Can I leave my baby to sleep with a dummy? Can a newborn sleep with a pacifier? Consequences and important advice from doctors. Is weaning off the nipple a futile exercise?

If you are unable to wean your baby from a dummy, you should not start to panic. Even if your grandmother casually tells you that “in old days children did not go with a pacifier for so long, and her friend's daughter did not recognize the pacifier at all and fell asleep on her own, "and even if the neighbor says that this has a detrimental effect on the bite. We will tell you how to wean a child from sleeping with a pacifier in this article.

Quite often, a young mother, having heard a lot of various wishes and recommendations, begins to take away her favorite toy from the baby, but he is used to it from birth, and besides, it is difficult for him to fall asleep without it.

Maybe he will calmly endure all this and get used to sleeping without a pacifier, but nevertheless there are great chances that the period of weaning will be very difficult psychologically for both parents and the baby. Therefore, you should be patient and understand that for a child parting with the usual way life is very difficult.

You can't take the baby's unwillingness to give up the dummy as a whim, since adults don't like to give up their own habits. Although they realize that some of them are very harmful. And the young child does not understand what is useful and what has a detrimental effect, and besides, his mother gave him a pacifier. And besides, if you see that the baby needs a dummy, then do not pay attention to what relatives say, because the baby is yours, and you, like anyone else, know better what the baby needs now.

In addition, it is impossible to sharply wean from a dummy, as this can cause psychological trauma, since the child is attached to the toy, and for him the withdrawal will become stress in any case. The child will not be able to understand such harshness on your part, because he is used to caring. So be understanding about the process of weaning, and be sure to listen to the child's needs.

It is completely wrong to take a pacifier from a baby when he asks for it. There is no need to tease him about this and be angry with him, he should simply "outgrow" this habit.

And here it is important not to miss the moment when the baby is ready to give up the pacifier on his own. But such a moment may not be very successful, because after that he will sleep worse, while crying it will be much more difficult to calm him down, etc.

In order to speed up the process of weaning from a pacifier, experts advise to do the following:

If a baby at 7-8 months has learned to drink from a cup, then food should also be served in a cup, plate, bowl, so that the child will forget about the bottle as soon as possible.

You cannot offer a baby a dummy if he himself does not demand it.

Let there always be toys near the child so that he develops his fingers, can manipulate objects and distract himself from his favorite dummy.

Sucking is the first reflex of a newborn. And this action is just as important as breathing. A number of studies have shown that mental development a baby sucking a thumb or a pacifier has a beneficial effect. There is no need to fear that the pacifier will ruin the bite, as there is no scientifically substantiated evidence for this. For dental health, a dummy will be more beneficial than a sweet bottle.

But this does not mean at all that the baby should be taught to use a pacifier, since many children grow remarkably well without this object.

Some kids don't get strong sucking reflex, others get more pronounced. There are babies who can part with a pacifier without any problems, but there are those who need it even at 5 years old.

And this does not mean that you should walk with a pacifier before school. However, it often happens that caring parents trying to pick up the pacifier and do it much earlier than the baby is physically and mentally mature for this.

There are two simple ways to wean from a dummy:

1. Wait until the child becomes conscious and gradually reduce the time of using the pacifier. You can give out a pacifier only before going to bed, or you can - for a certain minute, upon returning from kindergarten.

2. This method not suitable for all children, as it is considered tougher. It is necessary to give or throw away the pacifier, but this should be done only with the consent of the baby. For example, you can “give” this valuable item to a familiar kid, or just throw it away. IN in this case it is necessary that the whole family behave in a coordinated manner, if it says "no", then it should be so. The baby has a hard time weaning from a pacifier, becomes too nervous, does not sleep well, and if this has been going on for about two weeks, then it is better to stop tormenting the child. Since the crumb could not give up the habit, and in order to save mental health, it is preferable to return the dummy. That is why the first method will be more gentle for both the baby and the parents.

Following simple tips of this article, you can wean your baby from a dummy.

I have friends. Amazing people who have an amazing little daughter. And all would be fine, only she did not let the nipple out of her mouth until 2.5 years.

Most likely, she would have loved her further, if during the medical examination in the garden the doctor had not sent her to the orthodontist because of an incorrect bite. The problem is due to the nipple. How to solve it, read the article on how to wean a child from a dummy.

The controversy around the pacifier does not subside for a minute. Moreover, not only experienced and novice mothers argue, but also the specialists themselves. On the one hand, the nipple is evil. It spoils the bite, which in turn entails incorrect pronunciation sounds. In addition, it plays a role psychological aspect: it is believed that a child who is busy with her needs less knowledge of the world and develops worse.

On the other hand, the dummy helps to realize the sucking reflex, thereby improving the child's appetite, and this is its main advantage. Also, all children love to fall asleep with a dummy. If it is not there, the chest is used. This is not always convenient, mothers assure from experience. For example, if a child wants to sleep on the street, you will have to look for a secluded place to feed and calm him down.

Summing up all of the above, I would like to note that it is necessary and important, but for the time being. Do you know when to wean from her? According to psychologists, you should start as early as 3 months. Then, provided that the efforts are correctly applied, the baby will completely abandon the pacifier already in a year. Previously, it is impossible to deprive him of his favorite toy. Teeth will crawl, and the crumb will pull into his mouth everything that comes to his hand.

By the way, these recommendations cannot always be implemented in practice. There are children who are just beginning to actively take the pacifier by 2 - 3 months. There are even more recent ones. There were precedents when children took a teat at the time of teething to scratch their gums.

Interestingly, when it comes to a dummy, it's never too late to work against it. So, optimal time for failure - up to a year. If you could not or did not have time, you can extend it to one and a half years. Deadline weaning - at 2 years. There are, however, children who cannot part with a pacifier later, but you should not be equal to them. Otherwise, history, like that of my friends, may repeat itself.

It is believed that main danger too long love crumbs to a pacifier are a bad bite and a variety of dental problems. You can clearly see this in the photo.

How to wean at different ages

According to psychologists, it is impossible to take away your favorite toy until one year old, otherwise the child will experience severe stress. Teething teeth will aggravate the situation, because of which neither the baby nor the mother will sleep at night. At the same time, it is these experts who argue that the first signs of readiness to refuse refusal are observed at the age of 3-6 months. What are they like?

We are talking about situations when the baby drops the pacifier as soon as he falls asleep, or does not remember it until he sees it. Of course, this does not mean that you need to deprive a pacifier overnight. infant... He will feel the need to suck, but less often. As a result, it will not be necessary to give him a pacifier so often. It is important to prolong the time without it every time.

To do this without harming your own nervous system, it is important to keep the baby busy with other things: a fairy tale, a lullaby, stroking until he falls asleep. During the day, you can distract with games, walks. It is believed that this is exactly the period when it will be possible to quickly and easily wean a child from a pacifier. If the moment is missed, it's time to be patient, you will definitely need it in the future.

From 6 months to 2 years

At the age of six months to 2 years, it is harder for a child to forget about the nipple. He understands a lot and perceives her sucking as a mandatory ritual before going to bed. In order not to harm, in no case should you take your favorite toy abruptly. This can cause a lot of stress in the baby, which is not surprising.

Now the dummy for him is part of the familiar world. Taking her away, you destroy this world and cause serious unrest, worry. The baby does not think about the fact that the little thing can do harm, especially since his mother herself gave it to him once.

The key to success is gradualism. To achieve it, psychologists recommend:

• Slowly remove the bottle as soon as the baby has learned to drink from the cup. This usually happens between 7 and 8 months of age. The nipple will be forgotten with the bottle.
• Give your favorite toy only if absolutely necessary. There are situations when the baby is capricious and the parents, in order to distract him, put a pacifier in his mouth. Do I need to say that this is wrong, and we need to get rid of it.
• Provide your baby with enough toys to play with. Children in 1.5 years can take a pacifier out of boredom. If you now occupy them with new things that can be learned by touch or even taste, the dummy will lose its paramount importance.

It is also important, as before, to make changes to the usual ritual, distracting from the sucking of the pacifier with other activities.

After 2 years

Feedback from mothers on the forums indicates that the easiest way to dare from your favorite toy upon reaching two years of age... At this time, it is easy to come up with a story explaining the loss, and the baby will believe in it. My acquaintances, whom I talked about at the beginning, did just that. The pacifier was given to the mouse by mutual desire: she asked her very much. In return, the mouse brought new doll... Everyone was satisfied and happy and "cried" for only a day or two: they liked the doll very much.

The story may have other options for the development of events: it was presented to the wizard for fulfilling a wish, lost, stolen (Carlson flew in and took a dummy for the newly born little boy). By the way, in no case should you compare the baby with older children, call him small for unwillingness to give up your favorite toy. Extra excitement he doesn't need anything.

Interestingly, when asked about how to painlessly wean from a nipple, if history does not help much, psychologists advise diversifying the child's leisure time. Games, walks, tickling nursery rhymes will do. They will captivate and distract, replacing the baby's pacifier.

How to stop falling asleep with a dummy

As already mentioned, in order to wean the baby from sleeping with a dummy, you just need to replace the obligatory ritual. IN once againwhen laying him in the crib, turn your attention to a fairy tale, which must be told in a sweet, soothing voice. Lullabies, strokes are also good. For an older child, it makes sense to offer to close his eyes and try to fall asleep without a dummy.

The main thing is to wait for the first 20 to 30 minutes, keeping calm and not breaking down on the child. It will be easier with each subsequent day. Than younger child, the more painlessly everything will pass. As a rule, everything about everything takes 3 - 5 days. To make the baby less upset during this period, it is only important to exhaust him well during the day, and then only by touching the pillow, he will fall asleep soundly.

At 3 years old, you can take the pacifier from the baby in exchange for a toy, with which he can now sleep. It will both calm and lull, in a word, replace your favorite "antidepressant".

It is interesting that in extreme cases, if you cannot refuse the nipple on your own, it makes sense to consult a dentist. Sometimes he picks up the vestibular plate. It is a product made of elastic plastic with silicone pads for the chewing group of teeth. Its advantage is that it seems to satisfy the reflex and is not reflected in the bite.

What not to do

While looking for information on how to properly wean from a nipple, I came across a lot of articles in which parents were advised not entirely reasonable things. For example:

• Smearing a pacifier with something bitter to provoke disgust in the baby. Doing this is strictly prohibited, since not even all adults are able to tolerate mustard, pepper, garlic and other spices that are used, and what can we say about a child. Moreover, it is also unsafe. IN last years the number of allergy sufferers is only increasing, and the above products can cause serious allergic reactions up to swelling or spasm of the throat.
• Cut the dummy. In general, violence against a favorite thing of a son or daughter, and even before his eyes, is fraught, because children take everything too close to their hearts. In addition, such actions can end in failure, for example, if a child bites off a piece of rubber. IN best case, it will end up in his stomach (you must admit, this is not the best place for her), and at worst, it will stick to the mucous membrane of the throat, provoking spasm and suffocation.
• Scream at a child or get angry when he asks to return his favorite "pacifier". This will not help the business, but only harm, and the baby will cry harder. Most the right way - to distract, to lure with something else.
• Weaning off the nipple during the period of illness, colic with ARVI. When children are sick, they are especially vulnerable and they just need a nipple to relieve the condition. Give it, and postpone the weaning process until better times, and everyone will be happy.

At the same time, if once a decision was made to abandon the dummy, it is also impossible to back down. This will only further aggravate the situation.

If you can't wean

Dr. Komarovsky answered this question well in one of his messages. According to him, there are children whose sucking reflex is too developed, and they do not stop calming down with a dummy even after reaching three years old... There is no need to scold them, let alone shame them. The time will come, and they themselves will throw their toy.

It is important for parents to be patient for this period, but not only in order to slowly and confidently do everything to wean addiction... It is imperative to withstand external judgment. Often, under pressure from neighbors, relatives who like to shame the baby and his parents because of the nipple, hasty decisions are made. But everything has its time. After all, no one has ever gone to school with a dummy.

If you are unable to wean a baby up to a year old from a pacifier, you should not be tormented by questions: “It is not strange that a baby at 8 months asks for a pacifier, and at other times does not want to part with it. Isn't it bad for the child? " And here the neighbor, Aunt Nadya, declares that she had heard “that it is harmful for the bite. The grandmother casually notes that “in her time, children under one year old did not wear a pacifier, a friend's daughter did not recognize a pacifier and fell asleep herself. How to wean a baby from sleeping with a dummy, we learn from this publication.

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Photo gallery: How to wean a baby from sleeping with a dummy

And then you, "winding up" yourself about "that I do not care about the child," after listening to all the wishes and advice, you begin to take away his favorite toy from the child. But he got used to her from birth and he falls asleep better with her.

Maybe the child will calmly endure all this and get used to sleeping without a pacifier. But there is a high probability that the period of weaning will be psychologically difficult for both the parents and the child and will be quite long in time. You need to be patient and understand that for a baby this is parting with the usual way small world, because this is such a ritual, after which he falls asleep well.

There is no need to perceive the child's unwillingness to give up a pacifier as a whim, because we adults do not like to give up our habits. Although we understand that some of them are harmful. The kid does not understand what is useful and what is harmful, although his mother once gave him a pacifier. And if you see that the child needs a dummy, then ignore what your relatives and neighbors say. After all, this is your child, and you better know what the baby needs now.

Do not try to sharply wean from a pacifier, perhaps this will cause him psychological trauma, because the child is attached to his favorite toy, and for him, in any case, the withdrawal will become a great stress. This harshness is incomprehensible to the child, he is accustomed to your care. Be sensitive to this and listen to his needs.

It is wrong to take a pacifier from a child at the moment when he asks for it. No need to tease him about this and be angry with the baby. He must "outgrow" this habit.

And here it is important not to miss the moment when the child himself is ready to give up the pacifier, and this will be the best way parting. But such a moment may not be very good. After all, after that he will sleep worse, while crying it will be more difficult to calm him down, and so on.

To speed up the process of weaning from a pacifier, psychologists recommend doing the following:
1) If a child at 7 or 8 months has learned to drink from a cup, then food should also be served in a cup, plate, bowl, so that the baby quickly forgot the bottle.

2) Do not offer a dummy to your child unless he or she demands it.

3) It is important that the child develops fingers, can manipulate objects, he should always have toys at hand so that he is busy with them, and thus distracted from the pacifier.

Sucking is the main and first reflex of the newborn. And this action for the baby is just as important as breathing. A number of studies have shown that thumb sucking or dummy sucking is beneficial for a child's mental development. You should not be afraid that the dummy will ruin the bite, this is not scientific evidence... And for dental health there will be more useful dummythan a permanent bottle of sweet drink in your mouth.

But this does not mean that the child must be taught to use a dummy, because other children can grow up without this object. We'll talk about a case where pacifier sucking is part of a baby's life. But over time, this habit gets in the way of the parents.

Before you receive specific recommendations, ask yourself the question: “Why does the dummy bother you so much? Because other children don't suck her? Or do you just want to see your child as an adult? Maybe you are pressured by friends and relatives? But this is about your child. Some children get a less strong sucking reflex, others get a stronger one. There are babies who can easily part with a pacifier, but there are others who need it at both 4 and 5 years old.

This does not mean that babies need to walk with a pacifier in their mouth until school. But often parents try to take away from the baby his little joy, and they do it before the child is physically and mentally mature for this.

There are 2 ways to wean a child from a dummy:
1) Wait until the baby is conscious and gradually reduce the time for using the pacifier. It is like the smoker gradually reduces the number of cigarettes smoked. You can give out a pacifier before bed. It is possible for 10 minutes upon returning from kindergarten.

2) The second method is not suitable for all children; it is considered more severe. You can make a farewell ceremony with a dummy, and do it with the consent of the child. You can, for example, "give" to another baby, or take it and solemnly throw it into the trash. It is important that all family members behave in a consistent manner, if they said no, then there should be no. Naturally, the child has a hard time being weaned from the pacifier, nervousness increases, his sleep is disturbed, and if this lasts more than 10 or 14 days, then it is better not to continue tormenting the baby. And everything that happens means that the baby has not abandoned his habit, and in order to maintain mental and physical health, it is better to return the dummy. Therefore, the first method will be more gentle and reasonable for both the child and the parents.

Now we know how you can wean your baby to sleep with a dummy. Following this simple ways and tips, you can try to wean your child from a pacifier.

It is believed that the nipple not only satisfies the baby's sucking instinct, but also reduces the risk of sudden infant mortality in the first 6 months.

Rules for using the pacifier.

Use the pacifier until 6 weeks of age while breastfeeding is established

No need to use the pacifier around the clock

It is best to offer a pacifier to a baby once a day, in the evening.

If the nipple falls out, it is not necessary to insert it again

Do not force the baby to take the pacifier if he does not want to

Pacifier - "bad habit" or "good habit"?

It is important to ensure that your baby's sleep remains independent of the nipple. If the baby has established a strong relationship between nipple and falling asleep, then the nipple does more harm than good. And the dummy in this case becomes another "bad habit" (link to an article about bad habits). Waking up at night, the baby will ask his mother every time to give him a lost pacifier.

The problem with the pacifier is solved at the moment when the child is able to find it without the help of the parents. Then the addiction to the nipple becomes “ good habits"When falling asleep. You can develop your baby's independence if you start giving your baby a nipple in your hand rather early, rather than putting it in your mouth. From about 9 months old, babies are able to put the pacifier in their mouth themselves, even at night.

Pacifiers often fall out of the crib and onto the floor, so it makes sense to give your baby several pacifiers at once, put them on or near the bed. Remind your baby every night to take the pacifier himself, and if necessary, show him again where he can get it.

When is it time to give up the nipple?

If your baby's nipple is strongly associated with sleep, and he calls you at night to serve it to him again, it's time to give up this habit.

Many pediatricians agree that the most suitable age for it is 1-1.5 years. Unfortunately, there are no pleasant painless ways to give up the nipple. But keep in mind that giving up the habitual pacifier is much easier for children than parents usually think. No matter how strong the habit is, giving up on it will take no more than 3 days.

Nipple rejection - what should you do?

1. Tell your baby it's time to give up the nipple

2. Give your child a few days to get used to this thought and choose a day to start

3. If the baby is very worried, calm him down, pat, pat on the back.

4. Be prepared for a few tough nights and days.

5. Do your best to strengthen the child's attachment to the favorite toy (link to the article about pets). Say: "Now is not the time for a nipple, but the bear is here, he can hug you." This distracts him from the nipple and gives him a safe replacement. Better yet, give him a new favorite toy. This novelty can distract him even more. You can even take your child to the store so that he can choose a new friend for himself.

8. Whatever you do, taking the pacifier once, do not buy a new one after an hour of crying!

If you are not yet ready to give up the nipple.

Many parents do not want to wean the baby from the nipple, preferring to wait to see if he will give it up himself. If you are not ready yet, we would recommend

Do not give a pacifier during day dreams and preparing for a night's sleep

Not letting your baby walk with a pacifier all day

Some babies, having lost their nipples, begin to suck thumb... But this is the exception rather than the rule.

Thus, the nipple itself is not a problem. But most often it is used as aid when falling asleep. If your child wakes up at night, and in order to fall asleep, he needs a nipple, the relationship is obvious - it is the nipple that is the cause of the baby's sleep disorders.

The sucking reflex is highly developed in newborn babies. The more pronounced it is, the more difficult it is to calm the baby without a pacifier. Such a child will pull everything into his mouth - fingers, a blanket, a diaper. In this case, it is better to give him a pacifier. After satisfying the need for sucking, the baby will sleep peacefully.

If the baby's sleep is stronger with a pacifier than without it, you should not refuse him. But you should not abuse this method of calming. It is best if the nipple is only used to relax the baby before bed.

What are the consequences if the baby is left with a pacifier at night?

The most common problem in babies who cannot sleep without a nipple is that it falls out of the mouth during deep sleep. As soon as the child discovers the loss, he will scream and demand it back. This situation can be repeated several times during the night. As a result, neither the baby nor the parents will get enough sleep.

In addition to disrupting sleep, sucking on a pacifier at night can lead to the following negative consequences:

How to wean a child from her?

It is better to start weaning from a pacifier no earlier than 5-6 months. At this time, the sucking reflex begins to fade, and the process will take place less painful.

After a year, this is much more difficult to do. The child has already developed a persistent habit, at the same time, he is still too small to agree on him.

If the moment is lost and special problems the child does not have it, it is better to wait another six months or a year, when the baby is ripe for a conscious rejection of the dummy. Usually, children agree with the argument that they are already adults and they do not need a pacifier.

To make the process of weaning from the nipple painless for a child, you need to follow some rules:

What not to do:

• Smear the nipple with mustard, brilliant green, cut off part or pierce. Such methods are harmful to psychological health baby, as an object associated with safety and tranquility suddenly acquires unpleasant properties. Such changes cause anxiety and a sense of instability in the surrounding world.
• Replace the pacifier with a food bottle. Frequent night feeds can lead to tooth decay. And leaving a baby with a bottle in a dream is not safe.

Watch a video on how to wean your baby from the nipple: