I thought I would share my
thoughts on this. I know everyone is different and not all parents want to give
their child a dummy which is fair enough – each to their own I guess. But, I
don’t understand why some parents are judged if they make the decision to give
their child a dummy as there are pros and cons which I will go into further.
thoughts on this. I know everyone is different and not all parents want to give
their child a dummy which is fair enough – each to their own I guess. But, I
don’t understand why some parents are judged if they make the decision to give
their child a dummy as there are pros and cons which I will go into further.
Pros:
- When nothing will soothe
your child; for example if your newborn is suffering with colic or your child is just
generally unsettled or in discomfort and a dummy calms them down then why is
that a bad thing? - It can reduce SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) also known as cot death. This is because sucking a dummy “either increases the baby’s chance of waking up or by improving its cardiac control – its ability to regulate its heart rate.”
- It satisfies the suck reflex. Some babies have a need to suck that exceeds the time they get on the bottle or breast.
Cons:
- As they get older they might wake in the
night, numerous times for it. But if it settles them back to sleep then it’s
only temporary and it won’t last forever. - Weaning them off it can be
difficult; you could get rid of them overnight or there are other methods such as
the ‘dummy fairy’ or I’ve heard of people putting them inside their bears at
Build a Bear for their new stuffed toy to look after. - Using a dummy during the day may delay your child’s speech development
At the end of the day and despite what some may think; I don’t use a dummy to
‘shut my child up’ and it isn’t being a ‘lazy parent’. To be quite honest, I’m not in any rush to get
rid of Sophie’s dummy just yet and she is nearly 2 years old and she has used them since she was just days old. She finds comfort
from it and we usually only let her have it at nap time, bedtime and when she is tired in general as it will soothe her. So what is the harm in that?
‘shut my child up’ and it isn’t being a ‘lazy parent’. To be quite honest, I’m not in any rush to get
rid of Sophie’s dummy just yet and she is nearly 2 years old and she has used them since she was just days old. She finds comfort
from it and we usually only let her have it at nap time, bedtime and when she is tired in general as it will soothe her. So what is the harm in that?
What are your thoughts? Do you/did you give your child a
dummy?
dummy?
This is a great debate and all your points are very valid! My boys never really took to the dummy so I didn't have to go through weaning them of it thankfully but the dummy was a god send when I struggled breastfeeding my 2nd son and all he wanted to do was suckle in the early days! x
Thankyou and I agree! They can provide a comfort which is great when you've tried everything else! xx
I love this post. My eldest daughter who is 5 had a dummy since she was newborn. It was her comfort. I was in no rush to get rid of it and she was the one who weaned the dummy of herself. She was about 3.5 years old i'm sure.
My youngest, I remember she was newborn and in hospital (on the same night I gave birth) and she was crying and crying, tried a dummy and she took it BUT after that time she NEVER took a dummy, completely refused it, so we have never had a dummy for my youngest. She is 3 now.
I have nothing against children who have dummies , I've been with both sides. No parent should be judged. x
Thankyou! It's good that you're eldest weaned herself off it – I'm hoping Sophie will do that in time but I don't want to just suddenly take them off her as she won't understand.
It's amazing how all children are different isn't it?! Anything for an easy life in my opinion! – if you use one and it helps soothe your child then there's plenty of time to get rid of them in the future.. they aren't going to have them forever xx