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Pacifier use

6 replies

Sunshinevalley
What do you all think of pacifiers and when do you use them with your kids?

My daughter had a pacifier to sleep with until she was 1 year old. After that, I threw it away because she kept waking up and couldn't find her pacifier. I was so fed up with those rotten things. Sometimes I had to get out of bed up to 5 times to put that thing back in her mouth, or it would fall behind the crib where she couldn't reach it.
Now she's completely off it! Wonderful!

But on Facebook and other sites, I sometimes see parents giving their kids a pacifier even during bath time. Their own choice, of course, but am I the only one who finds this weird? I also often feel that when I'm walking around during the day and see kids with pacifiers, they're given them out of laziness instead of comforting/feeding the child, etc. I don't want to attack anyone, and everyone has their own choice, but I just find it... weird!

Replies

  1. madelene #2

    Well, to be honest, I always found it weird too. But that was before I had kids. Back then, my two nieces always had a pacifier—even at age 4. I found that strange. But now that I’m an adult and have kids myself, I can understand that some babies might struggle to wean off and it’s easier for parents too. My two oldest nieces never wanted a pacifier. The middle one sucked her thumb. The oldest didn’t want either. And our third girl occasionally wants her pacifier. But we rarely need to give it to her; she’s a very easy child. My personal take is that it might sometimes seem weird or excessive, but there are kids who really need it and are very comforted by it. And yes, in my eyes, it’s only logical that parents then just give the pacifier. Every child is different.

  2. Anonymous #3

    My daughter had a dummy for the first 5 months or so. It calmed her down, so it worked well. Gradually, she wanted it less and less herself (thankfully, because I think those nasty little things are gross). Now, when she's tired, she uses two of her fingers to suck on and falls asleep that way. Every child is different, of course, but personally, I think it's a bit weird to see kids of 3 or 4 years old still walking around with a dummy. But then I find kids with a thumb in their mouth quite cute, even though it's basically the same thing... And if my daughter still had a need for it herself, I'd just give her a dummy anyway.

  3. kruimel #4

    Here’s a daughter of 1.5 years who loves her "pacifier".
    She gets it when she goes to sleep, is tired, or sad.
    Nothing wrong with that, but she shouldn't walk around with it in her mouth all day.. As far as I'm concerned, she can't talk with it in, then she has to take it out otherwise I won't understand her and it won't go with her to the playground/supermarket/pool (well, not in sight, I always have one in my bag)

    If I can comfort my child with a pacifier, I'll do that gladly!

    And admitted, if she just keeps whining, squeaking, and grunting that she wants something she can't/haven't permission for, I sometimes just give her the pacifier to keep her quiet

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  5. My1987 #6

    Our son is almost 5 months old but doesn't accept the pacifier. But he doesn't suck his thumb either. Very occasionally he grabs it, but more often not.
    If he had accepted it, I would eventually want him to use it only at night. And definitely not while talking or on the street or something. But well, he doesn't take it anyway, so I probably don't need to worry about that further.

  6. Vaaniej #7

    When my little girl was still really a baby, I tried giving her a pacifier just for her sucking needs. As that became less frequent, she only got a pacifier while sleeping. At 2.5 years old, she accidentally threw her pacifier away (behind the bed) and mom couldn't reach it anymore. (She could have, but just didn't ) It was a bit tough for one evening, and after that, it wasn't asked for anymore. She was ready to become a big girl!

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