Yes or no?

Being parents of a four week old we hate seeing babies with dummies in their mouths. From what we have seen they are thrust in to the mouths of babies who dare give out the smallest whimper by parents who see the child as an inconvenience.

do dummies affect the way the teeth form though

sometimes its better to give babiesa dummy than have them suck their thumbs... you can take a dummy away eventually!

quote:

Originally posted by baybee-mel:
do dummies affect the way the teeth form though

yes they do - My friend had a dummy untill she was 5 and has had braces since she was about 11 she's 15 now. I have braces but i didnt have a dummy

my daughter didnt have a dummy but sucked her thumb it looks like she will need a brace now.

both my son and younger daughter have had dummies (my son still does but hes only 18months) my daughter who had the dummy has perfect teeth.

you can buy the ones like ive got that are flat and dont affect their teeth as they are orthodontist(sp) approved.it means paying dearer but that is no issue.

i had my dummy till i was 3, my daughter threw hers in the bin when she was 2.as far as im concerned they are safe for teeth and also after recent research has found they help prevent cot death then im all for them.

my oldest had a dummy and has fine teeth at 6 years old. a dummy is of personal prefence. my youngest son never had one as he wasnt bothered - but we had a hard time getting the bottle off which he like to fall asleep with in his mouth - and would scream if you took it away. replacing the contents with water sorted that though. my daughter who is 10 weeks had a dummy and trust me it isnt becasue she dares to make a whimper - she is a really good pleasant baby, who im also bottle & breastfeeding - she also sucks her thumb.

in fact i dont think dummys regress speech either as my first son had a dummy and was very forward with his speech and my youngest son who is 2 1/2 is only saying 5 words all the rest are babble (although there is suspected autisim)

but a dummy is the lesser or two evils if you ask me - my friends baby had to have all her front teeth out by 18 months.

Personally, I am against dummies, also for the reason that you see so many children who have a dummy thrust upon them as soon as they make a sound, with no effort from parents to comfort their child first, or when they are upset for no real reason, just having t tantrum. Also theres the issue of weaning them off the dumy when they are getting too old for it anymore, and dont need it.

Having said that, i tried to keep a fairly open mind when it came to my own son, because if it came to it, i would much rather have given him a dummy, than letting him really distress himself (due to an acceptable reason such as colic, wind etc), but luckily, my son was always such a content baby and really didnt cry alot, so i never needed to put that theory into practice.

My three all had a dummy, my older son has lovely perfectly straight teeth and my daughter has what she calls chomper, one of her front teeth is in front of the other and will need a brace. As for speech, at a year old i took the dummy off them during the day except for their nap

i wish

I never gave my son a dummy but sometimes I think I should have done just to get him to sleep, as he tended to use my boob as a dummy, and I'd probably have got more sleep! What I really hate is seeing toddlers around town with a dummy shoved in their mouths. Doesn't exactly encourage speech, does it, but maybe that's why the parents do it!

Although my daughter did not have a dummy she did suck her thumb.This has resulted in having to go for braces because her front teeth were pushed forward.

My eldest had a dummy, I limited it during the day - it was the sucking the thumb I don't like. To wean them off you can always distract them, lose the dummy or if they still have it when 4/5 get them to leave it for Father Christmas.

It's harder to stop them sucking their thumbs.

My youngest just never wanted one - but doesn't suck his thumb either.

Both of mine had dummies but only used them at nightime. Funnily enough my son used to go to bed with around seven or 8 dummies and lay them all around him. Both of mine gave theirs up on their birthdays. They put them under their pillows for the fairies to come and take them away for all the new babies that needed them and were left a reward. Worked for me on both occasions. They gave them up when they were approx 14 months old

Actually, sorry there were nearer two when they got rid of them

lol about the 7 or 8 dummys, dale when he was giving up his used to hide them under his pillow and stuff them down the sofa. my mum used to give him them. before that he would have two in at once

both my sons had dummies, (my eldest which is seven now) when he was learning how to use the toilet about 2 years old he dropped his dummy down the toilet and it was the best thing he ever did he said yucky thats where all the poo goes and i said lets flush it away now its dirty and he never had a dummy again. he told ever body his dummy is gone with all the poo now and its dirty. i cant believe he never asked for one again. It was the best thing that he ever did after weeks of me trying to get him off it.

quote:

Originally posted by Tug:
Both of mine had dummies but only used them at nightime. Funnily enough my son used to go to bed with around seven or 8 dummies and lay them all around him. Both of mine gave theirs up on their birthdays. They put them under their pillows for the fairies to come and take them away for all the new babies that needed them and were left a reward. Worked for me on both occasions. They gave them up when they were approx 14 months old

lol
my youngest used to have about six dummys in his bed at night he used to have one in his mouth and one in each hand and the rest on his pillow.

i find your comments very offensive as i tried to keep my son off the dummy but i was advised to give it him as a light comfort.

my Babies both have MAM AIR dummies and these are the best dummies on the market. they are orthodontic, AND HAVE PLENTY OF AIR FLOW FOR THE TEETH AND GUMS and have no affect on their teeth and their gums, on the packaging it even says that they are approved by dentists.

although they are 4.oo a dummy but its a price any caring parent would be willing to pay for the benefit of their children's health.

I was anti dummies and swore that my son would never have one.
However,he had colic very badly and the only thing that would help was the dummy,so I let him have one.He didn't have it for long and it was worth using.

I dont think they need them just like kids dont need sugar on cereal on table salt on meals if they never have they wont want it

I didnt give my two dummies and people (health visitor included) cant get over how well my two and half year old speaks i put this down to him not having for some part

In some cases it’s the dummies that get pregnant!

There is some evidence that dummies may help prevent SIDS. Here is a useful link.Dummies

I hate to see dummys being shoved in a baby's mouth, mind you i wish i could with adults.

I think parents put dummies into their baby’s mouth so that it will find it harder to make a noise. There was a girl in my secondary school that still had a dummy; I think it was supposed to be apple flavoured. Unsurprisingly she is now buck toothed!

My mum said I didn't like my dummy, I kept spitting it out. I hate the way teenage chavvy girls go round now with dummies in their mouths thinking they look cute, when they really look ridiculous.