Nuggi: Faithful comforter
The pacifier is often seen as an annoying evil. Yet it is a faithful companion for four out of five children, at least in the first few years of life. The question is therefore not whether a dummy should be given at all, but how and when it is best used.
There's this plant that seems to bear fruit in every colour of the rainbow. Only when you get closer do you notice the more unappetising parts in between. Weathered and greyish silicone suckers in all shapes and sizes hang from the colourful nugget shields. The wind and weather have not been kind to them at all.
Many parents are faced with a dummy tree at some point in their lives. Perhaps the big day was preceded by various, more or less successful attempts to wean the baby off the dummy. Or perhaps the prospect of a gift or a stern look from the paediatrician was enough to make them say goodbye to their beloved dummy for good.
A legitimate tool
There are various ways for babies and toddlers to calm down or find some comfort. Some rock back and forth or bury their face in a dummy. However, sucking is the first and most common way: Four out of five babies have a dummy; and those who don't have one like to help themselves with a thumb or other fingers. "The dummy is often seen as something negative," says Eveline Männel Fretz, a counsellor at Pro Juventute. But it is an absolutely legitimate aid for the little ones. However, it should be used consciously, i.e. have a clear function and a fixed place - and preferably not be available attached to the jacket all day long.
Confused sucking?
Nuggies have a few advantages over the thumb: they are much less likely to lead to deformation of the jaw or an open bite. In addition, weaning off the dummy is usually easier and earlier than with the thumb. However, pacifiers (and bottles) are often associated with the worry that they might confuse small babies, causing them to refuse the breast. Experts do not really agree on whether this is actually the case. However, with a little patience and practice, both can often work in parallel. However, there is a consensus when it comes to bottle feeding with fruit juice or milk as a constant companion: constant sucking on such drinks causes immense damage, especially at night. It not only destroys teeth, but also acclimatises infants to constant sugar consumption and increases the risk of obesity.
Clean, but not sterile
Every pacifier should be boiled before first use. How regularly you do this later, whether daily, once a week or once a month, depends largely on how old the baby or child is and how intensively and where the pacifier is used. Parents also know best whether it is time to buy a new pacifier after three weeks or only after two months. Incidentally, if there is no water in sight to clean the dummy, parents can also put it in their mouth. As long as you practise good oral hygiene yourself, you don't need to worry too much about bacteria causing tooth decay. After all, young children constantly ingest bacteria from all Family members.
Adieu, Nuggi!
Half of all children in Switzerland are still sucking on their dummy or thumb at the age of two or three, as paediatrician Remo Largo writes in his book "Babyjahre". Eveline Männel Fretz advises weaning when children are around three years old. This would not only largely prevent negative effects on teeth alignment and speech development. The upcoming entry into kindergarten is also a good time to celebrate the end of the soother phase as a toddler. Whether it is best to gradually phase out the dummy or agree with your daughter that the dummy fairy will soon be coming to take her much-loved companion away depends entirely on the child. But one thing is certain: "A ritual or a small celebration shows the children that they have achieved something they can be proud of," says Männel Fretz. "That they have grown another step."
A passionate journalist and mother of two sons who moved from Zurich to Lisbon with her husband in 2014. Does her writing in cafés and appreciates that life has been treating her well in general. <br><a href="http://uemityoker.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">uemityoker.wordpress.com</a>