I have had two children and now have grandchildren. In my opinion there is nothing at all wrong in letting a child have a dummy. Better that than to start sucking blankets, thumbs, etc. My youngest grandson is just two, had a dummy and speaks in full sentences and expects answers. His speach has certainly not been delayed because of a dummy. At the end of the day mothers must do what they feel is right for them and their baby.

Dummy's do effect speech ect which is why they tell you not got give dummy after 12 months.

I give Ciarán my attention or toy to play with him rather than a dummy. And he fine but the amount if people who insist I should give him one winds me up so much
ATD x

Alex had a dummy (and was breast fed) because it helped with his colic, reflux and because of the info I had on SIDS. He never really liked it, and was binned when he was 6 months.

I dont like seeing 4 year olds with dummies, but I do think that they have their place, using a dummy does not make a parent lazy

Yep I gave them cuddles and talked to them!!!

I know this thread has been hijacked and I apologise, I guess the use of dummies is quite a hit topic!!!

What I really hate more than anything is seeing a baby that is only a few days old, already with a dummy in, now you cannot tell me that is right? A baby that young has no established sleep pattern nor do you know if it needs to comfort suck, in fact those first few days you should be getting to know your baby, not just shoving something it's mouth so you can sleep!!!!

So please could any of you advocators of dummies tell me the justification of a dummy on a baby less than a week old????

cot death prevention (night time and naps) Colic

Hmmmm sorry but I am not buying those excuses at all. None of my 3 had colic! And like I said they all slept on their tummy's too

erm..not excuses...just proven to help (and worked)

Yup..I slept on my front too (as was the advice) and I had lead paint on my cot and Im alive..but you know what, if there is evidence to suggest that there are risks associated with putting babies on their front, etc, then I am not going to take that risk..and if a piece of plastic/rubber stops my baby dying, then guess what!?

BTW, since the SIDS guidelines came in, incidences have plummeted, and fallen even more since the link with dummies was found. THAT is surely a good thing. I also exclusively breast fed for 6 months, and didnt wean till 6.5 months...as per the current guides.

Yes I am a bad mother

plus, if yours didnt have colic, then there is not debate to be had there is there? Colic is awful for the parent and for the baby..if there is a way to help parent/baby and help both parties get some sleep...then wheres the issue?

The thing is though, they have no idea what causes SIDS, so anything that they suggest to prevent it is pretty much guess work, but if you want to try anything that is suggested then of course I am not saying you are a bad Mother at all, so please don't get so offended

So just supposing that there came new research that said using dummy's didn't help prevent SIDS do you honestly think that the usage of them would dramatically reduce in newborns???? Hmmmm I think not

Like I said the use of dummy's is an immotive subject and I don't think those that use and those that don't will ever change their minds on them, but I do find it very interesting to hear the 'reasons' people use for giving them to a baby.

Nobody needs to justify anythng to anyone else - whether you use one or not. A dummy is nothing more than an aid which may or may not help a baby feel comforted and may be useful if other things aren't working terribly well. It's like everything else - works for some and doesn't for others. I think there is a lot more to parenting than whether or not the baby gets a dummy! and nobody should tell someone they should - or shouldn't - use one, or imply that they are somehow failing their baby because of their choice.

You see, ATD, this is why I told you to do what is right for you and your baby and ignore everyone else - it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks and it's certainly nobody else's business.