Does the dummy suck?

 
New research led by Clarita Barbosa, from the University of Washington, suggests that children who use dummies after three are more likely to have speech & language problems. Read about the research here

As paediatric speech & language therapists, here are our thoughts on the use of dummies.

Most babies have a strong sucking reflex and a dummy can, in many cases, help to settle a baby in the early months. So if your baby needs to suck ... it's fine. 

However, try not to let a dummy become a habit.  Use it at specific times, such as when settling baby down to sleep or when upset. Then take the dummy away.

Wait until your child needs the dummy rather than automatically giving it to them. Most importantly try to wean your baby off the dummy as soon as you can, preferably by 12 months.

However using a dummy too much or as a plug can lead to the following problems: 

Mouth breathing - your child may tend to breathe through their mouth rather than their nose which can contribute to long-term dribbling.

Speech and language problems - your child may not use the full range of tongue movements that are necessary for making all the speech sounds. If a dummy is in a lot, your child has fewer opportunities to babble and  to communicate with you.

Teeth problems - incorrect positioning of teeth so that the  top teeth at the front don't meet properly with the bottom teeth. If a dummy is dipped into sweet things, tooth decay can set in.

Here are our top tips if you child uses a dummy:

• Flat orthodontic teats are better than traditional cherry teats, as they are less likely to affect the shape of the still soft upper jaw.
• ALWAYS remove the dummy when your child is trying to talk/make sounds.
• Try to get rid of the dummy around 12 months or sooner.
• Choose the right time to give up and once you have decided to give up the dummy,  don't be tempted to go back.

Comments

[MotherofOne]

I used a dummy with my little one initially, despite the rest of my antenatal group persisting without, to many raised eyebrows! But I had failed to breastfeed successfully, and felt my baby needed one to get extra sucking time that you can't allow with a bottle. In the end by abtou 9 months we only used the dummy at sleep times.

Eventually we felt enough was enough and decided that the dummies (and by this point there was an array of them!) had to go. We gradually got it down to just 2 by not replacing and throwing out several and then we turned to The Dummy Fairy for help. the advice they gave was great and their step by step guide made you feel confident about getting rid of the dummies. The key seems to be getting your child to say they want to give the dummies to the dummy fairy. Well the dummies were left, the fairy came (during the day not just before bed) and brought pressies including a new taggies blanket.
Well despite a few nights of asking for dummies there was no turning back. Even today our nearly 4 year old will tell you that he gave his dummies to the Dummy Fairy and what she brought him.

Check out dummyfairy.net for more details. Worth every penny!

[Birdy]

Our baby was desperate to suck - his first action after birth was to latch on to Daddy's t-shirt and he had to be dragged off to be fed. We gave him a dummy at 5 days and never looked back. It also helped his wind!!!
We were told that sucking is a reflex up to around 6 months, when it turns into a habit so we took it away at around 4 1/2 months. We gave him a blankie to suck instead and this worked a treat (we were assuming that sucking a soft blanket at bed time would be less damaging for his jaw and tooth development). He still has his blankie at 3 but doesn't really suck it anymore.

[Amanda Scott]

Both ours are thumb suckers, which has its owns issues. Would have actually preferred to use dummies which you can at least take away. We try to get them to stop during the day but as soon as they're tired they go straight in, fantastic at bed time as they won't shout for you to come and find the dummy 20 times a night but as I said you'd can't remove them without social services getting involved. Dentist isn't particularly worried and believed me their speech hasn't suffered.

[Katie Waldron]

Am sure the research is all correct, blah blah blah. However, I have a child that has severe medical, behavioural and physical problems. So believe me that when you have a child that is so ill and spends a lot of their life in hospital, with a dummy being the only comfort they actually have through all of it, you'd never dream of trying to take it away from them. Apologies but I have no interest in medical research from someone who (presumably?) has no idea what it's like for parents like us.

[Lisa & Tracey]

MotherofOne - Step by step withdrawal works well for some and others prefer cold turkey. Well done on persisting. Love that website!

Birdy - our girls all had blankies that they were very attached to.

Amanda - lol @ thumb removal!

Katie - we agree that you do what you've got to do to comfort your children.

[AH]

We have just got rid of my little boys dummies. He is 3. He had the dummy from birth but he has only had them for going to sleep since he was 3 months. I finally bit the bullet and told him that now he was 3 and a big boy he would need to give his dummies to babies. He said he would like to give them to the baby robins (we had a nest of them in our garden). So we hung them on the tree near to the nest and then we removed them and hug some little cuddly dogs for him to use that night. We also had a couple of nights where he wanted them when going to bed but nothing as major as I was expecting. I think that because he had made the choice in the decision it was easier plus getting a new train for his thomas the tank helped too.

[Lisa & Tracey]

Hi AH ... what a lovely idea! L & T :-)

[Avery Amateur]

Kindness is a language the dumb can speak and the deaf can hear and understand.