To suck or not to suck?
If you have a baby in Poland EVERYONE will tell you to give it a dummy (or pacifier, binkie, whatever). EVERYONE. Because, at the end of the day, you can throw the dummy out and, after a few “restless” days and/or nights, your baby will be “weaned” and will grow up with a much smaller chance of dental problems.
If you have an Australian guide book to raising babies, it will say not to give a dummy/pacifier/binkie, and list the bonuses of thumb sucking. It's your call.
In my first pregnancy, when I followed the baby lists down to a T, I bought not one, but two different types of dummies just in case the baby had a preference. And she did. She preferred NOT to suck on any dummies at all. She hated them. She would spit them out. Yes, I tried many times. It’s not my damn fault!! And I was happy, because I remember sucking a dummy to the age where I could clearly give my grandmother instructions about not “washing” it in juice, but in water thanks. (Wasn’t I smart for my age? That’s what the baby care books say too!) I also remember my much younger sister sucking a dummy for many, many years. So generally I was “against” them anyway.
The thumb sucking started around 4 months and freaked me out a little. Like a good first-time mother I called my private pediatrician for words of advice. Not many people believe me but she suggested putting the toilet paper tubes on the baby’s elbows and attaching them to her clothing with safety pins, so that she was unable to bend her arms! At an age when discovery comes through putting things in your mouth and that is how babies develop naturally. So I chose the in comparison glorious advice of "pretending to ignore".
We are now almost 5 years old, sucking thumb with a vengeance and have developed a lisp. The preschool speech therapist (lucky there is one) has given us a list of exercises to do. With slight horror, I noticed my daughter lisps drastically now that I am paying attention. I knew my study of phonetics and phonology would one day come in handy – now I need to instruct her where to put her tongue.
On the good side my son, who would only tolerate a dummy if it was held in his mouth long enough for him to fall asleep in the baby capsule, which he hated just as much, has never sucked his thumb. So what can I say? You win some, you lose some.
If you have an Australian guide book to raising babies, it will say not to give a dummy/pacifier/binkie, and list the bonuses of thumb sucking. It's your call.
In my first pregnancy, when I followed the baby lists down to a T, I bought not one, but two different types of dummies just in case the baby had a preference. And she did. She preferred NOT to suck on any dummies at all. She hated them. She would spit them out. Yes, I tried many times. It’s not my damn fault!! And I was happy, because I remember sucking a dummy to the age where I could clearly give my grandmother instructions about not “washing” it in juice, but in water thanks. (Wasn’t I smart for my age? That’s what the baby care books say too!) I also remember my much younger sister sucking a dummy for many, many years. So generally I was “against” them anyway.
The thumb sucking started around 4 months and freaked me out a little. Like a good first-time mother I called my private pediatrician for words of advice. Not many people believe me but she suggested putting the toilet paper tubes on the baby’s elbows and attaching them to her clothing with safety pins, so that she was unable to bend her arms! At an age when discovery comes through putting things in your mouth and that is how babies develop naturally. So I chose the in comparison glorious advice of "pretending to ignore".
We are now almost 5 years old, sucking thumb with a vengeance and have developed a lisp. The preschool speech therapist (lucky there is one) has given us a list of exercises to do. With slight horror, I noticed my daughter lisps drastically now that I am paying attention. I knew my study of phonetics and phonology would one day come in handy – now I need to instruct her where to put her tongue.
On the good side my son, who would only tolerate a dummy if it was held in his mouth long enough for him to fall asleep in the baby capsule, which he hated just as much, has never sucked his thumb. So what can I say? You win some, you lose some.
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