Warning to be put on dummy packaging?

[mumandsupergran]

For many years I was a special educational needs co-ordinator in a primary school as well as being a Mum to two children. I am now gran to a little girl. Research is showing a massive rise in the numbers of children reaching school with speech difficulties. There are not sufficient speech and language therapists to deal with the problem. If children arrive at school not able to speak properly their literacy development will be greatly hindered, perhaps for life. Some parents are using dummies to keep their children quiet when they should be talking to them and helping them to develop their language skills. Children learn how to make all the sounds they need to speak in their first year of life and gradually put these together to make words. A dummy stops them putting their tongue and lips in the correct position to form sounds correctly. Parents need to be warned that dummies can be harmful if used indiscriminately.There should be a health warning on dummy packaging which should state that using a dummy can seriously damage a child's speech and language development if used by a child beyond the age of one year during their waking hours. Parents can then make an informed decision about whether a dummy should or should not be used. Would any of you like to sign my epetition to ask the government to address this issue? I am not condeming anyone for using a dummy, I just want everyone to be aware of the risks. Here is the link to the petition:

Reading through other chats on Mumsnet I realize that this will be controversial but I feel very strongly about it.

Just realised that my link to the petition had been removed! No wonder not many signed it. The petition is sensitively worded and not asking for a ban. You can find it by googling the government petitions website and keying 'dummies packaging' into their search.

Dummies have been in such widespread use for so many decades that I cannot see how they could be the cause for a recent massive rise.

There is a different train of thought about dummies and SIDS. It is that a baby that routinely uses a dummy will be at a greater risk of SIDS if not given a dummy on a particular night.
But giving a new baby a dummy in the hope of reducing SIDS is not necessary, from what I gather:
www.unicef.org.uk/BabyFriendly/News-and-Research/News/UNICEF-UK-statement-on-dummy-use-sudden-infant-death-syndrome-and-breastfeeding1/
and you have to weigh out the cons of dummy use if you want to introduce a dummy.

I'm not anti-dummy in anyway. Neither of my DCs have had a dummy because they just didn't need one. My DS used a bottle for his nighttime milk till 3, and his speech is amazing. DD who's never had a bottle or a dummy is not that good in her speech, although was still considered above average for her age at her 2yr check. I think a lot of factors influence speech, not just dummy use.

I'm very sorry if DANYTARQARYEN thinks that I was trying to scare people. That certainly wasn't my intention. I am just concerned about children's language development. Many health visitors also suggest limiting dummy use to nighttime or as a comforter in times of stress for children over 1 year. I was just wanting information on packaging so that parents could make their own decision. I am sure that all the parents logging onto Mumsnet are keen to do their best for their DC; it is the uninformed that I was hoping to reach.

OP, no need to draw attention to me by mis typing my name out in capital letters because I have dared disagree with you!