Children & Dummies.

[smudge]

Why do parents allow their child to run around playing quite happily, but with a dummy still in its mouth?

I've often noticed toddlers chuckling away, or trying to talk with them in their mouths & you can't understand a word they're trying to say.

I'm not against babies having dummies, although neither of our girls had one - but surely they should be removed as soon as a child stops crying & is patently happy. What d'ya think?

[andyjevs]

Totally agree...it's pure laziness on the parents behalf. I see groups of mums in the local park....little two year old Johhny starts crying to mum and she just just says "oh for gods sake i'm talking"...and pops a dummy in his mouth to shut him up. It doesn't take long to break the dummy habbit...kids have amaizing "bouncebackability". When my daughter reached her 1st birthday, we just took it away from her....after 2 days, she's forgotten about it.

[Chessman]

i'm with andyjevs and you on this one, the dummy is a substitute nipple, so as soon as the child starts walking, it should be weaned off.

[OBonio]

We've deemed dummies a necessary evil. Hate them, but they do soothe our little one when she gets wound up. Will be weaning her off it before she is 1 I hope.

[B00]

My eldest daughter left her dummy for Santa when she was 2 in exchange for her presents ;-)

[mimififi]

my daughter has a blanket that she likes to carry around.  When she was 1 or 2 she couldn't put it down.  I used to pin it to her dress so she could be 'hand''s free'.  She eventually weaned herself off it and now she only has it at bed time or if she is poorly or something.

I was quite keen for her to get rid of it tho so I never used to encourage it, (other than the pin, but that was so she could develop her hand coordination), I never helped her look for it, she had to be responsible for it.  If she can't find it now, I tend to say, 'oh, never mind,' and use a diversion tactic.

I absolutely agree with the encouraging of dummies in a child that is trying to learn to talk.  I have a friend who is a speech therapist and she says lots of the kids that come in to her age 5 or 6 with speech problems also have or had dummy issues and so never learned to move their mouths properly.  They are fine for babies, but not talkers.  Well done those mums that encouraged the kiddie to kick the habbit.

[mimififi]

that should have read " I absolutley agree with you in the NOT encouraging of dummies...."

sorry, being a bit over zealous with my keyboard

[boobesque]

my mum took my dummies away when i was 2, the child-minder after nursery used to give one to me and i ended up having a dummy until i was 5! i even got them out of the bins and hid them under my bed when my mum found out and chucked them away, i never gave my son a dummy!

[smudge]

Thank you for your replies - it's interesting reading all your views.

Personally, I think thumb sucking is a natural thing for a baby/child to do - after all that starts in the womb, but shoving a dummy in a child's mouth for no reason, other than to have peace & quiet is awful.

mimi, I don't think comfort blankets do any harm, in fact I like to see a child snuggled up to one - well only if it's clean! Good idea to pin one on them, as they can still talk & play.

BOO - your tactic made me smile, it's amazing what children will do when they know Father Christmas is coming!

Good luck Bonio - hope all goes well with your 'testing' time!

Chessman - glad you agree. I've known two women who breast fed their children until 3 & 4 years! Everyone to their own, but I think that's far too long.

You had a very naughty childminder boobesque - if only your Mum had known what she was up to!!

[smudge]

Andy - sorry, I did type an answer, but accidentally deleted it!

Well done on weaning your little one off the dummy. It's amazing how quickly they forget about it when either reading story books, or playing!

My husband had a dummy until he was three. One day, his Mum told him a fly had been on it & after learning that, he walked over to the bin threw it in himself!

[Lindylou]

Some family friends have an 8 year old daughter who still insists on stucking a dummy.  She is bullied at school (I wonder why!?) and her 'second' teeth are dreadful.  Her entire mouth looks deformed.  At the risk of being told to mind my own business I've asked them to please take the thing off her.  Heaven knows what the dentist thinks.  I still can't believe that so called intelligent people can be so stupid.  What will this child think when she's grown up enough to realise what she was allowed to do to herself?

[smudge]

I can't believe that Lindylou! An 8 year old child still sucking a dummy & being bullied too - poor kid!

It sounds as though her parents need remedial treatment for allowing this to carry on!