The use of pacifiers has become a debate of late.
Despite its bad reputation, parents continue to be
perplexed on whether to use it or not. Many continue
to use it because of the advantages sucking a dummy
offers never mind the minus points. It pays to decide
by considering the matter-of-fact pros and cons listed
below.
The
GOOD aspect
• Pacifiers help calm restless infants and
help them fall asleep more easily.
• Sucking without eating is said to have some
benefits for a baby's state of mind
• Distraught parents get a break from the
incessant wails and cries and feel less helpless
once their infant is calm
• Pacifiers can make the vanishing act when
the time is right while the same cannot be said
for a baby's thumb.
The BAD aspect
• Since it keeps falling out of baby's mouth
it needs to be sterilized just as many times.
• Studies indicate that babies on dummies
(especially those who use a lot of it) are prevented
from babbling and producing other sounds that babies
make in preparation for speech.
• For some babies dummies become their crutches;
they grow very dependent on them even when sleeping.
They can only sleep with a dummy in their mouth
and this poses a problem for the parent when the
dummy falls out and baby wakes up wailing a couple
times in the night.
• Using dummies can interfere with breastfeeding.
• The use of pacifiers has been linked to
dental problems such as it can interfere with the
development of baby's jaw.
• Using dummies have been linked with ear
infections, mouth and stomach infections as well
(especially with older babies and children).
Precautions to..
• Do not tie the pacifier to baby's shirt with
a long string - your child can choke on the string.
• The shield should be large enough to prevent
swallowing.
• Do not dip pacifiers in honey or juice as
this can promote tooth decay
However if you decide to use
one make sure it is very clean (pay particular attention
to hygiene). Dummies should be sterilized for babies
until six months. Put the dummy to good use by making
these decisions:
• Use a dummy for six months and then ditch
the practice before dependency grows.
• Use it to help baby fall asleep and then remove
it once he is sleeping.
• Avoid using pacifiers at all other times so
there is no interference with his attempts to babble
or make conversations.
