their mouth? I also think that pacifiers are for lazy parents. Both my daughters were colicy so I put special stuff in their bottles to stop it. It is far easier option to sooth your child by putting a pacifier in their mouth than take the time to sooth then yourself or with music. It is very hard to retrain a child to find another way to comfort themseleves rather than sucking, so why not start early on with music etc.
And I would like to add that children who walk around with dummys in give me the urge to pull them out of their mouths too!!
this argument is dumb. everything has pros and cons. the choice is the parents and no one elses. they can cause ear infections and they sometimes dont cause ear infections. maybe some kids with binkies get ear infections because the binkie gets germs on it and the child might catch more colds or sinus infections leading to ear infections. so just chill out. some doctors will swear up and down that binkies have no pros and others will say they do. everthing u hear will be an opinion NOT a fact. AND if anybody snatched my kids binkie i would smack them silly. just because u think u know something is bad or wrong doesnt mean u should make choices for them. PRO-CHOICE all the way
I LOVE PACIFIERS! I'm a pediatric nurse and mom of 2 passie-babies. Ages 1 and 2 1/2. They use them only for sleep and emergencies (like boo-boo's)! They are the best sleepers I've seen. Since they were newborns, they were put to sleep with 1 passie in the mouth, and a couple extra clean ones in the crib. They are off to sleep in no time! My goal for this passie-bliss to end is age 3. Wish me luck with the weaning!
anonymous said
Thank you for giving this information. My son is 2yrs old and uses pacifiers since i weaned him from the breast. Now he had five ear infection since he started using the pacifier and does not speak oneword in language. He has been evaluated and found to have delays severely in language and next month he will be starting school to help him caught up with other kids of his age. Now i know why my son is having low tone muscles in his mouth and cannot jew food proberly. The reason that he cannot say a single word not even mamy.
Thank you again.
It was very interesting to read the comments regarding pacifiers and toddlers. I have an 8 year old and a 23 month old. My 8 year old gave his up with no problems, but my almost 2 year old is another story. He actually places his paci in a pocket before he gets out of the car at daycare and he wants it when it's time to lay down at night. It's very hard to wean him off of it, but it seems to be working. I wouldn't just take it away from them. It may be a sign of security with changing daycares or anything, we don't know. I was a thumb sucker, being adopted I had issues that the thumb seemed to make just disappear, so parents be patient and help them to let go on their terms. It's a form of security.
Binkies RULE!!! They are not for "lazy parents." Both my children seem to have very strong sucking urges. They both have LOVED binkies and both nursed well.(they are 7 months, still nursing and 2 1/2 years) I don't believe for one second that having my children have binkies has decreased the duration of nursing, my son would eat for 30 minutes on each side before he was full! He also speaks full complete sentences that blow away any other almost 3 year old in our playgroup so that's a load of garbage too. Everyone's kids are different, every parent has different challenges. Just because one person has a bad experience with a binkie doesn't mean anything for the next kid. If they want to suck wouldn't you rather it be on a binkie than on a thumb, you can't cut the tip off that one!
Oh, and my son only gets his binkie at night and naps. While we're getting shots he has a sucker! (the only time he gets sugar so he stays pretty happy!) Please, if he had one in his mouth for an appointment, which I am paying for - pluck away, I want to know that you are able to examine every portion of his development ... and so you can see how smart he is:) Now some random idiot on the street who thinks that binkies are for "lazy parents" I would slap.
Good luck weaning!!! From what we've seen you'll need it and so will we:)
Help!! My wife still lets my son use pacifiers and even baby bottles. I have tried everything to get her to stop. The problem is that he turned SIX YEARS OLD a bout 5 months ago. Is this unhealthy, or just humiliating???
My son turned 2 at the end of January and still uses a pacifier (or 'blah' as he calls it). He uses it when he is sleepy or upset and I think it's great. He speaks full sentences with proper english, correct usage of "me" and "I". He is so smart and talks like a 4 year old. He also has never had an ear ache in his life. I am all for pacifiers if you still talk to you children. He knows that if he is talking then he has to take out his blah.
My son will be 2 on the 27th of this month and has been using a pacifier or binkie as he calls it since he was 3 weeks old. He has about 5 of them (some at the moment are lost and can't find them) and he uses it for naps and bedtime and when he gets his diaper changed and only time he carries one with him is if he gets upset otherwise if he finds one he gives it to me and if he does happen to talk with a binkie in his mouth I ask him politely to remove it so I can understand what he is saying. He hasn't had one ear infection YET.
My daughter has had a pacifier or as she calls it "her fier" since birth. She talks perfectly and sings as well. She is three now and has strewn several around the house. She has never had an ear infection. We have tried to wean her of them several times, but she uses them as a comfort item. She goes to sleep wonderfully every night with that latex nipple in her mouth. I see no harm in it.
We reduced access to the pacifier for our two year old son. He could only have it at bed or nap times. Then we tried the "cold turkey" approach. He cried the first couple of nights and naps until he fell asleep. Shortly after, he stopped asking for it. We threw them away after a couple of weeks. This approach worked fo both of our sons. We also read the book, "Branli Says Bye-Bye to Binky", at night to our youngest son.
OMG !!!! I cannot get the bink away from my two almost three year old daughter. I have begged and pleaded and not even a consideration of throwing it away. I know for a fact when she is at daycare and the sitters house she doesn't even think about it. Please send your suggestions to smyle513@yahoo.com to help me help her get rid of that stupid bink.
My daughter NEVER wanted a pacifier. I tried to offer it to her and she would spit it out. However, she has now found a blanket that she wants all the time. She is 16 months old and I was wondering if I should try to wean her off of the blanket. She has taken two naps and slept all night without it at my Mom's house. My Mom says she doesnt need it and I should get rid of it now. Does that seem harsh or is she right????
my son is 4 months old and is very advanced in speach already. he says momma NOT mamamamama but momma, and he loves his paci. he uses it every day and if he doesnt get it when he wants it i hear about it lol... but just because he sucks on a paci doesnt mean that he is going to be delayed, he is advanced in everything he does, including speach, with his paci
I am a grandmother who does not care what our children do in their own homes with regards to proper behavior of the grandkids. But when visiting us I do expect to be able to talk to our grandchildren and not have to hear the mmm's and grunts and groans and pointing to what a two year old wants because they have a pacifier in their mouths. And then the outburst when they can't get you to understand them. One out of three of our grandkids has habitually used a pacifier and is having speach problems, and it does not stop his temper tantrums, it just makes more of them when Mom can't find it. Why would a parent take a chance with a childs progression or health even it's a slim one, (regarding teeth, ear infections, speech). My two boys had a pacifier until about six months of age, I did not use it as a crutch for a toddler when they were mad. Some things just don't go together, like walking, talking and pacifiers, no matter what your age. And I have asked and taken the pacifier out of his mouth when I was trying to talk to him and he kept grunting! He threw a temper tantrum because his mom just gives in and apparently understands his grunts and groans. The pacifier use is not teaching him or his parents how to effectively deal with the tantrums or how he should behave or talk for his age. Needless to say they are only delaying the inevitable. Bedtime is a different story, but seeing a child walking around with a pacifier makes me cringe. I was a thumb sucker until age five and I had to deal with teeth issues as a result. Good luck to all of you who have delayed taking the pacifier away beyond the age of one. It can be horrible!
I am a grandmother who does not care what our children do in their own homes with regards to proper behavior of the grandkids. But when visiting us I do expect to be able to talk to our grandchildren and not have to hear the mmm's and grunts and groans and pointing to what a two year old wants because they have a pacifier in their mouths. And then the outburst when they can't get you to understand them. One out of three of our grandkids has habitually used a pacifier and is having speach problems, and it does not stop his temper tantrums, it just makes more of them when Mom can't find it. Why would a parent take a chance with a childs progression or health even it's a slim one, (regarding teeth, ear infections, speech). My two boys had a pacifier until about six months of age, I did not use it as a crutch for a toddler when they were mad. Some things just don't go together, like walking, talking and pacifiers, no matter what your age. And I have asked and taken the pacifier out of his mouth when I was trying to talk to him and he kept grunting! He threw a temper tantrum because his mom just gives in and apparently understands his grunts and groans. The pacifier use is not teaching him or his parents how to effectively deal with the tantrums or how he should behave or talk for his age. Needless to say they are only delaying the inevitable. Bedtime is a different story, but seeing a child walking around with a pacifier makes me cringe. I was a thumb sucker until age five and I had to deal with teeth issues as a result. Good luck to all of you who have delayed taking the pacifier away beyond the age of one. It can be horrible!
Sorry I sent it twice.
I JUST STARTED TO TAKE THE PLUG FROM MY SON WHO IS 2 YEARS OLD AND IT IS JUST A FIGHT BUT I AM HOLDING ON STRONG I TOLD HIM THE BINKIE FAIRY CAME AND TOOK ALL THE BINKIES TO OTHER BABYS BECAUSE HE IS A BIG BOY NOW AND ALL HE HAS DONE IS CRY AND BEG FOR THE BINKIE. IF ANYONE HAS ANY IDEALS FOR ME BESIDES JUST DONT GIVE IN LET ME KNOW PLEASE
Pacifiers are not just for "E" users...i own a pacifier and i don't do drugs...well i smoke cigarettes..and i am trying to kick the habit. So when I have a nicotine fit i just stick a pacifier in my mouth and eventually i will no longer have a craving for cigarettes. Me and a group of my friends started doing that when we were freshmen in high school until they got band...
My son is five now but when he was born i tried to nures him. I couldn't make enough for him so he got a pacifier. The only time I gave gave it to him was when he would wake up needind to be feed at night and that was only if I was sleeping when his bottle was ready out come the pacifier. My son no longer would take or want a pacifier after he was six mouths old. I think the fact that I never really forced the pacifier with him is why he broke his self
My son will be 2 soon and I want to take his pacifier away . He not only wants it at night or nap time but during the day too. I just want him to stop the habit because he get ear infections and cold soars or break outs. I am a new mother so sometimes I give in because he troughs really bad temper tantrums . I dont know how I should take it from him...
Any suggestions for a mother who is trying very hard to break the habit of pacifier use of her 16 month old and a caregiver/mother-in-law continues to go against my wishes? My son has frequent ear infections and I know that pacifier use can contribute to that. Also, I am noticing that he is slower to speak words than my daughter was who stopped the pacifier at 3 months. I am concerned on many levels that the pacifier use is harmful to not only his health but also his development.
Tanya
Lakeland,FL
when i was a child my thing wasn't the pacifier but a blanket and my first and second fingers...would we be able to use this same methods in these cases?
I never thought about the paci affecting his ears. Cole has had a few middle ear infections that seem to linger for several days. I am definitely going to start trying to nix that pacifier use.
Let me start a very unscientific 2-part poll here -
who on this site had a pacifier as a child?
how'd you turn out?
Is there a doctor or an expert out there who will weigh in on when and how parents should take pacifiers away? Our daughter is 2.5 years old and just lost her pacifier and my wife has decided to use this as an opportunity to stop use all together - cold turkey measures. It's only been a day or two since the no pacifier period and our daughter has had no major problems, but occasionally asks for her binky then also cries occasionally at night or will lay awake staring into the ceiling asking for it. I know that my wife is trying to do her best, but is cold turkey the best way for a baby who loved her pacifier which gave her comfort, aid with sleeping, and had no ill effects? How should we approach this, cold turkey or gradually?
I'm in my 50's and there were no pacifiers when I was a child so I sucked my thumb. I'm a positive, determined, self-confident woman who trusts her own instincts. My daughter is a little past the age of using a pacifier at almost 34, but she used one as a child and gave it up easily. She then, briefly, sucked her thumb in stressful and nighttime situations. She is now an intelligent, self-assured, successful woman. Her husband doesn't like their son using his pacifier despite this. After experiencing both sides my opinion is let your child use the pacifier until they are ready to let it go; you will have a much more relaxed, happy, secure child. Since having his pacifier time cut back my grandson is more nervous and anxious and ill-behaved, especially in new situations.
I am currently looking into whether or not I should offer my baby (coming in two months) a pacifier, so I found your article very informative. However, I wish you would refrain from suggesting a pacifier send off on a helium balloon! Those are so bad for our environment and I cringe every time I see one floating in through the sky.
All I have to say is that if you took my daughter's pacifier away from her I would sue you for assault. I don't care how much you agree with the decision, it's not your child and you have no right to force other people to think the same way that you do.
Post a Comment