Dental health experts also recommend limiting its use from the age of 2 and gradually stopping it at age 4 to reduce damage to the baby’s teeth and to avoid over-biting, biting and cross-biting, which have a negative effect on appearance, speech and chewing coordination.
Baby feeders slash pacifiers have quite a lot of advantages, but there are some disadvantages to take into consideration.
Frequent use of pacifiers can reduce the baby’s desire to breastfeed. In fact, some mothers have used them in the past to wean their babies from the breast. If breastfeeding is stopped too early due to frequent use of pacifiers, this would limit the baby from what he/she really needs.
When the need arises, do not use pacifiers as a first line of defense to calm a fussy baby. This will help him/her to get away from him/her. You can try blackmail, giving toys that he/she won’t chew, rocking him/her, etc.
Children who suck almost anything (thumb, pacifiers, nipples, etc.) after the age of 2 years are at risk of developing a crossbite or protruding front teeth. Sucking soothes the gums, but at some point it becomes a dental hazard. The pressure it exerts pushes the teething gums forward, causing the teeth to grow in that direction.
Ear infections are quite common in children, but few people know that 25% of these infections are caused by pacifiers, soothers and similar baby items, even by thumb sucking.
So, how can a baby be prevented from using pacifiers and bottles?
You can start by gradually introducing other safe methods of solid food intake from 9 to 12 months of age. Finger feeding is a good strategy for this. Spoon feeding may follow later. After a while, start to reduce the baby’s access to feeders when he is indoors and then when he is outdoors.
The next step is to remove the bottles completely. Psychology plays a role in this process and here’s what psychologists have to say about it: have a serious conversation with your baby a few days beforehand, explaining that the nipples/feeders will need to be used on a given day.
Repeat this conversation again and again until you are sure he has internalized the information. Then remove all teats and bottles on the day. Don’t leave anyone behind, as the baby may find them and return to his old habits.