Sunday 17 July 2011

Dummies


Dr. Dummy, Captain Von Pacifier, Percy Plug… Whoever invented that smart little piece of plastic is a HERO.  Most nights that’s all the Duck wants.  She’d choose it over a bottle, food, toys… a human, even.  (Perhaps slightly worrying.) I always said we’d wean her off it by the time she was one, as advised by all those experts, but as that age draws closer I really can’t see it happening.  She only really has it at bedtime though, so I think that’s ok.  

The argument against, I think, is from a speech therapist’s point of view.  How can they learn to talk properly with that in their gob all the time? It’s a good point, but I don’t think many people would let their kids have them constantly. And if they were the kind of parents that did that they might have more issues than simply dummy rationing… 

But MY argument is that if a baby’s brain is consolidating all that they have learnt in the day,  then surely it is far better that they have a peaceful night’s sleep sucking merrily away, than writhing around and trying to get comfortable all night.  I do agree they shouldn’t have them too much in the daytime.  But it is VERY easy for me to say that when the Duck is so young.  Nowhere near the terrible twos and all that, and when you’re in the queue at the post office and your kid won’t stop singing “yes, my name is Iggle Piiiiiiiggle…Iggle Piggle wiggle wiggle wiiiiiiiiii-GUUUUL” (as my husband now does) I bet they’re REALLY useful.

One tip I will impart, Nic, is don’t forget to get new, bigger dummies as your baby grows. When they’re too small they fall out and little D will wake up twice as often hunting for them! Get a nice big one so it is properly wedged in there. And I’ve heard those clips to stop the dummy getting lost are good, but if you have a particularly intrepid little explorer (read meddling fidget) then you may find they accidentally clip it on their bottom lip and create a minor bloodbath in the middle of Tesco.

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