Unquestionable ally of sleep, the pacifier and/or sucking the thumb crashes the first months and years of baby’s life. So much so that the abandonment of this habit can be transformed into a real challenge. A recent American survey carried out by the CS Mott children’s hospital from the University of Michigan to more than 2,000 parents of at least one child aged 1 to 6 recalls that this habit is very widespread: approximately half of the parents (51%) declare that their children have (or always) have recourse to this self-payment method. Depending on their testimonies, the pacifier or the thumb is essential at bedtime or nap (79% for the pacifier, 57% for the thumb), in the event of stress (47%) or even in front of the television or videos (10% for the pacifier, 24% for the thumb). Only 18% evoke an almost systematic use of the pacifier.
If some children are able to give up this habit by themselves, abandonment of suction may however require learning. And there is a plethora of strategies, as demonstrated by the responses of the parents who participated in the survey. The most frequently cited methods are to limit the pacifier at bedtime, or even hide it or even pretend to have lost it! If 33%say they prefer the gentle method by leaving the choice to their child, a majority of parents opt for conventional methods, such as keeping the hand from the mouth (61%) or explaining to the child that it is “too large” for this kind of practice (25%). But others “ruse” and turn to more extreme subterfuges, for example by making a hole in the pacifier (10%) in order to make it less attractive. Some of them even go so far as to put an incorrecting substance on the subject of sucking such as spicy sauce or petroleum jelly!
Susan Woolford, pediatrician at the CS Mott Children’s Hospital of the UM Health and co-director of the survey, recalls that there are many strategies to avoid sucking thumb or nipple: Read a book or watch a video on the subject, encourage through small rewards … “Replacing the pacifier with a plush animal or doll can also offer the child another possibility of appeasement“She suggests.
Pronunciation difficulties and language disorders
The survey also reveals that, according to the parents, the “ideal” age to cease the use of the pacifier is between 0 and 2 years (79%), while 15% believe that it is “acceptable” to get rid of this habit at the age of 3 or more. A small part of them also considers that they have taken it too late to prevent their child from using a pacifier (9%) or sucking the thumb (16%).
So, concretely, at what age should you encourage your child to get rid of this habit? The recommendations vary from one entity to another depending on the country: the Canadian Pediatric Society recommends, for example, a withdrawal of withdrawal from the age of 12 months, while the American Academy of Pediatrics advises a gradual reduction in the pacifier and/or the thumb from 18 months. However, healthcare professionals are overseas over a total judgment between the age of 2 and 4 years. Beyond that, the child’s health risks become important. Prolonged suction can indeed cause a problem of alignment of the teeth, a deformation of the palate or a bad positioning of the language, which can cause speech disorders (stuttering, zozoting), as well as a delay in language and vocabulary.