Although pacifiers have a lot of benefits, there are some cons to pacifier use that parents of babies and toddlers should keep in mind.
Dr. John LaCount, a pediatrician with St. Elizabeth Physicians’ Florence office, outlines seven ways pacifiers can cause problems:
1. Giving your baby a pacifier before breastfeeding is established
If you give your baby a pacifier before he or she is breastfeeding consistently and gaining weight, it could cause the baby to have trouble differentiating between the mother, a bottle, and a pacifier.
2. Not setting limits
As with anything else, limits are needed with pacifiers. Babies and toddlers shouldn’t be given pacifiers all the time.
3. Giving your child a two-piece pacifier or a pacifier with a string or a clip on it
If a pacifier has two pieces to it, a child is more in danger of swallowing one of the pieces. This also is true of a pacifier with a string, or a clip attached to it, which poses choking or strangling risks.
4. Putting sugar or other coatings on a pacifier
Covering a pacifier with sugar or other sweet substances can cause tooth decay in babies and toddlers.
5. Not cleaning the pacifier properly
Some parents think they can clean a pacifier by putting it in their mouths, LaCount said, but that’s not the case. Pacifiers need to be washed with soap and water.
6. Trying to give a pacifier when a child doesn’t want it
If a baby or child keeps pushing a pacifier away, it means he or she doesn’t want it. Period.
7. Not getting rid of the pacifier when it’s time
LaCount said he advises parents to break kids of pacifier use between ages 2 and 4. Substituting another toy or blanket or holding a special ceremony can help soften the process, but kids who use a pacifier for too long can suffer dental problems down the road.
Keep in mind these words of caution before giving your child a pacifier, but also remember that pacifiers have positives, too. They can soothe a baby who otherwise might not want to settle down, they can provide a distraction to babies or young children ” especially while they’re doing painful things, such as getting a shot “they can help kids fall asleep, they can help kids’ ears pop on planes, and they decrease the likelihood of sudden infant death syndrome.
Plus, don’t forget that they’re disposable and cheap!
