Use of a dummy

faerie~spangles

Why, why, why are those things plugged into babies mouths?

peachyprice

Because babies have a natural sucking reflex they use for comfort, some women have a life and don't want babies hanging from their tits 24/7.

Simple really.

onlyroz

At least with a thumb they have a choice to suck it or not, and it can never get lost.

**curlywurly**

faerie~spangles wrote: »

Why, why, why are those things plugged into babies mouths?

Why not?

I wished my daughter would have a dummy sometimes but she wouldn't.

Can't see a problem with it myself, if it gives the baby some comfort and the parents a tiny bit of peace occasionally?

peachyprice

onlyroz wrote: »

At least with a thumb they have a choice to suck it or not, and it can never get lost.

But you can never take a thumb away.

glitter03

I dislike dummies and did not use them with my daughter. She never sucked her thumb either oddly! I am pregnant with my 2nd (due on Monday :eek: ) and won't be giving a dummy to this one either.

However, i don't think negatively of someone who does use them, they just weren't for me

balletshoes

onlyroz wrote: »

At least with a thumb they have a choice to suck it or not, and it can never get lost.

its all personal choice at the end of the day - all I will say is, my DD had a dummy for bedtime/naptime only, she was weaned off it completely by the time she was 2 and a bit.
My sisters and my niece sucked their thumbs instead - my niece was 8 before she wasn't sucking her thumb without even realising it, and one of my sisters was still sucking her thumb as a teenager.

What I don't like seeing, with a dummy-sucker or a thumb-sucker, is the child running around trying to speak with a plug in their mouth - thats time to leave it out, in my opinion.

Nicki

On the whole scale of parenting decisions you can make for your child this one seems fairly harmless surely, and a matter of personal choice? It's not like piercing a newborn's ears for example. You can choose to take it away at any point with no lasting harm.

We didn't use dummies at all for 1 and 2, and number 3 was given one in hospital when he was 4 weeks old but never took to it, but it doesn't bother me in the slightest if other parents want to use them with their babies.

alwaysbrassic

Correctly used dummy is proven to reduce the risk of cot death.

bunty109

Dummies can cause problems with tooth/jaw formation ( as does thumb sucking): one of the main reasons I didn't encourage one. Each to their own (and we've still had to pay out for braces!)

alwaysbrassic

I weaned my daughter off the dummy at the recommended 6 months. Within a week she had learnt to suck her fingers for comfort instead. At mealtimes she would refuse to eat, instead sucking her fingers. After 2 months of no weight gain my health visitor advised me to wean her back onto the dummy!!
They definitely have there uses!