How do you feel about a pacifier?

Question

What about 2 or 3 years old who have them. I see kids in stores that I think are to old to have them. I happen to think parents are to afraid to make their children cry. Is it just me?

Answer 1

No its not just you I see it too and it makes me so mad that parents cant stand up and tell there kids that they are to old for that. You cant be you child's friend and that is what they are try to do by letting them have something they are to old for because they are afraid to take it away.

Answer 2

My wife was totally against pacifiers with our first child. She is now 5 and sucks her fingers all the time still. Our second child (9 months old) has been a totally different experience. She loves her pacifier and finally my wife gave in much to the relief of the whole family (and my wife's sore nipples).

The problem is that my 5 year old now wants to be like her little sister and she sucks a pacifier too (in addition to her fingers). I'm afraid we have created a bit of a problem with her.

After two kids, I think pacifiers are fine. Sucking is a great comfort for a small child and I don't see anything wrong with providing some comfort for them. Letting them cry it out, when a simple pacifier can pacify them seems a little harsh to me. Do you think it will spoil them?

I do agree with you about older children and pacifiers. There comes a time when it is time to let it go and 2 or 3 is about that time.

It is just tough being a parent and every child is different with different needs.

Answer 3

I try not to use them but if I ever had a baby who wouldn't stop crying other ways then I could see using one to keep from going nuts. Babies like to nurse and nurse in the beginning and I just accept that and do it. Toddlers have a need to nurse, too, but most of them have been weaned long ago, but they still need to suck. Personally I just nurse my kids until they wean themselves. Though I've never had a child who used a pacifier I just say don't judge until you've been there. A child may have an intense need to suck and even if you think you know children you don't know that particular child like the parents do. The only one to tell a parent that a child should have to give up a pacifier should be that child's doctor or dentist if there are concerns about tooth and jaw development.

I don't think there's anything good about taking something away just because a child reaches a certain age. I've never forced a child to give something up and I'm not planning on it. What would be the benefit of making them cry? Let them give it up when they're ready. If your primary objection is dental rather than just about it being "unsightly" or whatever you may have more of an argument, but I just think let's let parents parent their own kids.

Answer 4

There probably are parents who are afraid to make their children cry. There are also people who are total militants about pacifiers, for no good reason as far as I can tell.

My daughter is three. She's always loved her pacifier. Since she was about 1 1/2, she's only been allowed to use it in bed. And we told her that if she lost it, we wouldn't replace it. She took good care of it. And she didn't abuse the privilege of having it. And it made bedtime and naptime a piece of cake. So we decided she could keep it until the dentist said it was time. She just gave it up last week, and it was remarkably drama-less. The pacifier fairy (a relative of the tooth fairy) took her pactifier and left her a special gift 'cause she's a big girl. Worked fine.

We also have a 15-month-old who loves her pacifier. But she doesn't talk when she has it in her mouth, so we'll be instituting a similar rule for her in the near future: she can have it, but only in bed, when it doesn't interfere with real life.

I think it's a hard world out there, even for us grown-ups with a lifetime's worth of coping skills. A pacifier is such a simple thing, and it provides such great comfort--how can you be against it in principle? Just be reasonable about it.

Answer 5

My youngest loved her pacifier, and took it easily. She had it until she was about 18 months. I gradually weaned her, letting her use it only at nap times and bed, then only to bed, then not at all. I wanted her to lose it early so that the habit wouldn't form. I work with children with speech problems, and very often pacifiers can be the cause of a lot of problems. They can alter the way the teeth grow in, as well as stunt a child's speech. My niece is only 4 months younger than my youngest daughter (the one whose pacifier I nixed at 18mo), and still has a pacifier (they are almost 3 now). Her speech level is much lower than my daughter's because she constantly has the binkie in her mouth. She tries to talk around it, so when she talks to me, I tell her to take it out,and then talk to me. As a mom, I know that pacifiers really do help a child who needs that extra sucking, as well as providing a little piece of mind for mom. But, setting a limit on how long your child should use one is a good idea.

Answer 6

I have two girls and my youngest (19 months) still takes a pacifier and it was a decision me and my husband made together..because my older daughter was VERY colicky and she cried all the time but I found that the pacifier helped a lot...I plan on taking it before she turns 2.

For all the parents that believe that pacifiers are bad or your child did not take a pacifier congrats but Quit judging, we all do our best and if the pacifier is the biggest problem then we are doing very well!!

Answer 7

My five year old still sucks her thumb but only when she is falling asleep. My 18 month old never had much interest in his pacifier or his thumb. In my opinion, the thumb is way better than the pacifier. It makes the child self-sufficient and able to feel comfortable at all times. Pacifiers get lost, chewed up, shared and who knows what else.

Answer 8

i let my daughter suck her fingers (vs. using the pacifier.) That was a HUGE mistake. Took a long time to get her to break the habit. i think 2 or 3 is too old. it hampers their communication (i think). crying kids can drive you up the wall so the pacifier is a way to get around that. i think neither one (fingers or pacifier) is a very good idea.

Answer 9

My son is almost 2 and he is getting bored with his pacifier. Most kids wean themselves off of the pacifier. I say 2 1/2 and up should be done with it.

Answer 10

I HATE them...my son had one as an infant, and it was only used very rarely, up to about 6 months. I can't stand seeing a kid over the age of about 18 months with one...even that is pushing it. For people who allow their children to use one for a long time, OR allow the to suck their thumb, this can cause problems with the teeth. Sucking the thumb especially can cause an overbite in the child.

Answer 11

i think it looks cute for a baby. when it gets older it kind of disgusts me. last year i seen a kid that looked to be about 7 years old with a pacifier in their mouth. i overheard someone commenting on it and the mother stated he was only 4 years old and was too big for his age. in my mind i thought 4 was too old too.

i never gave my son a pacifier because i heard about how hard it was to take it away. some kids have some really stubborn tempers.