The dos and don'ts of dummies

One of our staff has just been on a speech and language course and was given some information about dummies which we thought we would share with you in case it was of use...

During your baby's early months a dummy can help to soothe. This is understandable, as most babies have a strong sucking reflex and the dummy can, in many cases, help to settle the child. However using the dummy too much can lead to the following problems:

Teeth:

• Incorrect positioning of teeth so that the bottom and top teeth at the front don't meet properly
• Tooth decay (especially the front teeth) if the dummy is dipped into sweet things

Mouth breathing:

• Your child may tend to breathe through their mouth rather than their nose. This is often linked to long-term dribbling

Speech and language problems:

• Your child may not use the full range of tongue movements that are necessary for making all the speech sound
• Your child has fewer opportunities to babble and use sounds to communicate with you

REMEMBER - the dummy is not a plug!:

1. Don't let a dummy become a habit 
2. Use it at set times - when cross & tired or settling down to sleep 
3. Never dip a dummy in drinks, honey, jam etc - this leads to teeth becoming rotten and decayed 
4. Wait until your child needs the dummy rather than automatically giving it to them 

Wean your baby off the dummy as soon as you can, preferably by 12 months old. It is much easier then than at 2-3 years old!

Ideas that parents have tried:

• Give the dummy/bottle to Santa.
• Swap the dummy/bottle for a gift/cuddly toy/new toothbrush.
• Pretend to give the dummy/bottle to a friend's baby.
• Get the child to throw the dummy/bottle in the bin.
• Hand the dummy/bottle to your local speech and language therapist who will give your child a sticker or picture to colour in.