what do you think of pacifiers?

Question

i have three daughters ages 5, 2 and 5 months. they have all used pacifiers. my oldest has started sneaking them and my two year old wants one all the time. i want to get rid of all of the pacifiers. for those of you who don't use them how do you soothe your baby or how does your baby soothe him or herself?

Answer 1

if the oldest is sneaking them from the 5 month old i'd say it's pretty normal. lot's of kids do it. there's a new baby in the house. she just wants to be the baby again for a little while. same with the 2 yr old only more so. it's a natural need for a baby to suck. it's soothing. if the 5 m old really needs it keep it around for her and only her. offer something in exchange for the 2 yr old to try and wean her.as for the 5 yr old, she can be "in charge" of making sure the pacifier isn't lost so the little one can use it to sleep while the two of you have some fun time together. it's hard to have a new baby around. kids tend to feel as though they aren't the center of attention anymore. give them something special that's just their's while the baby still gets the pacifier.

Answer 2

At your childrens age the only one that should really be using a pacifier is your 5-month-old. Your 5 and 2-year-old could do more harm than good by giving them pacifiers because it will seriously mess up their teeth. Not only that but they need to learn to act like "big girl's."

If your 5-year-old is wanting one maybe they are having some problems coping with the new baby in the household and all the attention she is getting? You might want to sit down and talk to them and explain that you need them to help you and try to make them "Mommy's helper" so they feel like they are just as special and getting just as much treatment. This will help you out just as much as it will them with the new addition to the household.

When I work at the daycare if we see kids that are 2 or over and they have a pacifier in their mouths we try to take them away and put them back in their backpacks until Mom and Dad come. It helps them learn that they can cope without it and it enforces that they are going to talk to us more--it's hard talking to a little one with a pacifier in their mouth--especially when they can talk.

I would definately get rid of thouse pacifiers as soon as possible. The children I babysit for (their parents are both pediatricians) had their pacifiers thrown out when they were 15 months so that way Mom and Dad can't go back on what they said even if they wanted to--and the child learns to cope. It took about a week but the kids did great!

G'luck. :)

Answer 3

First of all, if you dont allow pacifiers, they may resort to thumbsucking. You can take a pacifier away, but not a thumb!

Second, babies who use pacifiers are at less risk for SIDS

Lay down the law with your older ones. Dentists say no pacifiers past age 2. But with a 5 month old child, they may still need it. Some babies have a strong sucking desire that can last as long as a year. After that its more for habit and comfort than actual need. To instill confidence and trust and security in your baby, it is essential that all their needs are met, including soothing, at this age. If you take away the pacifier, it will be very important that you provide comfort to your baby in other ways. It is up to you and the baby how to handle that, but at only 5 months old, letting her "cry it out" would be very damaging in many ways. There is proof that babies who have all their needs met are far more confident, independent later in life, and secure. If you can, allow your child to have a binky as long as she needs it. If she just seems to be idly sucking on it, try taking it away. Also, try slipping it out of her mouth when she goes to sleep. Try cutting back, and only giving it to her when she really needs it. We did that with our daughter who was really attached to her pacifier, and one day when she was 10 months old, she just stopped wanting it and never looked back. Good luck!

Answer 4

My second daughter was "binky addicted." We decided not to buy any more (they always seem to get lost), so whenever she couldn't find one, we just told her it was lost. She started carrying around a tiny rubber pig from a game. She didn't put it in her mouth, just carried it.

My son did not use a pacifier after about 3 months, but he sucked on his finger. That persisted until he was 6! At least you can take a pacifier away!

With my oldest daughter, we threw them all away when she was 13 mo. old. She kept waking up all night long whenever it would fall out of her mouth! We had about 2 rough days, then it was like she totally forgot about pacifiers.

Answer 5

My daughter used a pacifier. I think they are great tools and I think that some babies find great comfort in them, some babies need that suckling sensation in order to be soothed. But I didn't want my daughter to use her pacifier past 1 year of age because that is when I planned to also have her off the bottle and I didn't see any reason for her to be on the pacifer if she was no longer using bottles. So what I did at first was around 9 or 10 months I started only letting her have the pacifer at naps and bedtime.

I've heard lots of parents with older kids on a pacifier make a rule that "The pacifer must stay in your bed." That way you can say, "If you want your pacifier you have to stay in your bed with it." Most kids don't want to stay in bed all day so they will give it up for the day. After a while the hope is that they will just leave it in the bed and forget about it during the day. That is half the battle. :)

I was lucky that with my daughter she enjoyed the pacifier but wasn't really that attached to it. It wasn't a problem when she was just down to having it at naps and night time... I would just go in and take it from her bed when she was asleep. Then I would only give it to her if she asked for it after that. Over time she just stopped asking - it was kept out of sight most of the time so it became out of mind as well.

You could also try the snipping idea. To snip the tip off of the pacifers (don't let your child see you do it of course). When they complain about it (it will collapse instead of providing the comforting sensation they've come to know and love) say something like, "Oh darn, it must be broken...." but don't over-emphasize the loss. Just act like it's no biggie.... just kinda like "oh well, you're a big girl now... it's broken." If they keep sucking on it you can try snipping off a little more a few days later... Eventually it won't be something they'll want to suck on and the hope is they'll give it up on their own because it's "broken".

My son is now 7 months old and he never took to the pacifier. Hated them pretty much from day one. So I won't have to worry about breaking him from the habit... he hasn't used one in months!

Best of luck!

Answer 6

I used them for my kids till they were 2.5. It was probably 6 months too long but I would do it all over again but stop at 2. 5 Is wayyyy to old. You need to explain she is a big girl and does not need a dummy( thats what they are called in Australia) same with the 2 year old. If they sneak the 5 month olds you really might want to look at a punishment (you do not want them sharing their germs with the 5 month old) such as time out.

Answer 7

I never got my babies addicted to them and they were perfectly happy. Babies make noises and laugh and cry. They don't need a pacifier shoved at them every time they make a noise. I've seen to many little kids running around with them stuck in their mouths all the time and wondered why, from the time they are brought home from the hospital mothers think they should have something in their mouths all the time. I have also seen mothers that are trying to get them unaddicted and use goodies in place of pacifiers. They are harder to get rid of than a bottle because the kids are use to having them all the time instead of as a meal or part of a meal. When a baby gets fussy, sit and hold and talk to them. Play with them and let them explore their surroundings. After they are already addicted? Don't know what to tell you. You taught them that they should use a crutch, guess you'll just have to un-teach them. Good Luck!!!

Answer 8

I vowed not to use one for my children. That lasted until my eldest was 3 days old. She used one for about a month then spat it out and flatly refused to have it back in her mouth. I assumed it was because she was breast fed she didn't find it particularly soothing as it wasn't like the real thing. I assumed my youngest would react the same way. No, she kept hers until she was over 4 years old and then we had to bribe her by swapping it for a toy she wanted. She still missed it until she was at least 5. At two, it was never out of her mouth. But she's 16 now and doesn't seem to have been seriously damaged by having one so long.

Some kids need them, some don't. With a little encouragement they will let them go when they are ready. It's more important that you don't let it become a source of stress for you or the child, or a cause of conflict between you. So what if you child sucks a dummy? (that's what we call them in England) What's going to happen? OK once they are older they are likely to get some teasing if they are seen out and about with one, but then they will stop soon enough.

Answer 9

Let the 5 month old have one. As she begins to walk and move around start taking it off her during the day telling her she only needs it for sleep time. by the time she is 2 she shouldnt need it for sleep time.

tell the older ones that the angels took them because they are too big for dummys.

I work in a nursery, with one year olds, most of the kids dont even like dummys but as soon as mummy comes they cry for dummy, then the mums give them it. as soon as mummy leaves in the mornin they throw dummy in the corner.

Answer 10

ditch em.... just toss every one of em and be prepared for a few miserable days or at least nights.... keep the kids occupied. 5 and 2 is a bit old for suckers they will find a new way to cope but you dont want them to convert to theie thumbs so watch out. In all honesty though... ditch em and things will calm down soon