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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

dummys good idea? or bad?

36 replies

kittenbaby · 16/08/2007 15:57

just wondered on your views ?
and is using one than stopping linked with sids ?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

emj23 · 19/08/2007 13:57

Totally agree with whomovedmychocolate. Four or five year old children who still have a dummy...ewwww. Especially if they have a cold and there's snot running down all over the dummy and into their mouth. Was that too graphic?

DS had a dummy when he was tiny for a couple of months and then just didn't want it anymore, thankfully. I wouldn't have wanted to go through weaning him off it.

PurpleLostPrincess · 19/08/2007 14:25

I'm of the opinion that you can take a dummy away, however, you can't chop off a thumb!

DS had a dummy but as he got older, we kept it for bedtime only. Then when he was about 2 and a half, it was Christmas. We explained that he needed to put all his dummies in his stocking in order for Father Christmas to fill it up with presents - it was a really fun game as far as he was concerned! He only ever asked for a dummy a few months later when he was ill and I just told him that Father Christmas had them all and it was fine!

However, DD1 didn't take to the dummy at all and she is nearly 9 and she still sucks her thumb - we've tried all the nail varnishes and funny tasting stuff but she just won't stop sucking it! Even the dentist has commented that it is effecting the way her front teeth are growing! It caused problems in her first few years at school too as she would go off into her own world when sucking her thumb! All the family goes on at her but I reckon the more we go on, the more she'll do it so I just remind her every now and then to save it for bedtime because she is growing up into a big girl. I suppose there's nothing more I can do to be honest!

Every child is different and you've got to find what works for you, but that's my story...

HTH

PLP xxx

PurpleLostPrincess · 19/08/2007 14:26

BTW, totally agree that dummies beyond the age of about 3 look awful!! Also, surely they carry all sorts of bacteria etc?

bekkaboo · 19/08/2007 19:47

thank god for dummy makers is all I can say! They work for us but know people that are up all night giving baby dummy back as cant sleep without it! Our DS is 12 months and has only ever had it for bed times or in desperation out shopping so not really had any major issues with it, although not looking forward to the day he cant have it for bed!

PurpleLostPrincess · 19/08/2007 21:34

Why not wait until Christmas and do what we did? It was great fun to be honest and didn't involve any trauma or sleepless nights! Obviously every child is different but it might be worth a try - distraction is always handy!

CHOCOLATEPEANUT · 19/08/2007 23:19

my dd sucked her fingers and thumb from birth so i gave her a dummy.We took it off her at 3 (by this time it was only used at bedtime) and she has been fine...

i am now pg again and shes gone all babyish and thumb is back in again...

SpeccieSeccie · 19/08/2007 23:33

My mother had twin boys and ran a controlled experiment over dummies (well, sort of). She always fed one first then the other and the second one had a dummy to suckle while the first fed. The dummy was abandonned by my brother when he was about 18 months. And it had zero medium/long term affect on anything. Teeth, speech, etc, were exactly the same in both boys.

aloha · 19/08/2007 23:36

My ds has Aspergers and part of his condition involves a strong need to chew, mouth and suck - he is five and still randomly mouths and chews things, especially his clothes (though also doorknobs, shop counters, gates, my mobile... ). Of course I had no idea when he was a tiny baby that this was the case, but I soon realised that a dummy satisfied a really deep need in him and made him happy and content.
I am really glad he had one.
Dd never needed or wanted one, and made that equally clear.

meandmy · 19/08/2007 23:39

i gave my dd a dummy at a cpl of days old as she was suckling for comfort(bf) and then started to suck her thumb and at the end of the day a dummy can be thrown a thumb is for life my friend(22) still sucks her thumb!
at 14mo i am weaning her off it, its for sleeping only!

rmadley · 20/08/2007 13:18

My ds (almost 21 months) still uses one at night (having been really reliant on it for much of the day at one point). However night time use is becoming a real pain, because if he stirs in the night and can't find it then we get summoned to locate it for him. My dh and I are starting to debate how and when we should stop the night-time usage as we don't want him to still be using it when our next baby arrives in March.

Sarahjct · 21/08/2007 20:24

Speaking from the other side of the equation, I had a dummy till I was (cough) seven but only at bedtime. Mind you, it was the seventies and no one ever told my mother that I should stop, it just happened after I had to have two back teeth out and wasn't allowed to suck anything for a day or so.

My nearly 5 year old niece sucks her thumb and has a comfort blanket...well, comfort muslin cloth. We flew home from holiday today and she was sick on it so it was binned and she could be seen in Heathrow sucking a clean child's sock! When she was tiny she used to curl up beside her mother's legs and suck the bottoms of her jeans. She holds the fabric in her mouth while sucking her thumb.

The moral of the story is that if they are that way inclined, children will suck anything. I don't think it matters what it is. I've bought a couple of dummies and will use them if necessary.

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