Dummies

There are endless opinions about the dummy. Should you give your baby a dummy? If so, what’s the right age? When should you get rid of it? How should you get rid of it?

The questions are endless and the answers are vastly different depending on your child’s needs and preferences and your own parenting style.

The first thing to remember is that it is totally up to you if you choose to offer a dummy to your child or not. There is no right or wrong answer here, this is your decision alone and no matter what decision you make, it will be the right one.

To help you make your decision, let’s delve a bit deeper into the pro’s and con’s of dummies, and whether they could be helpful to you and your family at different stages of your child’s development.

Why use a Dummy?

• Newborn phase: Dummies can be really helpful in allowing babies to suckle when unsettled and stretching out the time between feeds so that bub is more likely to take full feeds rather than ‘snacking’. It can also be really helpful if your baby is a bit refluxy as it aids in saliva production which reduces acidity

• 3-7 months: The dummy can still be useful for lingering reflux, but it can also be really helpful whilst your baby learns to self-settle and becomes a more independent sleepers.

• 8 months and older: Most babies can learn to find and replace the dummy themselves, making them less dependant on you to link their sleep cycles.

"Dummies have a range of benefits when it comes to brining comfort to your child! They can, however, be difficult to remove if you choose to do that."

Why you might choose not to use a dummy, or phase the dummy out;

• Newborn phase: If you are going to breastfeed, you want to make sure you’re not introducing the dummy before latch and supply are established (generally around 2 weeks). You also need to be mindful that the dummy isn’t being used in place of a feed, particularly overnight. If your baby is really unsettled due to hunger, and is offered a dummy instead of a feed, they will use up energy sucking the dummy but not getting the feed they really need

• 3-7 months: Your baby still can not find and replace the dummy themselves at this age, and will rely on your to do this for at least another 2-4 months. This means they might be more likely to wake in between sleep cycles looking for their dummy, and looking for you to do it for them. At this age the sleep association will continue to get stronger.

• 8 months and older: If your child still has a dummy by this age, I’d recommend keeping it until they are 2.5-3 years old and can understand the concept of no longer having their dummy. You can absolutely teach them to find and replace their own dummy around 8 months so that they no longer require you to do it for them.

There are a huge amount of benefits of using a dummy and it can be really comforting tool for your child. There are also a range of reasons why some people choose not to introduce their child to a dummy. Make the right decision for you and back yourself, because this is your journey.