s/o pacifiers- how old is too old?

SarahJean0

I recently finished "Bring up Bebe" (really liked it btw) and at one point, the author mentions that its not uncommon for children in France to use a pacifier up until the age of 4.

Does anyone know about any other countries and their beliefs about pacifiers? Why do you think here in the US we side eye parents who's kids are 2+ years old still using a paci? How old is too old in your opinion?

As for me, I'm not sure- I think a paci can be a wonderful thing for some kids but am not sure about what age I think is too old. I'm just curious on others thoughts about this as I know it can be a big issue between children and their parents.

JessAndTrav

IMO, they're for infancy. I know that everyone is different, but I don't want my kid to have the pacifier buck-teeth. I feel like if they can ask for it, they don't need it.

leffe1

We ditched dd's at 18 months. I probably would have kept her on it longer but my pedi was pretty adamant about dropping it. She said it can mess up their jaw/teeth. It was nice to be free of it. I don't think older kids need it as much as their parents!! 

SarahJean0

leffe1:

We ditched dd's at 18 months. I probably would have kept her on it longer but my pedi was pretty adamant about dropping it. She said it can mess up their jaw/teeth. It was nice to be free of it. I don't think older kids need it as much as their parents!! 

Fair point! 

Krista123105

We started weaning DS off his paci around 18 months (only giving it to him at naps and bedtime), and by the time he was 22 months he was done with it completely.  My personal opinion, for my own kids, is that 2 years is the limit.  By that time kids are talking a lot more, and I hated when my son would try to talk around his paci.  I think if you wait much longer than 2 years of age the transition away from pacifiers can be more difficult, too.  JMO.

kjskjs

I definitely wouldn't let it go beyond 1 but I also plan to ask my mom at what age to take it away since she used to be a dental hygenist and I don't want to ruin my lo's teeth

hmp1

He uses it far less than he used to, only at night in his crib now. I plan to do bye bye binky after Christmas/New Years. He will be 2 in December.

Also, I'm not too worried about it messing with his teeth at this point. He uses it to fall asleep and it falls out of his mouth pretty early in the night.  

lzmac11

I am a FTM, we are going to try to not use one at all unless we need to.  If we do it will be strictly for in crib/carseat use only. 

ELCJet

We have a 27 month old with a paci still....bedtime and travel are when they are allowed.  I'd love to break him of it, but he's a bit of a biter at daycare and I don't want to rock that boat anymore than I already have with switching schools.  I also enjoy sleeping, and know that taking it away from him will be a horrible, horrible few days.......I'm just not ready for it, even though I hate the paci.  Poor kid's got a baby sister on the way in the next 7 weeks, so not sure we'll be doing anything about it in that time.

I'm not worried about "buck" teeth -- the pacis these days are designed well, and he won't be using one when his adult teeth come in.  Plus, I'm pretty sure he has my husband's teeth and we'll be at the orthodontist by 8 years old.... 

linzeek44

There was a kid in the OB waiting room today trying to talk with a pacifier in his mouth... He was at least four. The things that he was saying, "Isn't it my turn with the nintendo now? He died five times already" was an indicator that he certainly was old enough to not need it, in my opinion. 

 

PamelaC

My 26 month old is just completing her 1st week without the pacifier.  We only stopped giving it to her because she bit through her last three of them and there were no more left.  If any had survived, I would have let her keep them for a little while longer because she is such a bad sleeper and uses them for comfort.  IMO, 18 mths-2 yrs is a good age to limit the paci to naps/bedtime and definitely wean by 2 1/2.  A 3 year old with a paci seems too old in my head.

EGMphoto

I took DS's away a little before he turned one. He only ever used it when he was sleeping or in the car. I saw no need for it starting around 12 months. I always think it's odd when I see a child walking with a pacifier. They are for babies IMO. 

If you do it when they're young, it only takes a day or so for them to forget about it.

 

mrsbhk22

JessAndTrav:

IMO, they're for infancy. I know that everyone is different, but I don't want my kid to have the pacifier buck-teeth. I feel like if they can ask for it, they don't need it.

I think pacifiers are great for the 1st year or so and then they should be limited to naps/bedtime/injury or they can hinder verbal skills. 

As for the bold above, pacifiers are less likely to cause "buck-teeth" than thumb sucking or straight genetics.  My DS#1 was a pacifier kid until 2 yrs old (for naps/nighttime) and he has beautiful straight teeth.  DS#2 never took a paci, didn't suck thumb/fingers, and rarely even took a bottle, yet he's got an overbite. 

If a kid can ask for you, does that mean that don't need you either?  That train of thought doesn't make sense.  Pacifiers can be a comfort thing (like a blanket, toy, or parent).  I get what you were trying to say, but straight taking a comfort item from a kid can be very tramatic.  An infant can't understand why it was there one day and suddenly gone.

juliane2004

If I see 18+ months using it, I personally find it odd. We take the paci away at 6 months.

chattaboxx

Neither of my boys ever wanted it, but my DD loved it.  We took it away right before she turned 2 and it was no biggie. 

Today I was at the store and I saw a little girl who was at least 5 years old, walking around and talking to her mother, with a pacifier in her mouth.  I definitely gave her mother the .

I think around 2 is a good age to be done with it altogether.

JennH28

chattaboxx:

Today I was at the store and I saw a little girl who was at least 5 years old, walking around and talking to her mother, with a pacifier in her mouth.  I definitely gave her mother the .

I saw a kid who had to be 5 or even 6 walking around with one the other day. Cringe.  

Mom2Mack1

I think every kid is different.  DD used it but was not obsessed.  We had one in the car & in the crib.  Around 14 months I decided to try and wean off of it.  It was a pretty easy transition.  Honestly though if she fought it then she'd probably still be using it.  You learn early on that some things are not worth the battle.  Now, if she was 3 years old and still using it then we might have a problem.

Also, my BFF has a LO a few months older than DD and she swore she wasn't going to use a paci.  I gave her one at her baby shower just in case she needed it.  Her daughter took to it day 1 and still uses it at 20 months.

3monkeysmama

We always said a year, and our oldest stop using his on his own at about 4 months.  Our second guy was a "sookie" addict.  It was like his drug of choice.  We had him down to naps and bedtime around 2, and then at 2 1/2 we took him to build-a-bear, and he stuffed the last one we had in the bear.  His bear is well loved now, and pretty much gets drug around everywhere, but no more sookie!  I have a niece and a nephew (seperate families) who had their pacifiers until they were 4.  WAY too old!

mrs.kapow

Krista123105:

My personal opinion, for my own kids, is that 2 years is the limit.  By that time kids are talking a lot more, and I hated when my son would try to talk around his paci. 

This is my pet peeve. It's like an old lady talking with a cig in her mouth. I don't really judge naps/bedtime/etc.these days as I really do believe every kid is different, but I think it impedes good speech development.

We dropped DD's cold turkey at a year due to ear infections. I'm glad it pushed us, though. She did much better than I expected and I agree with PP that at a point it is a crutch for the parents. 

sugarsnap73

TheMcCombies:

I took DS's away a little before he turned one. He only ever used it when he was sleeping or in the car. I saw no need for it starting around 12 months. I always think it's odd when I see a child walking with a pacifier. They are for babies IMO. 

If you do it when they're young, it only takes a day or so for them to forget about it.

 

Same with us. We took it away right around the time she turned one. She really just used it to fall asleep, so the first 2 or 3 nights were rough, but she really didn't need it. We didn't want to prolong it and make things more difficult down the line.