
- a dummy will make their teeth go crooked
- a dummy will cause nipple confusion
- dummies can cause speech problems
- using a dummy will cause ear infections
- weaning off a dummy is hard
- children who use a dummy sleep less because they wake up trying to find their dummy and then cry when they don’t know where it is
A dummy will make their teeth go crooked

A dummy will cause nipple confusion
Dummies can cause speech problems
Another no. Dummies aren’t the cause of speech problems in children, the overuse of dummies can lead to the child trying to talk whilst still having their dummy in their mouth. We always told Leo that if he wants to talk to us then he had to take out his dummy; this really works, we didn’t listen to anything that he said if he tried to talk to us with his dummy in and it actually helped with him not wanting to have it during the day (you all know how much children talk, so he basically never had it in).
Leo has got a slight lisp though but that is down to me (I have a lisp and children learn to talk through imitating the way that we move our mouths.. So the lisp is down to me). In regards to speech itself you wouldn’t know Leo ever had a dummy; his vocabulary is varied and has a wide range and it hasn’t hindered his speech in the slightest.
Using a dummy will cause ear infections

Weaning off a dummy is hard

Children who use a dummy sleep less because they wake up trying to find their dummy and then cry when they don’t know where it is
Leo completely gave his dummy up not long after Mylo was born as he said “baby needs dummy now, I’m big boy” but was using it only for naps from about 1 year old. We couldn’t find his dummy one night and he didn’t bother after that – I found it the next day but I just left it on the side and he went bed again and didn’t ask so I just went with the flow. Mylo still uses his and I am not worried, I know he will give it up when he is ready.
Positives to using a dummy:
- The NHS stipulate in their guidelines that it can help to prevent SIDS. Children can’t lie face down because it isn’t comfortable with a dummy in; the bulky handle of the dummy helps to keep covers/sheets from covering your baby’s nose and mouth; and the sucking helps your baby to learn how to control their upper airway..
- It can help your baby get to sleep after a feed (I say after a feed because you should always offer boob first as the sucking, if nothing else, it helps to keep your supply up)
- It is thought that using a dummy can help to relieve some pains e.g. colic. I don’t know how true this is but personally I feel that it is more of a comfort for them rather than relieving the actual pain itself
Dummy tips- tried and tested
- Use an orthodontic dummy – most are orthodontic nowadays but if it is, it will have it written on the packaging
- Keep it clean – we all know how dirty those dummies can get so before 6 months you should sterilise, sterilise, sterilise.. After 6 months we still threw it in the steriliser every now and again but just gave it a good clean most of the time. We don’t sterilise Mylo’s anymore but I do rotate the dummies and give them a good soak in hot water
- Always check them for holes or cracks – throw them out there and then because a cracked dummy is dangerous. If your baby continues to suck a cracked dummy then it opens a load of problems with the most serious being that the teat could come away from the dummy and your child could choke on it. Throw it out
- Don’t dip the dummy in sweet stuff and give it to your baby – that is how tooth decay happens, just the same as if you gave juice in a bottle – no, no, no
- Try and limit the dummy for just when your baby needs comfort instead of letting them have it in all day
- No matter what people say, a dummy is a comfort and you can’t just whip it away when they are 1 year old. That dummy is providing a comfort to your child so that isn’t the best way as it will just make them stressed and anxious. Obviously I’m not saying let them have it until they are in school but there is a common ground between baby and toddler that seems right




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