Dummies

campbellly · Sep 20, 2007 2:47PM

Hi all. I've seen people posting about dummies before but I could never get my login to work hence the late commenting. I just thought I'd throw in my opinion. I work as a paediatric speech and language therapist and have seen many, many 'dummy casualties.' Dummies are absolutely fine for babies, but as soon as your child starts to verbally communicate PLEASE try your hardest to get rid of the dummy. There are a couple of different speech problems that can occur, The commonest one being when the teech grow around the dummy causing a lisp. This is a particulary sad one because although parents bring their children for assessment, there is little we can do until a child's adult teeth grow in so the child is stuck with the problem until he/she is 6 years old. The other process is 'backing' when the child learns to produce sounds with the back of their tongue instead of the front of their tongue (since the front can't move due to the dummy) This means that words like 'tap' are said as 'cap' or 'duck' as 'guck.'

Really don't mean to scaremonger, and it would seems this doesn't happen to all kids, but if it prevents one person on here having to wait for a long time on an SLT waiting list then it's worth it. If anyone wants to ask any questions or make a comment then that's fine. Thanks for reading.X

campbellly · Sep 16, 2007 10:58AM

Hmm.. it's really hard to say without seeing her. If she is delayed globally, it may not be due to the dummy but more to do with her 'oro-motor' movement, i.e. her coordination of muscles in her mouth. A speech and language therapist (SLT) would assess this by asking you about her eating and drinking as well as perhaps encouraging her to try different movements with her tongue, cheeks, lips etc. Has she been assessed by an SLT? A paediatrician would also hopefully have examined her oro-motor movement. Practising 'funny faces' in a mirror is always a good way of seeing yourself how much movement your child is capable of. Try making 'fish' faces in a mirror by opening and closing your lips and have your little girl copy. Alternatively, put little bits of jam or chocolate sauce on various parts of her mouth and check she can reach to lick them off. This will give you an idea of her tongue control. Just some ideas, but I'd suggest you call your local SLT if you have any concerns. X

CathyG · Sep 18, 2007 10:27AM

my lo is 17 months & does still use a dummy for sleeping & nap time. He doesn't use it during the daytime (unless absolutely necessary). when/how will i know if his speech is affected? when will this be checked out?

3-little-princesses · Sep 18, 2007 12:41PM

Our reason for using a dummy was more that I didnt want her to start sucking her thumb & worked on the theory that you could take her dummy off her but you couldnt take off her thumb (I dont know if thats really right or not but know alot of thumbsuckers whose parents are having a nightmare of a time getting them to break the habit)
I agree completely on what you are saying about speech & have a friend whose child has a lisp & dental problems through sucking a dummy too much.
We weaned our lo off her dummy through the day when she was just over a year old & now the only time she has it is for sleeps at night, though Santa will be taking it this Christmas.
Its a pity parents werent warned about the problems dummies could cause before the problem occurs. Could you tell me if thumbsucking can cause the same problems or have I just been working on a silly idea? (our 2nd child is due in nov & I would love to know before it was born so I could decide on whether to give it a dummy or not)

Thanks
Hilary x

CathyG · Sep 19, 2007 7:29AM

a friend at work has 2 kids, 1 had a dummy, the other sucked its thumb. The thumb sucker has terrible dental issues, need a brace & numerous procedures to sort out her alignment. the other has perfect teeth, all straight & aligned, no dental issues whatsoever. I've also read recently that dummies are actually recommended for babies to prevent SIDS (cot death). sucking a dummy helps to ensure they keep breathing through their nose.

3-little-princesses · Sep 19, 2007 9:29AM

I def think dummies have a place if used correctly though I'm really interested to see what campbelly says.

Hilary x

sara-e-poos · Sep 19, 2007 9:34AM

My 20 month old uses one to go to sleep with and doesn't use it during the day.
My 5 month old also uses one to sleep but also uses it during the day when he's restless and wants to comfort suck.
Sara

KatrinaBrunning · Sep 19, 2007 9:49AM

My Jamie had a dummy between age 1-3 months. Then he started sucking his fingers. He discovered his thumb at 4 months and then wasn't really interested in his dummy. He is now 18 months and sucks his thumb but only when he is tired, trying to get to sleep or comforting himself.

campbellly · Sep 19, 2007 3:13PM

Hi everyone. Thanks for your comments. I've also read about some advantages of dummies and I think it's a case of 'everything in moderation.' Of the kids I see, the damage done by dummies is sustained use for a few hours at a time each day. Plenty of children use their dummies at night and when sleepy and it does not affect their speech or teeth. It would seem that the danger area is when children start joining words and forming longer sentences while still having their dummies in their mouths. For most children, this would be around 2 to 3 years old. Again, if use is limited then the risk is significantly reduced. About the thumb-sucking, I would say that I rarely see children who have disordered speech due to this, but I don't know whether that is because the rate of dummy use is so high compared with thumb-sucking. I know that dentists see quite a few kids with dentition problems due to thumb-sucking, and anything that significantly affects teeth can also affect speech development. I hope that helps.

3-little-princesses · Sep 20, 2007 2:47PM

Thanks campbelly, its great to hear the opinion of a professional on this subject as very often you only get to speak to professionals once the damage has already been done. I'll definately be taking your advice into consideration in the future as regards my next baby.

Thankfully my daughter, who will be 2 next month, is quite advanced in her speech for her age as I was made aware of the 'dummy problem' by a friend whose child had been referred to speech therapy & had dental due to 'too much dummy'

Well done for bringing an expert opinion on an important subject that is very often forgotten until too late to the site

Hilary x

Dummies

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