Pacifiers

Many parents question the use of pacifiers. While they can be extremely soothing to babies, they can also become a bit of a problem. Here are the things you should know about using pacifiers – both good and bad.

Pacifiers In Newborns Can Cause Nipple Confusion – If you’re trying to breastfeed, it might be wise to avoid introducing the pacifier until your baby is on a consistent nursing schedule. Babies are not born knowing how to nurse. It takes practice to get nursing just right, and any nipples other than mom’s can slow down the process of perfecting nursing. Once your baby is firmly established in his nursing routine, however, introducing a pacifier should pose no issues.

Pacifiers Can Delay Verbal Skills – If you let your child use a pacifier long past the age that it’s needed, it can interfere with your child learning to talk. Let’s face it; a child can’t talk if his mouth is plugged with a pacifier. However, if you use pacifiers the way they were designed – for no longer than the first year of life, they won’t cause any delay in verbal skills.

Pacifiers Can Help Babies And Parents Get A Good Night’s Sleep. Young babies often have the urge to suck long past the point where they’re actually hungry. So, pacifiers help them satisfy this urge without overeating. Using a pacifier is a very good way to help calm your young baby. However, this urge to suck goes away well before the first year. So, it’s important to wean your child from the pacifier before it becomes a bad habit.

Pacifiers Can Be Unsanitary. If your child will be using a pacifier past the age of two or three months, you’ll spend a lot of time retrieving it. It’s important to always keep the pacifier clean, so it pays to have a few around. This way, when one gets dropped, you can pull out a clean one if you’re not in a position to wash the dropped pacifier right away. Baby pacifier clips are very handy to help keep the pacifier from hitting the floor every time your baby spits it out.

Pacifiers Can Be A Hard Habit To BreakIt’s important not to let pacifier use go on too long. Pacifiers are for babies, not for toddlers. Using them into toddler hood can cause damage to teeth and can make it far more difficult for the child to give it up.

Pacifiers can be a great help to both baby and Mom. However, they’re not a substitute for a parent’s attention, and they’re not designed to follow your baby into toddlerhood. However, used properly, a pacifier can be a real lifesaver.