I couldn't care less if LO sucks on her pacifier until she heads off to kindergarten! Ok, so I used to judge when I saw 4 year olds with paci's - but now I've got a kid who LOVES her freak'n paci and if it's not in her mouth - then she's got 4 fingers shoved in there! So someday I can theoretically take the paci away, if she starts with her fingers - I can't exactly chop them off!
Also - it's a great plug! She's whining and complaining and you give her that stupid thing and Whaa-Laa - quiet!
The thing is, she doesn't have a special lovey - blankies aplenty - but not one in particular - or that special stuffed animal either. . . but if she's got a paci in her mouth and even better yet - one in each hand. . . well, what's better than that? It comforts her - don't toddlers need comfort?
So how about you ... are you going to throw flames or are you in the same boat?
Re: Who is with me?
Not going to throw flames, per se, since I have never been the parent of a child with a pacifier habit. DS would only take one 20% of the time as a baby. If the day ever comes & I do have a kid that is obsessed with their paci, I will probably have a change of heart, but until then I'm not gonna lie. I judge a little.
It does seem to be messing with her teeth a little - but I'm thinking the four fingers might do more damage. . . I'm honestly scared to try to take it away at this time. . . but what if I wait too long? How did it go taking it at 3?
OMG NO! DH put rootbeer in her sippy cup 1x and I went postal on him! LOL!
He worked down south for 14 months - and when I visited him I never saw such a huge % of obese children as I did in that rural NC area! Mostly I saw sweet tea in bottles - ugg! Nope, no coke in a bottle!
The only thing I don't like about the paci is when people use it to shut the kid up. I think babies need to use their mouths to try to communicate and the paci usually prevents that. Unless they take the paci out to talk then put it back in.
We never really gave DD a paci so I can't judge how long they should be using it.
C stopped the paci when he started sleeping on his stomach so I am not in the same boat as you.
But my FIL is a dentist and he swears it really fvcks up their little teeth. So I judge a little for that reason.
I need to take DD's Paci away soon, she too is obsessed as well especially at home. I mean I generally make DD leave her paci in the car when we go anywhere in public so I am not judged as a parent for still letting her have one. She whines for a while but then forgets about it eventually.
We had friends who let their son keep it until he was almost 4. I think once you can reason with them, i.e around 3 there isn't a real need to keep it. It is more of a crutch than anything. He used it whenever he was scared or mad he didn't get his way. Instead of the parent's addressing why he was scared he just gave him the paci, kwim?
My little cousin (now 6) has a permanently effed toothline because of sucking a paci 24/7 until the age of 4. Her teeth jut out into almost a triangle on her upper gums and it impacted her speech development as well.
So I pretty much judge because it can permanently mess up tooth development.
That being said, B wouldn't take one for love or money, so we don't have this issue. But I was pretty anti-paci from day one and didn't try to give her one until her she was trying to use me as one 24/7. Didn't every take to it though.
BFP #2 4/13/10. Bridget born 12/28/10
BFP #3 Finn born 8/11/15
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m/c 12/25/09 (5w5d) mm/c D&C 4/9/10 (11w1d) Take home baby 2/22/11
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Yeah - we were working on weaning a couple of months ago - but then she started shoving the hand in her mouth. . . I'm really hoping it just has to do with her 2 year molars - but I don't see them popping up yet. . .
I just don't know - now I am worrying more after reading the teeth issues. . . really wish she was easier like her sisters - but the tiny terrorist is spicy and adds the flavor to our family!
Is she old enough to understand a trade? Like let her pick a toy out she really wants and make her "pay" with her pacis. That way she feels like she has control of it.
I honestly think her fingers won't do as much damage as a paci will but I don't know that for sure.
They took it away at daycare for naptime at 2 and we just drug out the nighttime paci loving until she was 3 to maybe get her a little older and able to cope. To be honest we had two rough nights of her asking for it and then nothing. The roughest part was giving it up at daycare and her wanting to bite everything in sight until she got over her "addiction".
I do not judge, because I see kids every day that have a lot of trouble giving it up. And I work hard with parents to eventually trade it for another comforting mechanism.
Here is a post from last year re: the bottle/paci/sippys after the age of 1. It's a really long post, so just take a look if you get a chance when you have time. I tried to clear up some misconceptions about jaw and tooth development and I think I may have listed some suggestions on helping with the finger sucking situation:
https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/61358954.aspx
Beyond that, good luck! I know it's hard!
wow! That was incredibly helpful! Thank you so much for posting that. That link should be posted every 3 months or something!
I thought this summer I was going to start on the taking of the paci--but she grinds her teeth ALL. THE. TIME. And the only thing to stop it (although it doesn't work 100% of the time is the paci) So until she stops grinding her teeth during the day time (I can care less at night--I don't hear it) the paci is sticking around.
Plus, she WILL not fall asleep without it. And I don't want to ruin thing.
Thanks for the link and info.
Question for you - if you make it back to this thread. . . what do you think is more harmful - the paci or the four fingers? I don't want to take the paci away just to have her replace them with the fingers. . . I will most certainly start weaning the paci during the day. . . I imagine it's going to be rough - she is very very attached. . .
Well, that is hard to say. The fingers obviously have bones- meaning it is more "hard" pressure on the palate. However, most kids spend more time sucking on a paci than on their fingers because they lose mobility when sucking on fingers. Plus, there is more of a seal around a paci than around fingers.
I really don't have an answer for you on which is more harmful, as it depends on strength of suction, amount of time spent performing the non-nutritive sucking habit, etc. How old is your DD again?
DD1 had a nuk until she was 3ish. We took it away when I was pregnant with DD2 because I didn't want her revisiting the habit by taking her sister's. Her dentist was cool with her having it until she turned 4-so I ran with that. The nuk fairy came and gave her a barbie car in exchange for her nuks and she did really well with that. She did wake up in the middle of the night, the first night asking for her nuk which broke my heart, but we stuck to it. Funnily enough, months later when DD2 was born, I still caught in her bed asleep with her sister's nuk in her mouth. No big deal IMO-especially when it has become an attachment item like it did in DD1's case. For the record, once she hit 1ish, I only allowed it at nap and bedtime.
ETA: DD1's teeth are perfect now and any crookedness it caused initially has corrected itself according to her dentist.