Do you believe in dummies/pacifiers?
By coffeeshot
@coffeeshot (3783)
Australia
March 10, 2007 12:54am CST
My mother and my grandmother have always been firm believers that dummies/pacifiers are not necessary. I'm not quite sure what their reasons for this belief are but I personally don't think there's anything wrong with it. Does anyone else also have an aversion to them?
1 person likes this
4 responses
@misheleen73 (6037)
• United States
10 Mar 07
neither of my boys ever used one. I never gave them to them, so they never got attached to it. I really hate seeing older children with a pacifier hanging out of their mouths and the tend to be bad for the teeth as well. I don't have a particular "aversion" , but I felt it would be one less thing I would have to wean my children off of.
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@coffeeshot (3783)
• Australia
10 Mar 07
Yes I agree, older kids with dummies is a bit of a disturbing sight. A cousin of my cousins (their inlaws, not our side) sucked her thumb until she was about 12. She was pretty much the laughing stick of our side of the family for years .. and now that I think of it, she has slightly buck teeth whereas no one else in her immediate family do...
@cassidy22 (2974)
• United States
10 Mar 07
It's safer than letting a kid suck their thumb. Pacifiers are smaller and softer, plaible plastic. But a constant thumb sucker can actually damage their new, incoming teeth, and force them to come in crooked. Of course, neither is better, but if your kid needs the comfort of sucking on something, a pacifier is better than a thumb.
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@shaz6611 (951)
• Australia
10 Mar 07
I think dummies are fine to settle a crying baby. The problem comes as these babies get a little older and their dummy is now a habit that is hard to break. Both of my children were dummy free by the time they were 18 months old. Dummies if used too much can also damage children's teeth.
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@michelledarcy (5220)
•
10 Mar 07
I personally don't like them but I don't have anything against them as long as they aren't used for too long. I used one with my youngest daughter as her crying used to wind up her father and he used to get cross with her and shout and I didn't like it.
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