Giving up the dummy
Giving up the dummy

Babies often enjoy the comfort of a dummy, but you need to make sure they kick the habit once they reach the age of 12 months. Here's why:

  • Repeated dummy sucking opens the eustachian tubes, which link the nose and middle ear, allowing bacteria in and causing middle ear infections.
  • If your baby sucks for too long, it can over-develop the muscles at the front of the mouth compared with the back. In severe cases the roof of the mouth may be malformed.
  • Babies use their mouths to research things. With a dummy in place your child may be hindering his play and development.
  • Dummies are associated with poorer speech because they encourage children to remain quieter and be less expressive.

The longer you leave it to ditch the dummy, the more attached your child will become to it. Bite the bullet while they're young and the agony will be less ('though it may not feel like it at the time...!).

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Discuss this story


the queen
Hi,
I've just been asked to contribute to Practical Parenting magazine on the issues surrounding giving up the dummies. It's such an anxious time for parents when they make the decision to wean their child off the dummy.
I really like the babyexpert website and hope that my products can maybe help some parents.
I make bespoke weaning tools that allow the child to surrender their dummies in a kind, caring and magical way. It's called The Dummy Fairy Workshop.
I hope I can be of some assistance to you.
Ali

Posted: 06/10/2012 at 14:38


HappyAmber
My son held on to his binky like it was a lifeline! We actually started out by only giving it to him during naps and when he was real fussy, but as time went on, he seemed to want it more (it went from a suckle need, to a want). My mum found the bye bye binky method ( www.bye-bye-binky.com ), printed it and suggested that we go with it. At first I was a bit mad at her, but I soon got over it. The method worked amazingly well. My son stopped sucking on it after 4 days! He proceeded to carry it around for another week, but never put it in his mouth. He then got tired of carrying it and simply lost interest. Mum was right, it worked, highly recommended!

Posted: 13/04/2013 at 02:52

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