thumb sucking vs dummy

DD1 used a dummy which she gave up of her own accord at about 5 months old. Looking back though, she immediately used bottles instead as a comforter. It got to the stage that she was still on bottles at 2 1/2. I went cold turkey with them and got her off them within a week (bottle fairy worked a treat). It was a few days of a very upset girl but it was quickly over.

DD2 is now 11 months and still going strong on her dummy. In no hurry yet to get rid of it - will do the dummy fairy technique if/when the time comes.

I was a thumb sucker right up to the age of 9 or 10 . It ruined my teeth - back in those days there was nothing they could do orthadonitcally to sort them. They evened out a bit as i grew into adulthood but they will never be perfectly straight.

So I had no qualms about using dummies - as you say - much easier to get rid of when the time comes!

I've taught teenagers who still suck their thumbs - and I don't recall any teeth issues amongst them? So it may not be a problem.

I sucked my thumb till I was 12 and it was a really difficult habit to break - I could restrain myself during the day but would always end up sucking it in my sleep. In the end I had to sellotape my thumb to the rest of my hand every night when I went to bed for ages. I'm very lucky that I lost my baby teeth really late and my grown up ones just grew in relatively straight so I didn't need braces or anything.

So my kids both have/had dummies!

Dh and I have always been against thumb sucking . DS had a dummy to he was over a year old and DD is 3.5 and only has a dummy at night it will be something we will slowly get rid off.

Oh I forgot to say my friend at 25 is still sucking her thumb!!!! her front teeth do stick out a little but so do 2 of her sisters and they werent suckers, thats the family look I guess

Personally I would prefer thumb sucking. A few of our friends who use dummies tend to want the dummy in as soon as it falls out and then complain that their kids aren't talking. I guess it's personal preference but maybe limit how much if they do have a dummy so they get an opportunity to talk.

Thank you for all your feedback. There are definitely pros and cons to both thumb sucking and dummy use. Our son sucks is thumb during playtime too, if not using his hands to play with objects; and given I don't want to use a dummy during playtime - wonder if getting it for nap time only will be a waste of time. If it falls out and he wakes he'll probably just stick his thumb back in anyway! LOL.There's an article on Ohbaby website that talks about weaning baby off dummy around 4 months if you don't want it become an established habit - I'm thinking - crumbs!

I think if your baby already sucks his thumb, you're going to struggle to get him to accept a dummy instead and chances are he will still suck his thumb if you try to restrict the dummy to bedtimes only.

I have to say that while thumb sucking doesn't always lead to bad teeth, and bad teeth aren't always a result of thumb sucking by any means, thumb sucking can lead to big teeth problems if it continues past when adult teeth come in. I am living proof of this having had to have braces twice as a kid and still sucked my thumb well into my teens.

My preference would be a dummy as you can take it off them; our little girl still has one when she goes to bed (at 18 mths) and she never wakes up wanting it back in. But on the other hand, if she does wake up for some other reason, giving her a dummy helps her to go back to sleep very quickly. So I'm a big fan, considering that and the trouble that I had with my thumb.

Having had a reason to read some research on this recently, a very high proportion of kids stop sucking their thumbs/fingers/dummies naturally by around 4 yrs - like 90-95%.

HTH.

havnt read all the comments but havning worked for a dentist for 8 yrs, dummys are alot better, they dont cause alot of damage to teeth and teeth can be fixed alot more easily than thumbs can, and also thumbs cause alot more damage to teeth than dummies.

most bad crooked teeth & space issues are actually caused by children breathing through there mouth during there sleep & genetics, during your sleep the tongue presses on the roof of your mouth which the pressure causes the pallate to expand and grow to make room for teeth etc, with mouth breathing the pressure isnt there so your children will be more likley to have space issues as they get older

both my 2 had dummies until they were about 18mths old